February 24, 2010
Did you hear the one about the buffalo?
“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.”
What? You didn’t get that? It’s a perfectly good sentence.
For those of you who don’t know, “buffalo” is a very versatile word. It can be a singular or plural noun (meaning any of various wild oxen, including the American bison), a proper noun (a city in western New York), or a verb (meaning to bully, baffle, or bewilder).
Basically, the sentence above describes the pecking order of buffalo in the city of Buffalo. It’s a bit easier to understand when we substitute alternate words for “buffalo”:
Buffalo bison [that] Buffalo bison bully[,] bully Buffalo bison.
(Really, it’s grammatically correct.)
And if that’s not enough for you, here’s a similar sentence starring my favorite animal: “Dogs dogs dog dog dogs.”
Know of any others? Do share!
Special thanks to my brother-in-law-to-be, lover of all things peculiar, for bringing this grammatical monstrosity to my attention.
Filed by rebecca at 6:05 pm under For the love of words
2 Comments
“Honey, we’re out of bananas.”
Oh, I just love this time of year. Snow is falling, carolers are singing, Christmas tree’s are twinkling—wait, “Christmas tree’s”? Really?
Well, here it is, one of my favorite days of the year:
Last night, Kim and I participated in our second straight CreateAthon—and we had a great time doing so!
OK, I admit it: Sometimes I break the rules—grammar rules, that is.