Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo... BUFFALO! ---- #BuffalobuffaloBuffalobuffalobuffalobuffaloBuffalobuffalo #buffalo #buffalobuffalo #dailyStoopid #grammar #wordplay #etymology #wordavalanches #homonyms #homophones #DmitriBorgmann #adventuresInWord #BeyondLanguage #grammaticallycorrect
This clever line is a classic example of rhopalic text. Rhopalic. It's a good word, isn't it? It describes text where each word has one more letter than the word before it. I've also seen it refer to texts where each word has one more syllable than the preceding one. This example - which manages the tricky feat of reaching a word with 20 letters - is attributed to word play master Dmitri Borgmann. On looking a bit deeper into Borgmann, besides seeming wonderfully eccentric, he is most notable for his work in "recreational linguistics", a term he popularised in the late 1960s. 📖 My TBR pile just got a little higher as I'm very keen to get my hands on his two books which are credited with ushering in a "golden age of wordplay": They are titled "Language on Vacation: An Olio of Orthographical Oddities" and "Beyond Language: Adventures in Word and Thought". I'll keep you posted. 😀 Do you know any other great rhopalic sentences? And because word-nerdy thoughts like this make me smile, I'll post a new one every Wednesday - chosen, of course, for its excellent alliteration: #WeirdWordWednesdays. Enjoy, fellow word nerds. #wordweirdness #funwithwords #wordnerd #ilovewords #welltold_au #rhopalic #rhopalicsentence #dmitriborgmann
Nom Chomfke #buffalo #bobarmarley #steelydan #deathgrimps #wherethebuffaloroam #bertrandrussell #noamchomsky #dmitriborgmann
"Virtually everyone suffers from the deeply ingrained habit of considering language as a medium of communication" -- #dmitriborgmann #NationalScrabbleDay #marlonisnormal #rtfb #🆑🅰Ⓜ️🅿️
#Repost @callumcoke with @repostapp. @alexjenkinsx we should have done this in English at St Brendan's with Colin! instead of looking at transcripts of people's conversations buying cake at coffee shops #wordplay #imaginativelanguage #creative #unbelievablepatience #englishlanguage #dmitriborgmann
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo That's why this is a correct sentence. #buffalobuffalobuffalobuffalobuffalobuffalobuffalobuffalo #bufalo #DmitriBorgmann #WilliamRapaport #language #nopunctuation
Will Shortz was born on this day 1952 in Crawfordsville, Indiana #willshortz #puzzler #newyorktimes #puzzlecreator #crosswordeditor #raisedonahorsefarm #arabianhorses #languageonvacation #inspiration #dmitriborgmann #createdhisown #collegemajor #enigmatology #wentto #lawschool #tookthebar #doesnotpractice #americancrosswordtournament #founder #lovestabletennis #pingpong #icouldhaveguessedthat #ofcoursehedoes #wordplay #sunday