Thursday, September 06, 2007

Do Homophones Secretly Meet in Phone Booths for Synonymous Sex?

Here's a sentence for you:

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

It parses. (A bit tautological, but it parses.) See how.

(Resist the urge to click that link until you've tried to figure it out...)

Later Edit

Some confusion appears to have arisen about the example sentence.

Below, I present a simple Venn diagram that will no doubt clear up any misconceptions.


(Diagram drawn using the tool supplied at Crappy Graphs...)

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, Neddie... You are way to smart for me (and/or you have too much time on your hands!) Either way my hat's off to ya!

Sketch said...

Ok I was feeling all smart and stuff with how well I'm doing in college right now, but after clicking that link I think my brain just went into shock.

Wren said...

That was painful, Ned. And now I begin to understand the muscular and twisty sort of mind that finds Pynchon so fascinating. Yeow.

Anonymous said...

I had some of it, but i have never heard anyone use 'Buffalo' as a verb before in my entire life. (Given my location, i shouldn't really be surprised).

Actually, just curious, is the phrase 'Wowsers' (as a noun) used over there?

Anonymous said...

Should have explained better:

Wowser At Wikipedia

Neddie said...

is the phrase 'Wowsers' (as a noun) used over there?

Only if doing a really bad impression of an Australian. That and "pooftah." Mate.

Anonymous said...

Simon said...
I had some of it, but i have never heard anyone use 'Buffalo' as a verb before in my entire life.


"Buffalo'd in buffalo
Entertained in Houston
New York, yew nork,
You gotta choose one
Tripe face boogie
Boogie my sneakers away..."

-- Tripe Face Boogie, Little Feat, Bill Payne and Richard Hayward

Will Divide said...

Oh and those Buffalo Fluffernutters with the truffle muffelettas?

Woof!!

Boldly Serving Up Wheat Grass said...

The implied [that] after the second word threw me... Had to click the link. Extra cool graph, btw! You should post it on the wiki page.

Kevin WOlf said...

Well, I tried to guess at it but I was cowed. Oh damn - buffaloed!

bobby lightfoot said...

Yeah, dig it. Reminds me of a road game from th' '90's. There was a crappy sports movie with Nick Nolte and Shaquille O'Neal and in the preview Nolte's hardnosed coach character is sayin' to some crooked sports official "we don't BUY athletes..."

Some reason the game became how many times you can use "Buy" or "bi" or whatever derivation in a sentence with "athletes". EG:

"By the by, Bi, we don't buy by Bi Biathletes...bye bye."

Yeah, yours is weird too.

Anonymous said...

Buffalo's buffalo buffalo Buffalo Bill.
Buffalo Bill bills Buffalo's Bills.
Buffalo Bill's Buffalo Bill bill buffalos Buffalo's buffalo.

The Viscount LaCarte said...

I made one up some years ago that isn't nearly as clever, but I've never had a more apt forum to share.

I named my small pet salamander after a famous college football coach and had the pleasure of introducing him to the former speaker of the house...

"This is my minute newt 'Knute' Newt."

Or how about the conundrum where the tie salesman from Bankok bought a faulty hair-piece from Taiwan?

"Should the Thai have to pay his tie-pay for the toupee from Taipei?"