Style Invitational Week 1157: Clue us in — a backward crossword We give you the solution, you write the clues. Plus the winners of our paired-abbrevs. contest. Give us up to 25 creative clues for the words in this grid by The Post’s new Sunday crossword guy. (GRID BY EVAN BIRNHOLZ AT DEVILCROSS.COM ) By Pat Myers January 7 (Click here to skip down <#report> to the winners of Week 1153, to compare pairs of things that have the same 3-letter abbreviation) *BAR: Meeting hall for rabbis, priests and imams ESSEX: He won’t accept that Esther’s no longer into him* **Once again, it’s our backward-crossword challenge. But for the first time, we’re using a filled-in grid by Evan Birnholz , the brand-new constructor of The Post’s Sunday crossword , replacing the late Merl Reagle . This one, though, is from Evan’s own website, Devil Cross, on which there are dozens of free puzzles he created. *This week: Supply clever, funny clues to up to 25 of the words and multi-word terms in Evan’s grid,* as in the examples above. Yes, the grid has no numbers — we don’t need them; just list each word along with your clue (if it’s a multi-word or hyphenated term, please list it as one word anyway, so the Empress can search for all the entries with, say, SOISEE). The clues should be brief, but they need not be as short as for a real crossword. (Note: This is an American-style crossword, not the British type in which the clue contains an anagram of the desired word.) Of course, Evan’s own clues are often clever as well; for FARMS he has “Places where there is real growth potential.” See devilcross.com/2014/03 for the real clues. This week’s second prize: If you’re not assigned a yes-man at work, this nodding, fanning solar Buddha is your perfect desk accessory. (Brady Holt) Winner gets the Inkin’ Memorial , the Lincoln statue bobblehead that is the official Style Invitational trophy. Second place receives a fabulous piece in our series of Solar-Powered Kitsch: It’s a Buddha — brought back from Spain by Losers Roy and Inge Ashley — who nods and fans himself vigorously under the slightest sunshine or fluorescent light. *Other runners-up* win their choice of a yearned-for Loser Mug, the older-model “This Is Your Brain on Mugs” mug or the ardently desired “Whole Fools” Grossery Bag. Honorable mentions get one of our brand-new Loser magnets, “Magnet Dum Laude” or “Falling Jest Short.” First Offenders receive a smelly tree-shaped air “freshener” (FirStink for their first ink). Email entries to /losers@washpost.com /. Deadline is Monday night, Jan. 18; results published Feb. 7 (online Feb. 4). You may submit up to 25 entries per contest. Include “Week 1157” in your email subject line or it might be ignored as spam. Include your real name, postal address and phone number with your entry. See contest rules and guidelines at wapo.st/InvRules . The headline for this week’s results is by Kevin Dopart; the honorable-mentions subhead is by Danielle Nowlin. Join the lively Style Invitational Devotees group on Facebook at /on.fb.me/invdev ./ “Like” the Style Invitational Ink of the Day on Facebook at /bit.ly/inkofday; / follow @StyleInvite on Twitter. *The Style Conversational: * The Empress’s weekly online column discusses each new contest and set of results. Especially if you plan to enter, check it out at wapo.st/styleconv . And the results of the Style Invitational contest that was posted four weeks ago . . . No JOK, no INK: Report from Week 1153: Week 1153 was the third installment in our recurring contest in which we asked you to find two or more entities that have the same three-letter abbreviation — this time it had to be between IAA and LZZ — and compare or otherwise link them. The linking part proved a daunting challenge; even some of today’s inking entries tread that fine line between Ingeniously Clever and Ridiculously Tortured. 4th place: *LBO:* If you Google “bowling pin” you could expect a link to the *Ladies Bowling Organization,* but you might not expect a link to *large bowel obstruction.* (Jeff Shirley, Richmond, Va.) 3rd place: *JLO: Joint logistics operations *and *Jennifer Lopez: *They both know how to move their assets around impressively. (Jeff Contompasis, Ashburn, Va.) 2nd place and the LP record of Spiro Agnew’s speeches: *Indoor residual spraying *has to do with bloodsucking insects . . . Oops, I can’t think of any connection with any other*IRS.* (Jon Gearhart, Des Moines) And the winner of the Inkin’ Memorial: *JAH:* Article in the *Journal of Aboriginal Health: *“Throwing Boomerangs in the Outback.” Article in the *Journal of Aging and Health: *“Boomer Angst: Throwing Your Back Out.” (Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.) Triply im-paired: honorable mentions If you engage in an *initial public offering* you may end up selling a share, but if you engage in *impersonating a police officer* you may end up sharing a cell. (Jeff Contompasis) *International Cheer Union* or *Intensive Care Unit:* If you’re a curmudgeon like me, it’s a hard call which would be worse to visit. (Warren Tanabe, Annapolis, Md.) If the *Israel Airports Authority *and*Internet Alcoholics Anonymous *joined forces, they could call themselves El Al-Anon. (Chris Doyle) *International Association of Ministries *and *interest at maturity: * Both promise a big payout when the end comes. (George-Ann Rosenberg, Washington) *The Iowa Caucus Process* x this year’s candidates = *Insane Clown Posse* (Jon Gearhart; Kevin Dopart, Washington) ** *The International Police Association*, the*International Psychoanalytical Association* and the*International Phonetic Alphabet* all have their ways of getting you to talk. (As might*India Pale Ale.*) (Kristen Rahman, Silver Spring, Md.) The*least significant digit *adds nothing truly perceptible, whereas *lysergic acid diethylamide *makes everything truly perceptible. Truly, truly perceptible. (Jeff Contompasis) *Indoor air quality* and *infrequently asked questions:* “Do you mind if I fart?” (Mark Raffman, Reston, Va.) The aim of the*Inflatable Boat Association* is to keep people out of the drink. Unlike the *International Bartenders Association.* (George-Ann Rosenberg) **If those in the *International Cablemakers Federation* don’t do their job well, the *International Cremation Federation *will help pick up the pieces. (Rob Huffman, Fredericksburg, Va.) Curiously, it hasn’t occurred to either the*Journal of Applied Physics* and the *Journal of Applied Physiology* to seek advertising from Prada or Louis Vuitton. (Mark Raffman) The *Journal for the Study of Religion *and the *Journal of Sex Research:* People who say “Oh God!” figure prominently in both. (Mark Raffman) The president whom *John Wilkes Booth *removed was succeeded by A. Johnson, while the wife of *John Wayne Bobbitt* succeeded in removing a johnson. (Jesse Frankovich, Lansing, Mich.) The*International Criminal Court *deals with a wide range of crimes, while Maryland’s *Intercounty Connector* limits itself to highway robbery. (Jeff Contompasis) *LON:* *Longitude* and *Launch on Need:* Two things promised by ED drugs. (Frank Osen, Pasadena, Calif.) *Letter of recommendation* and *letter of reprimand:* “Certainly, Smathers, I’ll be delighted to write you a heartfelt LOR.” (Frank Osen) *Labor and delivery rooms* and *long-distance relationships:* Stick with the latter to avoid the former. (Duncan Stevens, Vienna, Va.; Roy Ashley, Washington) The *International Academy of Architecture* and the *International Advertising Association:* Both depend on well-built models. (Lawrence McGuire, Waldorf, Md.) The *Kentucky Psychological Association* used to give discounts to the *Kinship Parents Association* but was overwhelmed by the number of requests. (Barbara Turner, Takoma Park, Md.) *Still running — deadline Monday night, Jan. 11: our obit poem contest to commemorate people who died in 2015. See bit.ly/invite1156 . *