Mastodawn

Sarah Becan Apr 18, 2023

In a conversation on reddit today someone asked if other languages have phrases like "rightie tightie, leftie loosie" to remember which way to turn screws/lids/etc. And one person answers that in Spanish, the phrase is:

"La derecha oprime, la izquierda libera."

or:

"The right oppresses, the left liberates."

(Now I kind of want to put this on a t shirt)

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AT-AT Assault 🏳️‍⚧️Apr 19, 2023

@sarahbecan

Honestly, "Rightie Tightie, Lefty Loosie" is terrible, because there is still ambiguity. Right from the top of the bolt, or the bottom of the bolt? From your face, or the bolt's face?

There is generally a better frame of reference: Clockwise (and Counter Clockwise), since it's defined already by a standard.

Thus is born, CCW = OFF, CW = ON (unless you have an infernal left-handed screw, but those are quite rare).

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Dr Dave

@atatassault @sarahbecan that's how I've always understood it.
You put your right hand on the screw, this means your thumb is pointing the same way as the screw point. Fingers curled round the screw tells you which way to tighten. Righty tighty. Clockwise, as you say.
Left hand is opposite, thumb down to point. Curl fingers. Lefty loosey. Widdershins.