The Style Inviational Week 857 All FED up
Saturday, February 20, 2010; C02
As this week's results
demonstrate yet again, the Losers' gushing font of neologism seems never to run
dry. So let's turn that contest on its head.
This week: Create a brand-new
word or phrase that contains a block of three successive letters in the
alphabet -- but the series must go backward through the alphabet. The three
letters may stretch across a hyphen or two words.
Winner gets the Inker, the
official Style Invitational trophy. Second place gets -- only if the Loser
really would like it, because we want to see it go to a loving home -- this
diorama depicting "Sweeney Todd," with actual Peeps marshmallow
bunnies as the human characters (including the meat pie material). An
honorable-mention winner in last year's Washington Post Peeps diorama contest,
"The Demon Barber of Peep Street" was created and donated by Losers
Craig Dykstra and Lois Douthitt. We're not going to risk mailing it (but could
drive it to you), so if you're not in the D.C. area, or you'd rather not gaze
repeatedly upon this cubic-foot-or-so sculpture, we'll send you a mug or
T-shirt instead.
Other runners-up win their
choice of a coveted Style Invitational Loser T-shirt or yearned-for Loser Mug.
Honorable Mentions get one of the lusted-after Style Invitational Loser
Magnets. First Offenders get a smelly tree-shaped air "freshener"
(Fir Stink for their First Ink). One prize per entrant per week. Send your
entries by e-mail to losers@washpost.com or by fax to 202-334-4312. Deadline is
Monday, March 1. Put "Week 857" in the subject line of your e-mail,
or it risks being ignored as spam. Include your name, postal address and phone
number with your entry. Contests are judged on the basis of humor and
originality. All entries become the property of The Washington Post. Entries
may be edited for taste or content. Results will be published March 20. No
purchase required for entry. Employees of The Washington Post, and their
immediate relatives, are not eligible for prizes. Pseudonymous entries will be
disqualified. The revised title for next week's results and this week's
honorable-mentions subhead are both by Jeff Contompasis.
Report from Week 853, in which we asked you to create new words or terms that contain a
block of three successive letters of the alphabet (going forward):
The winner of the Inker
Coughin: A small enclosure
designed especially for smokers. (John Glenn, Tyler, Tex.)
2. the winner of the little
solar-powered "dancing cactus": Mno: The kind of response that makes
you want to ask her again. (Edmund Conti, Raleigh)
3. Noplow: The District's
snow emergency plan. (Jack Clark, Westfield, N.J., a First Offender)
4. Geode-face: Someone whose
beauty is "sparkling inside." (Craig Dykstra, Centreville)
Tri again:
Honorable mentions
Abcadaver: The woman who
really did get sawed in half in the magic act. (Larry Yungk, Arlington)
Afghanistunned: Simply amazed
that a country the British Empire and Soviet Union couldn't conquer might put
up a tough fight. (Russell Beland, Fairfax)
Bat-uvula: A weird glob of
something that hangs from your ceiling. (Stephen Dudzik, Olney)
Beef galosh: Really tough
steak. (Beverley Sharp, Washington)
Blooperstown: Where Bill
Buckner's headed. (Mae Scanlan, Washington)
Cudgelmnemonics: The
old-school practice of hitting the kid until he got it right. (Peter Metrinko,
Gainesville)
Defeast: Barf. (Kevin Dopart,
Washington)
Defecrate: A porta-potty.
(Howard Walderman, Columbia)
Deficits pending:
The fate of a public that wants lower taxes and higher government benefits.
(Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.)
Deflawyered: Screwed by one's
attorney. (Jan Brandstetter, Mechanicsville, Md.)
Mnomonic: A device that helps
you forget. (Willard Goodman, Bethesda; Cathy Lamaze, North Potomac, both First
Offenders; Kyle Hendrickson, Frederick)
Flabcake: Beefcake after a
number of years and a number of beers. (Steve Glomb, Alexandria, a First
Offender)
Flabcoitus: When two heavy
people make love, it's like having their own built-in waterbed. (Peter
Metrinko)
Franklindelanophobia:
The fear of fear itself. (Chris Doyle)
Gandhi jacket: A loincloth.
(Kevin Dopart)
Gopquiz: A test in which the
answer to every question is "No." (Brian Baker, Washington)
GPStupido: Someone who
blindly trusts technology to the point of following the direction to "turn
left and proceed" in the middle of the Wilson Bridge. (Craig Dykstra)
Granophone: Last year's
Nokia. (David Kleinbard, Jersey City)
Guanopolis: Rhymes-with-city
city. (Kevin Dopart)
Hearstay: Unsubstantiated
gossip that lives forever on the Internet. (Barbara Turner, Takoma Park)
Hijerk: A terrorist who tries
to take over an airplane by threatening to blow his pants off. (Jim Noble,
Lexington Park)
Hog Hillel: A barbecue joint
that never got any customers. (Kevin Dopart)
Hymnosis: The method
televangelists use to encourage people to part with their money. (Dion Black,
Washington)
Laughingstick: An
embarrassingly small member. (Tom Witte, Montgomery Village)
Limbaughing: Seeing how low
you can go. (Erik Wennstrom, Bloomington, Ind.)
Luvwoo: Kissy-talk that
causes others to vomit. (Kyle Hendrickson)
Noplanetarium: The new Pluto
Museum. (Judith Cottrill, New York)
Ohnophile: Someone obsessed
with gloom and doom. (Dave Prevar, Annapolis)
Popquest: A visit to the
sperm bank. (George Smith, Frederick)
Prenope: An agreement to
abstain until the wedding night. (Lois Douthitt, Arlington)
Omnoxious: Managing to annoy
everyone. (Tracy Griggs, Reston, a First Offender)
Rotwurst: Roadkill. (Tom
Witte)
Sexyzygote: The one that wins
the race. (Laura Miller, Gainesville)
Side-fry: Illegitimate
children. (Tom Witte)
Snide-flushing: Repeatedly
running the toilet in the stall next to the guy on the cellphone. (Kevin Dopart)
Stud pharm: The Viagra
factory. (Craig Dykstra)
Stupa dupa: A really good
Buddhist. (Robert J. Inlow, Charlottesville, a First Offender)
Xenophib: Spiteful lie told
to tourists (e.g., "You'll want to take the Metro Green Line to Georgetown
. . ."). (Randy Lee, Burke)
Zaideflora: The thick growth
that sprouts out of old men's ears. (Michelle Stupak, Ellicott City)
And Last:
FirStank: Why you didn't win a tree-shaped air freshener. (Ellen Raphaeli,
Falls Church)
Next week: What's not to liken? or Parallel lines