You ever had to tighten or loosen a bolt or a nut and got confused as to which way to turn? The easiest way to remember which direction tightens and which one loosens is the old axiom “righty-tighty and lefty-loosey.” This means that turning most threaded things right, or clockwise, tightens them (righty-tighty) and turning them to the left, or counterclockwise, loosens them (lefty-loosey).

However, there are exceptions to this rule such as left-handed threads on things that are used to secure things that also turn clockwise (like the blade on a table saw). So, if you run into a nut that just won’t give, before muscling it any more, try switching direction.  Here's a video on how to identify the difference between left handed threads and right handed threads.

Right Hand Thread vs Left Hand Thread

You can't turn things left or right. You turn things clockwise or counterclockwise. But that doesn't rhyme as nicely so even though it's kind of meaningless, "lefty loosey, righty tighty" has become a convenient way of remembering this.

Check out this short Youtube video:

Turning "left" will loosen whatever you're turning:
A screw will become unscrewed.
A faucet will become open.
Turning "right" will tighten whatever you're turning:
A screw will bite further into the material.
A faucet will be closed.

Okay, now you know!

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