Monday, October 26, 2009

The Logovoracious Challenge

So here's the deal--on my web radio show The Logovore's Dilemma, at the wonderful Randoradio.com, I have offered a challenge to my listeners, which I now Extend to you. It regards an English-language factoid I've carried around in my head since I was knee-high and, since I wasn't doing anything else with it, I decided to pass it along to you.
Here 'tis: English can be twisted, turned and stretched in many ways, some of them glorious, some just silly. This is about the second kind. Now--if a group of large hooved ungulates in upstate New York intimidated their peers and were in turn intimidated by their victims, one might say, "Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo; Buffalo buffalo buffalo. Eight bison in all. But I can top that. There is a common English word which can be used eleven times consecutively, grammatically(and more sensibly than those buffaloes) in a sentence (or sentences, depending on punctuation). What is that word, and how do you do it?
A couple of hints--1) the word in question is a commonly-used verb, though in this sentence(s) it is sometimes used as a noun. 2) No homophones are involved. 3) The answer can be found on-line, and I've given you a big hint about where to look.
The first person to solve this Challenge will be awarded the keys to the music on a future edition of The Logovore's D--you pick it and, if I can find it, I'll play it. Which I think is a pretty cool prize. You can send your response to logovore@gmail.com or post it as a comment here. First correct response wins the prize. Good luck--you cannot win if you do not play.

1 comment:

T J said...

I had it, then I lost it. If I had only taken my ginko.