Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo

At a recent round of trivia,* my teammates claimed that the following sentence is grammatically correct:

"Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo."

Naturally, I took personal offense to such a blatant grammar lie and thinly-veiled attempt to prove, once again, that I am easy to fleece (note: the word "gullible" is NOT written on my ceiling. I checked. Thank you very much.) The whole thing stunk of an elaborate plot to use my affinity for all things grammar** and love for the American Bison against me.  For shame.

But then, like so much fifth grade Language Studies, we diagramed the sentence.*** It works out.  Here's what you need to know:

"Buffalo" is used in three district ways-the animal, the place in New York, and as a term for bullying.  Read it again.  Clear as bisque, right?

Here's another way to think of it: The Bison from Buffalo, NY, who Buffalo, NY bison bully also bully the bison from Buffalo, NY.

Crystal.

Why, you ask, would I be blogging about this on the Park's Web site?  We've all come down with buffalo fever around here, what with the arrival of 28 new family members a few weeks ago.  I wanted to plug our Adopt-a-Buffalo program, and thought that if I presented you with a puzzling grammar question and got your brain all gooey, I might stand a better chance of pricking your heart and convincing you to become an adoptive parent.  Really, it's a good deal.  You get all the benefits of being a real parent without the bother of pesky responsibilities like feeding or housing your little angel.  We do that for you.

So, if you're ready to make the move, click here to adopt a Shelby Farms Park buffalo.    Or, you can call us up at (901) 767-PARK.

*Nerd alert

**You are not allowed to use this statement against me when I make grammatical errors on the blog.

***You read that right.