Phrase guide

righty tighty, lefty loosey

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

phrase

Meaning 1

Used to recall the direction a standard screw, bolt, or nut must be turned to either be tightened or loosened, or the direction a key must be turned to either lock or unlock something, right meaning clockwise and left meaning counterclockwise.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: mnemonic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: la dreta oprimeix, l'esquerra allibera — mnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
  • Cornish: an dyghow a arwask, an gledh a liver — mnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
  • German: solang das Deutsche Reich besteht, wird die Schraube rechts gedreht — mnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
  • Spanish: la derecha oprime, la izquierda libera — mnemonic for tightening and loosening screws