And now, for something completely different: Courtesy of the Lighten Up Brigade (aka my friend Eric V.), I give you the following grammatically correct English sentence:
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
This is properly paraphrased as
Bison from the city of Buffalo who are bullied by other bison from the city of Buffalo in turn bully yet other bison from the city of Buffalo.
Mentally supplying the word 'whom' or 'that' between the second and third occurrences of 'buffalo' helps a lot. Yet the sentence is correct without that word, as when the word 'that' is left out of the phrase "games people play."
Now, didn't you always want to know that?
Cross-posted at Extra Thoughts
Comments (10)
My brain hurts.
Posted by Paul J Cella | January 11, 2008 7:58 AM
And next time you're feeling blue:
Smurf smurf smurf.
Posted by Brandon Field | January 11, 2008 10:46 AM
Finally, I have experienced the mystic transformation. But what would PETA say about the bullying?
Posted by Rastus | January 11, 2008 12:03 PM
As long as the buffalo are bullying one another, PETA has no problem with it. :-) They also don't try to stop lions from devouring prey animals.
Posted by Lydia | January 11, 2008 1:02 PM
Given PETA's materialist conception of mankind, on what basis are we to be held to a higher standard of behavior than any other ape (or buffalo)? Ultimately, it seems that everything we may do, including carnivorous activity, would be excusable as animals being themselves, doing what came naturally, unless one believes that mankind differs in nature and not merely in accidents. I remember a conversation, admittedly unfruitful, with a naugahyde-wearing partisan. Does PETA even feel it necessary to explore the foundations of their imperatives, or is mere feeling enough? She certainly inclined toward the latter.
Posted by Rastus | January 11, 2008 2:34 PM
But what would PETA say about the bullying?
PETA might kill the buffalo: http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
Posted by Scott W. | January 11, 2008 3:53 PM
Interesting point, Scott.
So, PETA = Purposely Eliminating Tame Animals
Posted by Michael Bauman | January 11, 2008 5:12 PM
Here are some easier ones that might help people get in the right frame of mind:
Actually, sentences like this can be pyramided indefinitely. Take
(i.e., Fish [that] fish fish [themselves] fish fish.)
You can substitute "fish fish fish" (that is, "fish [that] fish fish") for the second and fifth instances of "fish" to get
which actually parses. And so on, until you go stark staring mad.
Posted by Jim Kalb | January 13, 2008 2:23 PM
Great post, I favorited your blog post so I can visit again in the near future, Cheers, Lilia Romar
Posted by Lilia Romar | March 2, 2010 4:19 PM
Fences fences fence fence fences.
Houses houses house house houses.
Stones stones stone stone stones.
Nurses nurses nurse nurse nurses.
Walls walls wall wall walls.
Conkers conkers conk conk conkers.
Posted by delboy | November 28, 2011 9:24 PM