Punctuation challenge

[XerXesXu]

Only one solution was given when the item first appeared.

So what?
Is your question, 'Can you remember what, I think I read, many years ago?'

 

[12oclocktales]

So what?
Is your question, 'Can you remember what, I think I read, many years ago?'

What question? I don't remember even asking a question. And I'm not "remembering" anything; I'm looking right at it where it first appeared.

 

[12oclocktales]

The warden is yelling final Lights Out now, so I have to quit being on here. Can’t risk getting caught or they won’t let me attend Friday night movies tomorrow; they’re showing Public Enemy with Jimmy Cagney, one of my favorites. I’ll post the solution tomorrow at around 11 am EDT, if I don’t get killed.

 

[XerXesXu]

What question? I don't remember even asking a question. And I'm not "remembering" anything; I'm looking right at it where it first appeared.

Your OP:

‘Seeing there are quite a few grammar threads on this forum, I thought the following might be of some interest. I believe it first appeared in an early Ripley’s Believe It or Not newspaper column.

Punctuate the following sentence:

That that is is that that is not is not but that that is not is not that that is nor is that that is that that is not.


Punctuate it correctly and it will make sense. Don’t add or subtract words and don’t change the order.
I have a feeling this will be a piece of cake for some of you language buffs out there.
I’ll stick around for a bit and use the Quote-Reply mechanism to announce the first correct response.'

So, you don't think you asked a question? Maybe you have a comprehension, or a memory problem.

Perhaps that why you're asking us to read your mind - 'Can anyone guess what I'm looking at now?'

You don't know how many solutions there are because you're not interested in punctuation beyond that which you're reading off something in front of you. You babble about e.e.cummings; who is he? Why is he relevant?

You strike me as a timewaster. Feel free to waste your own time, but don't waste other peoples, you'll lose friends quickly.

 

[12oclocktales]

Here is the solution, how the sentence was punctuated:

That, that is, is; that, that is not, is not; but that, that is not, is not that that is; nor is that, that is, that that is not.


Some may take issue with this solution, may cite rules changes since this appeared (which was prior to 1929), that make other solutions possible, and that’s fine. This was supposed to be a fun thing, not a declaration of war. Certainly the punctuation is vital for the sentence making sense. However you propose to punctuate it, that needs to be maintained. Along these lines:

One person to another: “You do understand the importance of punctuation, don’t you?”
Reply: “Of course! Have you ever known me to be late?”

 

[alohadave]

Sorry, didn't mean to cause pain. Quotes aren't necessary, by the way.

They certainly help.

 

[Altissimus]

Here is the solution, how the sentence was punctuated:

That, that is, is; that, that is not, is not; but that, that is not, is not that that is; nor is that, that is, that that is not.


Some may take issue with this solution, may cite rules changes since this appeared (which was prior to 1929), that make other solutions possible, and that’s fine. This was supposed to be a fun thing, not a declaration of war. Certainly the punctuation is vital for the sentence making sense. However you propose to punctuate it, that needs to be maintained. Along these lines:

One person to another: “You do understand the importance of punctuation, don’t you?”
Reply: “Of course! Have you ever known me to be late?”

Nice.

Ok, your turn:

Paul where Bill had had had had had had had had had had had the examiner's approval.

 

[Altissimus]

You strike me as a timewaster. Feel free to waste your own time, but don't waste other peoples, you'll lose friends quickly.

Wise words indeed. How we learn from personal experience, eh? Good to share what you know with others.

 

[12oclocktales]

Nice.

Ok, your turn:

Paul where Bill had had had had had had had had had had had the examiner's approval.

I've seen something similar to this that used the word 'that' 7 times in a row, but not 'had' so many times. With the 'that' example there was a comma after the first one and no other punctuation afterwards. Maybe it's something similar here.

 

[XerXesXu]

Here is the solution, how the sentence was punctuated:

That, that is, is; that, that is not, is not; but that, that is not, is not that that is; nor is that, that is, that that is not.

What does it mean?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Nothing, nada, zilch, rien, nic, nimic, or nanimonai.

What does it mean?

 

[XerXesXu]

Nothing, nada, zilch, rien, nic, nimic, or nanimonai.

You lost me after rien.

 

[MillieDynamite]

They are nic Polish, nimic Romanian, nanimonai Japanize, for nothing.

You lost me after rien.

 

[12oclocktales]

What does it mean?

Like a joke, if you’ve got to explain it, it means it was either a bad joke or it’s saying something about the person needing the explanation. You decide.

Even less seriously, I imagine it was somebody with a lot of time on their hands (it was around the time of the Depression, remember) who said, “Let me think of some outrageous tongue-twisty-ish string of words that looks impossible to punctuate, and I’ll send it to Ripley and if he uses it in his cartoon he’ll send me two bucks and I can buy the wife and kiddies a few Christmas presents.” Or something like that.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Paul where Bill had had had had had had had had had had had the examiner's approval.

I was waiting for this one to come up.

Paul, where Bill had had 'had', had had 'had had': 'had had' had had the examiner's approval.

Something like that. The colon could also be a semicolon or even a full dash. It was a puzzle on the board in ninth grade.

 

[XerXesXu]

Like a joke, if you’ve got to explain it, it means it was either a bad joke or it’s saying something about the person needing the explanation. You decide.

It was a bad joke. The person needing the explanation didn't understand you were cracking a joke because you posted it as a grammar thread - ‘Seeing there are quite a few grammar threads on this forum, I thought the following might be of some interest.'

The person seeing twelve 'that's in the sentence and knowing that there are five or six homonyms of that, each representing a different part of speech, assumed the problem was to punctuate the sentence to illustrate the different parts of speech 'that' can perform. Why does 'but' appear? why does 'nor' appear? Do they have a material function?

After receiving responses you reveal that you didn't mean to ask a general grammar question, you meant to ask if anyone could guess the punctuation of the sentence you were looking at, which contained three colons and eight commas.

You then reveal that what you're looking at doesn't illustrate anything other than how to introduce redundancy into a sentence. Everything after the second 'not' is redundant. 'But' and 'nor' are doubly redundant, they're redundant in the redundant part of the sentence. The punctuation is also idiosyncratic. The semi-colons could usefully be replaced with full stops.

That sentence means, 'That, that is, is. That, that is not, is not.' The rest is redundant.

I've decided. The advice, that a writer should engage the brain before he engages the keyboard, is good advice.

 

[Britva415]

It was a bad joke.

Lol, it wasn't a joke at all. It was like a joke (good, bad or otherwise) in that if it has to be explained then it's ruined.

 

[XerXesXu]

Lol, it wasn't a joke at all. It was like a joke (good, bad or otherwise) in that if it has to be explained then it's ruined.

He says it was a bad joke - ' it was either a bad joke or it’s saying something about the person needing the explanation.' I'll take his word for it.