Terrible Tim — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

Haven't you heard of Terrible Tim!
Well, don't you get in the way of him.
He eats lions for breakfast
And leopards for lunch,
And gobbles them down
With one terrible crunch.
He could mix a whole city
All up in a mess,
He could drink up a sea
Or an ocean, I guess.
You'd better be watching for Terrible Tim,
And run when you first get your peepers on him.

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Learning from "Terrible Tim"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "Terrible Tim" uses 12 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to Terrible Tim?
The lyrics to Terrible Tim are: Haven't you heard of Terrible Tim! / Well, don't you get in the way of him. / He eats lions for breakfast / And leopards for lunch, / And gobbles them down / With one terrible crunch. ... Read the full 12-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does Terrible Tim have?
"Terrible Tim" has 12 lines of verse.

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