This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Violetriga (talk | contribs) at 19:08, 14 September 2006 (buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 19:08, 14 September 2006 by Violetriga (talk | contribs) (buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo?)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo is a grammatically valid sentence used as an example of how homophones can be used to create complicated constructs. It first featured in Steven Pinker's 1994 book The Language Instinct and has since been repeated throughout the Internet.
The sentence uses three possible meanings of the word "buffalo":
- An American Bison
- Buffalo, New York, the second-largest city in the state of New York
- A verb meaning to confuse, deceive, or intimidate
Rewritten using these definitions, the sentence could be rewritten:
- Bison from the city in New York, whom other bison from the city in New York intimidate, themselves intimidate yet further bison from the city in New York.