seemly nonsense strings (with bonus "preadolescent tortures")

[John Moriarty]

Baker, John wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Re: seemly nonsense strings
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>         Mary where John had had had had had had had had had had been
> correct
>
> John Baker
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Barnhart
> Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:02 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: seemly nonsense strings
>
>  I am teaching a unit on commas (although some of the students are
> comatose).
>
> Somewhere in the recent past I was given the following as an exercise in
> punctuation.
>
> that that is is that that is not is not is that it it is
>
> Are there others like this to give to the little darlings?
>
> Regards,
> David
>
> [ mailto:barnhart at highlands.com ]barnhart at highlands.com
>
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I've seen this one as "[Mary] where [John] had had had had had had had
had had had had a better effect on the teacher", before.

Also, when I was in school (In the '80s, whippersnapper that I am), we
always called the game where one person held their hands palm-down over
someone with their palms up simply "Slaps".  It was played with the
person below trying to come up from underneath and slap the other's
hands before they were able to pull away, either rotating at the wrist
and slapping the "same" hand, or by coming across for the opposite
hand.  A successful dodge swapped places, but a successful slap kept the
status quo.  Also, to discourage the top-man from pulling away
skittishly at any sign of an attempted slap, if the person on the bottom
could feint the other into breaking contact between the hands themselves
3 times without an actual attempted slap, I believe they got to exact
the two-fingers wrist slap punishment on the slap-ee.  It's a shame that
this portion was the longer-winded of the two contributions I wanted to
make, I suppose.

I haven't been a member of the list very long at all, and was taken
quite aback at the volume that this mailing list generates.

back to lurking for now,
John M

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