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PERMANENT INKSTAIN FOR BILL SPENCER



WEEK TITLE SYNOPSIS INK Types
1367 Pick me up at work, okay? Give a pickup line from someone in a particular profession, or from a particular person or fictional character. H
1360 The lyin' in winter: Seasonal fictoids Give us some untrue trivia about winter or things that occur in winter. H
1355 The inside word Highlight part of a word, name or short phrase in "air quotes" to give the word a new meaning or description. H
1354 As the Word turns 5: Taking our vowels Discover" a word or multiword term that consists of adjacent letters -- in any direction or several directions -- in the provided grid, and provide a humorous definition. H
1329 Shakespeare + Thee: Tailgaters Select any line from a work by Shakespeare (poetry or prose) and pair it with your own line to create a humorous rhyming couplet. H
1323 Selected shortened subjects Delete one or more letters from the beginning or end (or both) of a movie title and describe the resulting movie. H
1300 Botch office sensations Add "13" to an existing movie title, and some humorous trouble to the plot. H
1288 Your results may vary Write a funny disclaimer or warning for some product or service. I H
1286 Mind your P's and B's (and more) Replace one or more P's in a word, name, or multi-word term with a B or with another letter and define or describe the results. H
1268 Playing pinocchio Tell us some humorously bogus trivia about the news media or the publishing or broadcasting industries. H
1253 Fashion x fiction: More fake trivia Tell us some totally bogus trivia about clothing or fashion. H
1202 Don't be afraid of the dark Write lyrics to a song that, in some way, express hope. H
866 Natalie Portmanteau Begin with a real name; append to it a word, name or expression so that they overlap; and finally define (humorously, of course) the resulting phrase. H
749 Opus 266, No. 3 Take any common word or two-word term beginning with any letter from A through H and give it a new definition. H H
745 Hurry Up and Slow Down! Suggest particular ways that would slow life down, or ways that would speed it up. I H
744 You OED Us One Make up a humorous and false definition for any of the words listed below. W
734 Turnaround Time Write a rhyming couplet containing two words that are anagrams of each other. H
730 Time-Wastes For Everyman Describe activities that make entering The Style Invitational seem like a constructive use of one's time. H
686 It's Baaaaack! Explain why you, or anyone else in particular, ought to have this fine oil-on-panel by Fred Dawson of Beltsville, or what it might be used for. H
684 Backtricking Spell a word backward and define the result, somehow relating the definition to the original word. H
669 Huddled Messes Suggest some bad advice for new arrivals to this country (legal or illegal). H
651 Show Us Some Character Add a character to a book or movie and tell us what happens in it. H
638 The Little Bummer Boy Come up with an idea (and title, if you like) for an original Christmas movie or TV special that provides an antidote to all the sap, and give us a brief synopsis. H
634 Mess With Our Heads Take any headline, verbatim, appearing anywhere in The Post or on washingtonpost.com from today through next Sunday, and change its meaning by adding either a "bank headline," or subtitle, or the first sentence of an article that might appear under it. H
626 Course Light Come up with a comical college class, along with a description for the course catalog. H
624 Limerixicon 2 Supply a limerick based on any word in the dictionary (except proper nouns) beginning with bd- through bl-. H
617 Best the Best Write something about any famous personage that uses only the letters in his or her name. H
611 Ask Backwards, Erudite Edition You are on "Jeopardy!" Here are the sophisticated answers. You supply the questions. I H
607 Contest Fodder Created! Produce absurdly parochial views of historical events. H
606 The News Could be Verse Translate the fine prose of Washington Post articles into verse. Choose any article appearing in The Post of on its Web site from April 17 through April 25. H
603 Sui Genesis Take one or two of the 50 chapters of the KJV Book of Genesis and draw thou from them, using words in the order in which they appear in the original, your own passage. H
592 We Got Gamy Offer us a concise idea for a Super Bowl commercial, or some innovative halftime entertainment, or some inappropriate sponsors, or some ideas for improving the game itself. 2
589 Hyphen the Terrible (New Edition!) Combine the beginning of any multi-syllabic word in this week's Invitational with the end of any other multi-syllabic word in this column (or in this week's Web supplement) to coin a new word, and then define it. H H
587 The B-List Come up with an In-Out list for 2005, or other pairings. H
574 Boor Us Silly Come up with some unwise attempts at humor--one either likely to backfire or to create other unpleasant consequences. H
572 The Limerixicon Supply a limerick based on any word in the dictionary (except proper nouns) beginning with ai- through ar-. H H
571 A Tour de Fours Create and define a word that includes T, H, E, and S in any order. The letters must appear consecutively. 2
567 A Running Gag Explain how any of the provided bizarre cartoons by Bob Staake relates to the current presidential campaign. H
565 Anthem Is as Anthem Does Give us a verse for an alternative U.S. national anthem, set to any well-known tune. H H
564 Redefine Print Redefine any word from the dictionary. H H
562 The LMNs of Style Write a funny sentence (or more) that you spell with only the sounds of the names of letters and those of numbers 1 through 9. H
561 Deform of a Question Take any sentence appearing in The Washington Post or washingtonpost.com today through June 14, and make up a question to which the sentence could be an answer. 5
560 The 97.5-Meter Dash Suggest some time- and cost-saving measures so the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens will open on time. H
557 Oh, for Namesakes! Take two people, real or fictional, who share some element of their names and explain the difference between them. H
555 A Tsk, A Task Come up with a super-wholesome passage of 25 words or fewer that would likely be banned by the admirable, ever-vigilant Neopets.com site. H
548 Inklings Tell us about certain people's childhood experiences and behaviors that hint at their destinies. H
544 You Gotta Have Heart Write us some valentine sentiments from one particular person (real or fictional) to another. H
541 Celled Up the River Give us a delicious scenario, in which a cellphone yakker's yakking could be taken profitably out of context. 3
539 Dead Letters Pay tribute in verse to someone who died in 2003. H
537 The New York Post Liven up any article appearing in The Washington Post or its Web site over the next eight days by giving it an irresponsibly sensationalistic headline. H H H
536 And the Horse He Rodin On Come up with some words we can stick in the back of The Inker. H
534 The Feminine Touch Propose how any male-dominated occupation or institution would change if it suddenly became female-dominated. H H
528 Ask Backwards You are on "Jeopardy!" These are the answers. What are the questions? H H
526 Conventional Wisdumb Answer any of the provided questions. H
524 Around Things Moving Take the title of any book or movie, rearrange the words, and explain what the new book or movie is about. H
523 Hard to Overstate Propose ways to make modern life just a little bit harder than it needs to be. H H
518 Say, Kids, What Time Is It? Fill in the blanks in the following sentence: "You know it's time to ------ when ------. H
517 Insert Joke Here Slip a single bogus sentence into next year's State of the Union address, figuring the Prez will probably just read it right off the teleprompter. 1
466 Spit the Difference Tell us the difference between any two of the provided items. H
453 Haiku 2 U2 Write a haiku summarizing the career of any American politician, living or dead. A haiku is generally defined as a nonrhyming poem, of three lines. The first and last lines are five syllables; the middle line is seven. H
450 Blues It or Lose It Write the first verse of a blues song expressing some Washington area woe. I
423 Roling With Laughter Take a character from one movie, use him or her to replace a character in a second movie, and then explain how this change would affect the second movie. I