What does this sentence mean? For me, it's more like "He is capable of opening a can," but according to some, it's not that simple. What does it exactly mean?
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interesting sentence. voteUP ! – genesis Jun 20 '11 at 12:37
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11A canner, exceedingly canny/ One morning remarked to his granny/ "A canner can can/Anything that he can/ But a canner can't can a can, can he?" – Tim Lymington Jun 20 '11 at 12:45
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3"Can" could also be the first name for a Turk, (properly pronounced like "John"), which could make this a real question: "Can Can can a can?" – Caleb Jun 20 '11 at 12:49
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This is making me feel like doing a Can-Can – Thursagen Jun 20 '11 at 12:52
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1See also Awkward sounding but grammatically correct sentences? – Jun 20 '11 at 12:58
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1Can you can a can in a can to can a can in a can to Can? – JiminP Jun 20 '11 at 13:10
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7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo – Alan Krueger Jun 20 '11 at 16:03
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Heh, can can can a can. Pretty impressive. ;o) Too bad I can't upvote this. – chuacw Apr 03 '12 at 05:12
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This would be much more impressive if the sentence were “Can a can-can can can a canna can?” It fact, I dare say it may even lend itself to song: the song rhythm should of course be ♫ ♩♩♩ ♫ ♫ ♩ since you want the stressed words to be long and the unstressed ones short. – tchrist May 31 '14 at 14:08
5 Answers
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Nice sentence playing with words!
The first "can" means "able to", or "He is able to can a can."
The second "can" is defined:
Slang . to throw (something) away.
The third "can" refers a container for storing food, rubbish, etc.
So, the sentence can be explained:
He is able to throw away a container.
All, substituted with the word "can" for a humorous effect.
Thursagen
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12I think it depends on whether you're using American English or British English. British English speakers rarely use "can" to signify "throw out". If this is a British English sentence, I would suggest the meaning "to put in a can". – TrojanName Jun 20 '11 at 13:09
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6Surely it can also mean "to put something in a can", which is what is done at factories? So the sentence means "He is able to put a can in a can" – Carlos Jun 20 '11 at 15:57
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In American English, the second "can" could mean either "place in a can", or "throw away", based on context. – John Jun 20 '11 at 18:55
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... because "Trash Can" is "Rubbish Bin" in British English. In BE, it would be He can bin a can. – Lee Kowalkowski Jun 21 '11 at 08:10
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Teensy additional, it might just be me and my context (Australian english), but I've also found 'can' being used as shorthand for 'cancel' - e.g: "let's can the meeting now, we're all in need of coffee", or "I'm going to can this process". Same base conceptual root as 'to throw out' mind you - the essence of terminating something. It's not hugely relevant to the sentence, but seeing as we're kicking around the various meanings of can.. – tanantish Apr 21 '12 at 21:38
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"He can can a can" means:
He can [is able to] can [place into a can or jar for storage or preservation] a can [a usually metal cylindrical container].
Robusto
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1I think the second can is not referring to "canning". I think it is what @Unreason defined it, "to throw away". – Thursagen Jun 20 '11 at 13:03
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@Trifle: It's one possible explanation. Also it can mean throw something away or fire someone or score a basket in basketball. Probably others as well. – Robusto Jun 20 '11 at 13:05
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Free dictionary gives some slang definitions of can. Among them are
4.can - the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on; "he deserves a good kick in the butt"; "are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?"
5.can - a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination
Please derive the "not so simple" meaning of the title phrase yourself. Oh yeah, first "can" is really an "is able" version.
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A: Hello, what do you have here?
B: A can.
A: Pretty nice can you have.
B: Yeah...
A: And what is inside the can?
B: A can.
A: There is a can inside the can?
B: Yeah...
A: Sounds quite stupid to me. Who would can a can?
B: A can.
A: You mean... Some can canned a can inside the can?
B: Yeah...
A: I don't get it. How can can can...errr...
B: A can.
A: Yeah... Can can can a can?
B: Yeah...
Kostya
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