Talk:Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo/Archive 5

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Semi-protected edit request on 21 May 2020

I. RENAME SECTION HEADING "Origin" --> "Origin and Extensions"

II. EDIT FINAL SENTENCE OF THAT SECTION AND ADD EXAMPLES:

<current>Versions of the linguistic oddity can be constructed with other words which similarly simultaneously serve as collective noun, adjective, and verb, some of which need no capitalization (such as "police").[8]

<edited>Versions of the linguistic oddity can be constructed with other words which similarly simultaneously serve as place-name, collective noun, adjective, and verb, some of which need no capitalization (such as "police").[8] Some examples, with source place-names: ·Fox, Alaska ["Fox fox Fox fox fox fox Fox fox"; "to fox" meaning to outwit] ·Duck, West Virginia ["Duck duck Duck duck duck duck Duck duck"; "to duck" meaning to evade] ·Badger, Minnesota ["Badger badger Badger badger badger badger Badger badger"; "to badger" meaning to pester] More elaborate extensions might include two-word place-name examples, with an additional, repeated form-element serving as both adjective and adverb (here, the word "little"): ·Little Flock, Arkansas ["Little Flock little flock Little Flock little flock little flock little flock Little Flock little flock"; with "flock" being a pastor's small congregation, say, and "to flock" meaning to decorate with a tuft of wool or cotton fiber] Larrytimes23 (talk) 01:01, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

 Not done per WP:NOR –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 02:36, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 August 2020

We should add some further understanding of this type of sentence. For example, there exists a complete description for how to compute the number of valid parsings of any number of the English word "buffalo" in a row. My below suggestion can be added to the "Usage" heading under the "Sentence construction" heading.

Specifically, we should cite https://www.quora.com/How-many-ways-can-Buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-be-parsed/answer/Apoorv-Khandelwal as a reference. We can add at least the following from that answer.

   1. mathematical formula for the number of parsings
   2. table which contains the number of valid parsings of sentences containing only n instances of the word "buffalo"

This information enhances the reader's understanding of how many ways there are to parse such sentences. Full disclosure: I am the author of that Quora answer. Kapoorvk (talk) 03:17, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

 Not done. Quora is not a reliable source. ◢  Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 14:17, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

Anyone else get a message from MediaWiki message delivery?

I know I'm not the only one. Haven't edited this in years, for the record, about all I ever did was a decade ago and that was just to chase the riff-raff off this page for a few days. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 15:23, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

Yes. ⇒SWATJester ^{Shoot Blues, Tell VileRat!} 18:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

"buffalo" as a verb

Am I wrong to think that using "buffalo" as a verb to mean "to bully" or whatever it's supposed to mean, is only used in English in this stupid sentence? john k (talk) 16:44, 31 December 2019 (UTC)

Yes, only in English, since it means this in English. It would be interesting to see if there are other languages in which such constructions are possible. Clean Copy^talk 22:50, 31 December 2019 (UTC)

What I meant is, the verb "to buffalo" is an extremely rare usage in English, which I have actually only encountered in reference to this particular linguistics textbook example. john k (talk) 22:25, 8 January 2020 (UTC)

Yes...but it has taken on a new meaning as well, apparently. Clean Copy^talk 15:03, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

In German the phrase goes "Wenn Fliegen fliegen fliegen Fliegen fliegen hinterher" (when flies fly flies fly behind flies).--Nico b. (talk) 11:42, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

It makes more sense if the last "fliegen" is a noun: "Wenn Fliegen fliegen fliegen Fliegen Fliegen hinterher" Clean Copy^talk 17:09, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

During my upbringing in Texas, it was a polite way of saying that someone was being BS'd.

What makes "Buffalo buffalo buffalo ..." to any number of iterations be a grammatically correct sentence (without using a place name) is that the verb "buffalo" is both transitive and intransitive, so: "buffalo buffalo" (they just sit around BS'ing), and "buffalo buffalo buffalo" (buffalo generally BS each other). The fourth step, "buffalo, buffalo buffalo, buffalo" gives you what you need for a constructive, recursive proof that any number of iterations of "buffalo" are a grammatically correct sentence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.211.112.55 (talk) 16:39, 13 January 2023 (UTC)

It's used in the Wizard of Oz film. Oolong (talk) 07:44, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

I'm nearly certain that an intransitive form is not required. 'Buffalo buffalo' can be an instruction. Oolong (talk) 07:43, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

As the buffalo soldier is African or hispanic,the buffalo can be buffalo and there can be a buffalo part of the city,from which they belong.

The typy of bullying maybe the specific way that african buffalo from African Buffalo do it...

27.96.195.8 (talk) 05:59, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

I heard it too, it meant ‘bluff, with some intimidation behind it so it won’t get called’. Not rare, I think. 2A00:23C7:E287:1901:E5C3:F56D:8023:3123 (talk) 10:09, 5 October 2023 (UTC)