righty tighty, lefty loosey

phrase

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.

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Meanings

phrase

alternative lefty loosey, righty tighty

  1. mnemonicUsed 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.

    "Lefty loosey," Jessie muttered, and tried turning the key counter-clockwise.

    1992, Stephen King, Gerald's Game
    2 more examples

    This will help you remember which way to turn a screw, bolt or nut: "Righty tighty, lefty loosey."

    1984 October, Scott Stuckey, “Hobby Hows”, in Boys' Life, volume 74, number 10, page 11

    People sometimes become confused as to why a spoke is tightened by turning the spoke nipple counterclockwise. "Isn’t it always righty-tighty and lefty-loosey?"

    1999, Vic Armijo, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cycling, page 293

Translations

Catalan la dreta oprimeix, l'esquerra allibera
  • la dreta oprimeix, l'esquerra alliberamnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
German solang das Deutsche Reich besteht, wird die Schraube rechts gedreht
  • solang das Deutsche Reich besteht, wird die Schraube rechts gedrehtmnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
Spanish la derecha oprime, la izquierda libera
  • la derecha oprime, la izquierda liberamnemonic for tightening and loosening screws
Cite this entry
APA

righty tighty, lefty loosey. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/righty%20tighty%2C%20lefty%20loosey

MLA

“righty tighty, lefty loosey.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/righty%20tighty%2C%20lefty%20loosey. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “righty tighty, lefty loosey,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/righty%20tighty%2C%20lefty%20loosey.

Source: righty tighty, lefty loosey on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.