righty tighty, lefty loosey

English

Alternative forms

• lefty loosey, righty tighty

Phrase

righty tighty, lefty loosey

1. (mnemonic) 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.
   • 1984 October, Scott Stuckey, “Hobby Hows”, in Boys' Life, volume 74, number 10, page 11:

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

   • 1992, Stephen King, Gerald's Game:

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

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

     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?"

Translations

mnemonic for tightening and loosening screws

• Catalan: la dreta oprimeix, l'esquerra allibera
• Spanish: la derecha oprime, la izquierda libera