jaw@ames.UUCP (James A. Woods) (09/09/84)
# CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING -- world's most printed sentence
Some years ago, the Ortho company coined the triply-ambiguous slogan
"Our Concern is Growing"
The multiple parsing, in itself, is not unusual, but has that rare quality
of appositeness in each of its meanings. The standard "time flies like
an arrow" may be more limber syntactically, but I challenge y'all to come
up with another triple (or higher degree) ambiguity which makes sense in
a specific, natural, context.
-- James A. Woods {hplabs,hao,philabs}!ames!jaw (jaw@riacs.ARPA)benson@dcdwest.UUCP (09/10/84)
My syntax professor, Ronald Langacker, maintained that "I had a book stolen" was FIVE ways ambiguous. I can get three readings easily. 1) I caused it to happen that a book was stolen. 2) I was robbed of a book. 3) I possessed a book which was stolen. If others can produce the fourth and fifth readings, I would be interested. -- _ Peter Benson | ITT Defense Communications Division (619)578-3080 | 10060 Carroll Canyon Road decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson | San Diego, CA 92131 ucbvax!sdcsvax!dcdwest!benson |
steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) (09/11/84)
*** John Grinder came up with: He made the robot fast. Which, I think, is 5 ways ambigious, though I can easily spot 3. -- "When the going gets weird, the weird get going." Don Steiny - Personetics @ (408) 425-0382 109 Torrey Pine Terr. Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060 ihnp4!pesnta -\ fortune!idsvax -> scc!steiny ucbvax!twg -/
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (09/14/84)
How about you were pregnant and much to your Obstetricians suprise you had a book. -Ron
toby@fritz.UUCP (Toby Gottfried) (09/16/84)
The following variation on "He made the robot fast" has
at least 6 interpretations:
"He made her fast"
1. He forced her to not eat for a while.
2. She was not eating and he managed to get there.
3. When he got there, he made it a success.
4. He was a track coach and improved her speed.
and, slightly stretching, or going to the vernacular:
5. He nailed her down (as in "held fast").
6. They had sex quickly.
--
Toby Gottfried
FileNet Corp., Costa Mesa, CA
{ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!felix!tobywmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (09/18/84)
> "I had a book stolen" ---->
(You have to hang around German bakeries to know this one)
"I had a stolen (a long pastry item, available with various toppings)
made of books"
Will Martin
(one of the South Side Dutch in St. Louis)scw@cepu.UUCP (09/19/84)
In article <1244@ucla-cs.ARPA> David Smallberg <das@ucla-cs.ARPA> <das> writes: > > >The following variation on "He made the robot fast" has > >at least 6 interpretations: > > "He made her fast" > > 1. He forced her to not eat for a while. > > 2. She was not eating and he managed to get there. > > 3. When he got there, he made it a success. > > 4. He was a track coach and improved her speed. > > 5. He nailed her down (as in "held fast"). > > 6. They had sex quickly. > > Toby Gottfried > >#6 has two meanings (both in the original and the paraphrase): > 6a. They duration of their coupling was short. > 6b. They had sex very early on in their relationship. >(Sorry about the awkwardness of these paraphrases -- it's hard to disambiguate >"quickly" (the action itself was quick vs. the time up to the action was >short).) > >-- David Smallberg, das@ucla-cs.ARPA, {ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!das Then there's: 7. He made a robot that liked to got to parties, and have sex. (As in "a fast woman"), [I wonder why "a fast man" in this context is null?]. -- Stephen C. Woods (VA Wadsworth Med Ctr./UCLA Dept. of Neurology) uucp: { {ihnp4, uiucdcs}!bradley, hao, trwrb, sdcrdcf}!cepu!scw ARPA: cepu!scw@ucla-cs location: N 34 3' 9.1" W 118 27' 4.3"
hav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) (09/21/84)
<*munch*>
=>My syntax professor, Ronald Langacker, maintained that
=>
=> "I had a book stolen"
=>
=>was FIVE ways ambiguous. I can get three readings easily.
=>
=> 1) I caused it to happen that a book was stolen.
=> 2) I was robbed of a book.
=> 3) I possessed a book which was stolen.
=>
=>If others can produce the fourth and fifth readings, I would
=>be interested.
=>
=>--
=> _
=>Peter Benson | ITT Defense Communications Division
=>(619)578-3080 | 10060 Carroll Canyon Road
=>decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson | San Diego, CA 92131
=>ucbvax!sdcsvax!dcdwest!benson |
=>
How about:
4) I possessed a book, and *Stolen* was its name.
5) ?????
Helen Anne Vigneau
Dual Systems Corporationmarcus@pyuxt.UUCP (M. G. Hand) (09/25/84)
In your explanations of "He made her fast." you missed the obvious one: 7. He manufactured her in a short space of time; and perhaps, 8. He travelled towards her and got there quickly. (as in "I made the bank before it closed.") Marcus Hand
hayes@westcsr.UUCP (Sean Hayes) (10/15/84)
I dont remember where this discussion started, but my favourite ambiguous phrase is: "Which Indians rose" 1/ Which of the Indians (red/west/east) stood up, 2/ " " " " " fought in the uprising, 3/ Show me the Indian that owns the rose (flower,wine,watering can), 4/ Which Indian is a delicate shade of pink, 5/ Which particular rose belonging to the Indian do you mean, 6/ [The country in] which Indians rose. 7/ [The flag ] which Indians rose. There may be others. Sean