grammar: the "had" conundrum

Factual Questions
1

I don’t know how to phrase the search query for this, so if the answer is hidden in the meltdown archives I apologise.

So, once upon a time I read a sentence with innumerable
consecutive "had"s and, now, I have no idea what the sentence was, or the maximum number of hads.

Calling all English teachers! Help! Else, I shall go nucking futs.

2

Google gives me 1440 hits

3

Type this into Google: “had had had”. Be sure to use quotation marks.

4

John while Jill had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher.

5

yeh, I shoulda done the obvious and googled " had had had "
instead of my clumsy phraseology.

thanks

6

I used to give this as a sort of bonus question to my students (they had to punctuate it correctly). Surprisingly, every time I did, someone got it correct.

7

flano1,

Here’s another sentence that plays on the same sort of ambiguity:

buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.

It doesn’t so much need punctuation as much as proper capitalisation.

8

How on earth does the buffalo thing work?

9

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo. (That’s with 9.)

10

Ah. Since I have never heard “buffalo” used to mean baffle, this explains why I was buffaloed.

11

[tangent]In discussing the complexity of nesting, I was once given this sentence:

The salesman the woman the shoe fit hit quit.

No punctuation necessary.
[/tangent]