How much is a peck in Peter Piper?

Tongue twisters help develop speech skills in young children as well as older children who need additional help with speech therapy.

Steph Wu

More from things to do

How  many times can you say this one fast?

Tongue twisters are phrases or sentences which are hard to speak fast, usually because of alliteration or a sequence of words with very similar sounds. Tongue twisters help develop speech skills in young children as well as older children who need additional help with speech therapy.

You've heard the one about the woodchuck, or about how the skunk that sat on a stump, but do you know how to say the one about the fuzzy wuzzy bear? HA!

Get started with this classic first and then head over to our complete list of tongue twisters.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

Can you say this one three times fast? Source: iStock.

RELATED: Knock knock jokes for kids

Activity:

To get the full effect of tongue twisters you should repeat them several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing. Good luck!

The nursery rhyme “Peter Piper plucked a peck of pickles” is certainly familiar to you. If you do, you might be wondering why Peter Piper chose a peck of peppers. The word comes from Sanskrit and refers to a jar of pickled peppers.

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.

Earlier, when speaking about the meaning of “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles,” it was assumed that the fictional character robbed a peck of pickled peppers. However, it is unknown how Peter picked the peppers, either destined for pickling or already in a vat. The peppers were pickled suggests that the young prankster could have stolen them! The original meaning of “pick” was to rob, but later the verb evolved to mean filch. Today, a peck of pickled peppers is approximately equal to two gallons of dry weight, or about 10 to 14 pounds.

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickling peppers” was first recorded in 1813 in John Harris’s book Peter Piper’s Practical Concepts of Plain and Excellent Pronunciation. The peck was an old British weight measurement, and the phrase “Peter Piper picked a ‘peck’ of pickled peppers” is a classic example.

Today, peppercorns were a valuable trade item brought to England by the Dutch and English East India companies. Christopher Columbus even left the continent of Europe in search of pepper. Peter Piper was likely very wealthy and probably worked for an influential trading company, but it is unclear who inspired the phrase. There are some suggestions that it is a reference to Pierre Poivre, the 18th-century French horticulturist.

“Peter Piper” is a nursery rhyme with a twist. Although it was first printed in 1813, the song has a much older origin. In 1813, this nursery rhyme was initially titled “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers” and became famous for children.

It’s a Nursery Rhyme

Singing nursery rhymes with your child is a great way to spend quality time together. You can sing along with the lyrics or use a video to show your child the words. One of the most popular nursery rhymes is “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles.” The rhyme was first published in 1813 and is a tongue-twister—the song’s lyrics rhyme with a now-defunct unit of measure, the peck. The peck represented approximately 2 gallons or 1/4 of a bushel during the imperial system. The rhyme is one of the most difficult in the English language.

The words “pepper” and “peppers” come from the Latin word piper, which means “pepper.” The French and Dutch words are derived from a root word from King Solomon’s court. While the rhyme isn’t original, it features a beautiful and memorable melody.

A nursery rhyme about pickled peppers was first published in 1813 in a book of alliteration-filled tongue twisters. The book was written by John Harris (1756-1846), who included a rhyme for each letter of the alphabet. However, the rhyme had already been popular for several years before this publication. Some authors attribute its origin to a French botanist named Pierre Poivre (1744-1830), who had worked on cultivating peppers in Seychelles.

This nursery rhyme tells a story of a man who smuggled spices from the Spice Islands to the UK. These spices were worth a fortune at the time, so they were shipped by British ships.

It Comes from Sanskrit.

The phrase “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles” has a long history. It originated in Sanskrit and made it into English via Hebrew and Aramaic. From there, it spread to Latin and Greek, known as “piperi.” However, it was initially used to refer to the Latin word piper.

The origins of this phrase can be difficult to understand. So many complex phrases, including “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles,” have knotty stories. Some are even related to elocution practice. But the origins of Peter Piper picking a peck of peppers aren’t so simple. This phrase first appeared in print in 1813.

It Refers to a Jar of Pickled Peppers.

The classic children’s story “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers” begins with Peter picking a peck of pickled peppers. Children would have interpreted the story in the 18th and 19th centuries as a theft. Capsicum peppers were not common in 18th and 19th century England, and Peter Piper would have been seen as a thief if he had taken a peck of them.

This nursery rhyme’s origin is English and was first printed in John Harris’s Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation in 1813. Some scholars believe that Peter Piper refers to a Mauritian government official named Peter Poivre, who studied Seychelles’ potential to grow spices.

The original name of the man who planted the peppers is Peter Pepper. But the name was changed to Piper. The word “pepper” was an English name for a farmer. While pepper is a common surname in Britain, Piper is an Old English word for “pepper.” The change makes linguistic sense.

The plant peppers and pepperfruits belong to different genuses. The long pepper and pepperfruits are different in shape and texture. Both are hot and spicy and are used in cooking. Peppers are a favorite snack for children. They were used to make a sour-tasting dish called “peppercorns.”

It was First Published in John Harris’s Peter Piper’s Adventures in Wonderland

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles” is a tongue-twister from a nursery rhyme. While the phrase is utterly innocent and seemingly harmless, it is a complex piece of language. Its origins date back to elocution practice.

The story is based on a nursery rhyme called “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.” The rhyme, first published in 1843, was a tongue-twister that helped children learn to pronounce the letters of the alphabet.

The word pepper refers to many types of plant fruits. Peppers and pepperfruits are closely related, though they are not the same plant. Both are spicy hot.

How many is a peck?

What is equivalent to a peck of peppers?

How much is a peck of pickled?

How many items is a peck?