# Apart from "that that", are there other words that ever make sense repeated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212 "2012-01-30T18:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/41 "2012-01-30T20:14:54Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > You’re a few buffalo short of the max: > > [Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo) > > Edit: The word “buffalo” has now lost all meaning to me after looking at so many instances of the word itself. The wikipedia article says: > [@](#): > > There is nothing special about eight “buffalos”; indeed, a sentence with “buffalo” repeated any number of times is grammatically correct (according to Chomskyan theories of grammar). so my example will be: Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo. (100 buffaloes) I will let someone else explain what the sentence means. And some of those buffaloes need to be capitalized to mean the city of Buffalo, NY. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/42 "2012-01-30T20:17:31Z")
The The The single “[Infected](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0eS-Nx6Ks)” is a classic track from the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/43 "2012-01-30T20:22:53Z")
I did once read a triple “had” in a book that appeared grammatically acceptable. It went something like, “He’d had little experience with this phenomenon, and what experience he had had had been forgettable.” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/44 "2012-01-30T20:26:16Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > The only ones that are really like “that that” so far are “had had” and “do do”. Your chances of finding another are only so-so. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/45 "2012-01-30T20:27:26Z")
> [@PacifistPorcupine](#): > > Badger badger badger badger? > [@DaveBfd](#): > > mushroom mushroom Just becase these two posts deserved to be quoted together… ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/46 "2012-01-30T20:32:16Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Just becase these two posts deserved to be quoted together… A snaaaaake!!! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/47 "2012-01-30T20:33:24Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > Biology books are filled to the brim with that kind of thing, albeit in Latin. _Vulpes vulpes_, _Alces alces_, _Axis axis_, _Dama dama_…Well, you get the picture. Not to mention _Gorilla gorilla gorilla_ ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/48 "2012-01-30T20:35:12Z")
She’s not very pretty, but she’s pretty pretty. There’s no there there. I’d prefer it in a glass glass please. ---
**Author:** ![spikebrennan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@spikebrennan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spikebrennan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/49 "2012-01-30T20:45:59Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > There’s the Spanish 101 “¿Como como? Como como como.” > > (“How do I eat? I eat like I eat.” Which is not exactly _likely_ to be said, but at least plausible, which is more than I can say for the Buffalo ^ n sentences) And in Chinese, there’s the magnificent > **[Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_Den)** > > "Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den" is a short narrative poem written in Literary Chinese, composed of around 92 to 94 characters (depending on the specific version) in which every word is pronounced shi (\[ʂɻ̩\]) when read in modern Standard Chinese, with only the tones differing. > The poem was written in the 1930s by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao as a linguistic demonstration. The poem is coherent and grammatical in Literary Chinese, but due to the number of Chinese homophones, it becomes d... « Shī Shì shí shī shǐ » Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī. Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī. Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì. Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì. Shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shìshì. Shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shíshì. Shíshì shī, Shì shǐ shì shì shíshì. Shíshì shì, Shì shǐ shì shí shì shí shī. Shí shí, shǐ shí shì shí shī, shí shí shí shī shī. Shì shì shì shì. Which means: « Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den » In a stone den was a poet called Shi, who was a lion addict, and had resolved to eat ten lions. He often went to the market to look for lions. At ten o’clock, ten lions had just arrived at the market. At that time, Shi had just arrived at the market. He saw those ten lions, and using his trusty arrows, caused the ten lions to die. He brought the corpses of the ten lions to the stone den. The stone den was damp. He asked his servants to wipe it. After the stone den was wiped, he tried to eat those ten lions. When he ate, he realized that these ten lions were in fact ten stone lion corpses. Try to explain this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/50 "2012-01-30T20:51:43Z")
“Did you kiss?” “Yeah we kissed, but we didn’t KISS kiss.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/51 "2012-01-30T20:52:45Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > She’s not very pretty, but she’s pretty pretty. There’s a way of doubling adjectives that can make it work the other way. “She’s pretty, but she’s not _pretty_ pretty, you know?” ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/52 "2012-01-30T20:55:03Z")
Coincidentally, this just happened to me on the phone. I was talking to UPS about I package I have to pick up at their facility tonight: “You’re open until 7:00pm tonight, correct?” “Yes we are, and your package should be here around 6:45pm.” “Okay, I’ll be there around then then.” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/53 "2012-01-30T20:56:15Z")
There are many dialects of French - Canadian, Swiss, Caribbean, etc. And then, of course, there’s French French. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/54 "2012-01-30T20:59:59Z")
There’s a local Portland band I like called [And And And](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s72XCxC5AO4); I’ve seen them live thrice. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/55 "2012-01-30T21:00:40Z")
She certainly can can-can. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/56 "2012-01-30T21:04:26Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > There’s a local Portland band I like called [And And And](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s72XCxC5AO4); I’ve seen them live thrice. Ha! They swiped that from a joke in Roddy Doyle’s _Commitments_. Before they joined the Commitments, a couple of the guys were in a band called And And And, and they were contemplating whether to put an exclamation point after the second “and.” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/57 "2012-01-30T21:04:47Z")
Worry about tomorrow tomorrow; worry about today today. The rifle shot bullets; the shotgun shot shot. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/58 "2012-01-30T21:06:31Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > > [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](#): > > > > “James, while John had had “had,” had had “had had”; “had had” had had a better effect on the teacher.” > > I too was going to suggest “had had”. > > But not, “had had had had had had had had had had had” > > Bravo. **brewha** , while **Ambihelical Hexnut** had had “had had had had had had had had had had had”, had had “had had”; “had had had had had had had had had had had” made her say “bravo”. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/59 "2012-01-30T21:16:23Z")
In my neighborhood, instead of ice cream trucks, we have Man-wich vans. (Man-wiches are a brand of Sloppy Joe’s) Oddly, we often have several competing Man-wich vans arrive at the same time. What is even more strange, is all the men who drive the vans are dressed up as witches! When I hear their bells ringing and am in the mood for a Man-wich, I step outside, and am forced to ask myself, "Man, which man-witch Man-wich man which man’s _which_ man-witch Man-wich van? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212/60 "2012-01-30T21:22:21Z")
A reporter asked a question of race car driver [Boris Said](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Said), and wanted him to clarify his answer. “That’s what I said,” said Said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apart-from-that-that-are-there-other-words-that-ever-make-sense-repeated/611212.md?page=4)