National Lexical Ambiguity Day

Fitness Center SignAccording to my aunt, last Thursday was that day universally feared and reviled by college freshmen: National Punctuation Day, a day so horrible that on the night previous to it, they take care to go to sleep with a pencil on their night stand.  Upon waking, they drive the pencil into a can of beer, place their mouth over the pencil hole, and pull the tab.  Why?  Because of problems like this:

Punctuate the following two sentences so that they make sense:

1. That that is is that that is not is not is not that it it is.
2. John where James had had had had had had had had had had had the teacher’s approval.

-Ed Scripsi

Published in: on September 29, 2009 at 3:38 pm  Comments (2)  

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  1. 1. That that is, is; that that is not, is not. Is not that it? It is.
    2. John, where James had had “had,” had had “had had.” “Had had” had had the teacher’s approval.

    Do I win a case of watery beer?

    (The word “had” now looks like a word from a strange alien language.)

    My favorite of these exercises is “A woman without her man is nothing” – the rumor is that the way one punctuates it correlates strongly to one’s gender. :)

  2. Fine, as long as you can punctuate the following sentence correctly:

    Do you want Hudy 14K Burger Little Kings Delight Schlitz Shaeffer


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