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PERMANENT INKSTAIN FOR FRANK OSEN



WEEK TITLE SYNOPSIS INK Types
1612 Asterisky Business Put words in Horace's mouth: Tell us a joke that not everyone will get. H
1611 Ask Backwards XLIII We give you the 'answers'; you tell us the questions. H H H H 3
1609 Saved! Tell us funny ways to be thrifty in these parlous times H
1607 Funny, Init? Compare two people who have the same initials. H
1606 The Cold New Trend What would be an even sillier new fad than decorator refrigerator shelves? H
1604 Call Your Dog Give us creative names for various pets H
1601 Stop, Hey, What's That Sound? Tell us what these noise-words mean. H H 2
1600 Taylorgaters Take a line from a 'Tortured Poets' lyric and rhyme it with one of your own. H H H 2
1599 Picture This It's our caption contest. H H
1597 The Farce of July Give us new ways to celebrate Independence Day. W H
1596 History for the tl;dr Crowd Sum up an event for the 21st-century reader in a rhyming couplet. H H H H H H 4
1594 So Good! So Bad! So Ugly! We bring back a classic contest H
1592 It's Parody Time Write a funny song about ... anything you like! H
1591 Our Typo Humor More fun with headlines. H H H H
1590 All You Need Is Ink Take a line from a Beatles song and rhyme it with your own. H
1589 Wait Wait Right Here! Write some 'Not My Job' questions a la the NPR quiz show. W H H H H 4
1588 Colt Fusion Because of our munificense and guilt, you get a full hundred foal names to 'breed' for 'grandfoals' H H H H
1587 The Trite Stuff Replace some well-worn phrases with better ones. H 2
1586 Pun for the Roses Our annual crazy-popular horse 'breeding' wordplay contest. H H H
1585 Bring Up the Rear Move the last letter of a word to the front. M H
1584 Seeds of Change Make an anagram of a name-brand product. H
1583 A Thousand Words Write a funny poem about the artwork of your choice. H H
1581 SOTU-Speak Use words from Biden's State of the Union speech to write some lines for another oration. H H H
1578 The Pepys Show Give us a diary entry from anyone in history. W H H
1576 Praise the Lurid! Give us clickbait headlines for mundane stories. H H H H H H H
1573 The Invitational Week 55: Tour de Fours — Be STUD-ly Give us a new word or phrase containing 'DUST' in any order of letters. H H H H
1572 S Is for Smartass Presenting the Devil's Alphabet Soup 2
1571 Dead Letters, our annual obit contest Write a funny verse about someone who died in 2023. H H
1570 The Invitational, Week 52: Replaying Around -- The 2023 retrospective, Part II Enter or reenter our Week 26-50. H H H
1569 Look Back in Inker -- Our 2023 retrospective, Part 1 Enter or reenter our Week 1-25 contests. H
1568 Nextra! Nextra! Tell us the funny news events from 2024 H H H 3
1566 Well, the Good News Is ... Put a positive spin on a bad-news headline W H H H H
1565 Oh, For Namesakes! Compare two people who share part of a name. H
1564 "Air" "Quotes" A new forefinger contest H H 4
1563 The Perfect(ly Ridiculous) Gift Offer up some products for people-who-have-everything catalogs. H H
1560 The 'Hole Story Write us a funny 'Am I The Asshole' question L
1559 As the Word Turns 'Discover' new words by snaking through this random grid W H H H 4
1557 Tailgating On the Highway Pair a Dylan line with your own rhyming one H H H H H H 4
1556 Cross Us Up Mirror a phrase, more or less H
1549 The Tile Invitational X It's our 10th running of this coin-a-word game. H H 2
1546 Put It in Bee-verse Write a funny poem using a spelling bee word H
1544 Same Difference Tell us humorously how items on the list are alike, different, or otherwise linked. 3
1542 Your (B)ad Here Tweak an ad slogan to use it for another product 2
1541 Wrong enough for ya? Fake facts about the weather H H H
1539 Get Real, Reel Name a scene in a movie, a TV show, or literature, and tell us how it might be revised (perhaps less satisfyingly but far more realistically) H H H
1538 Rhymes Against Humanity Write a four-line poem about people in the news, using either of two poetic forms H 4
1536 Colt Following Now that we have the winner and punners-up of our venerable foal-name contest, it's time for 'grandfoals'. H H
1532 We Bee Back With Neologisms Make up words using letter sets from the NYT Spelling Bee game H H
1522 Questionable Journalism Find a sentence published in the next week and tell us what question it could answer H H
1521 Send Us the Bill Our "Joint Legislation" contest H
1518 The final Post edition Some all-time favorite entries H
1516 Questionable Journalism Choose any sentence (or the major part of a sentence) from any publication dated Nov. 23-Dec. 5 and invent a question it could answer. H
1515 Munich-ipals -- European "sister cities Choose any two or more towns from the 51 countries in Europe/Eurasia and come up with a joint endeavor the “sister cities” would undertake. H
1512 Alphabetter Write a 26-word sentence or other passage whose words each start with a different letter — except that the X in the X-word may appear elsewhere in the word, as long as the word has an “ex” syllable. H
1511 The inside word--our 'air quote' contest Highlight part of a word, name or short phrase in “air quotes” to give the word a new meaning or description. H
1510 Only U (or A, E, I or O) Write a humorous univocalic poem — one that uses only one of the vowels A, E, I, O or U W H
1506 Let's go magnet-fishing with new words From the provided list, write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer. H
1505 Munici-pals Choose any two or more real U.S. or Canadian towns — they need to show up on a Google search — and come up with a joint endeavor they would undertake. H H
1502 It's Hi-time for Limerixicon XIX Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any word, name or term beginning with “hi-. H
1500 These go to 15 Make up a word or phrase whose Scrabble letter values add up to exactly 15 (no blanks!) and define it. H
1499 Picture This, a cartoon caption contest Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided cartoons. H
1498 V for Verses -- misuse a word in a poem Write a short (eight lines or fewer), humorous poem that uses one or more words in other than their actual meanings. H H 4
1496 Same Difference -- compare two items on this list Tell us humorously how any two (or more) items on the provided list are alike or different, or linked in some other way. H H
1494 Put it in bee-verse Write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer that includes at least one of the words used in Round 4 or later of this year's bee; OR: write a joke in Q&A form that uses at least one of the words. H
1493 Frankly speaking with feghoots Tell a feghoot -- a mini-story (a ridiculous one is fine) that ends in a groaner pun on a familiar expression, title, line from a song, etc. H
1492 Set us right -- conservative humor Send us conservative-leaning humor in a Q&A joke format or a knock-knock joke. H H H 3
1491 The add biz Choose any word, name or phrase beginning with A throough E, then add any single letter of the alphabet to it -- one or more times -- and define the result or show how it would be used. H H
1488 Let's recycle! Come up with humorous uses for ANY product or combination of products listed at RepurposeMaterials.com, including but no restricted to the provided list. H
1487 Colt following -- now it's the grandfoals Breed" any of the "foal" names provided in today's results (including the intro) and give the "grandfoal" a name that reflects both names. H
1486 No can do: Signs of incompetence Give us a clue that someone was incompetent in a given field. 3
1485 Switchcraft -- transpose two letters in a word Switch the positions of two letters within a word, name, title or phrase, then describe the result. W
1484 Two ways about it What's something (printable) you could say in two -- or more -- of the provided situations. H H 3
1483 Pun for the Roses -- our famous foal-'breeding' contest Breed" any two of the provided names and name the "foal". As in actual thoroughbred racing, a name may not exceed 18 characters including spaces. H
1482 The Tile Invitational IX Rearrange the letters of any of the letter sets provided to create a new term, then define or describe; you may use all seven letters, but also just six or five. H
1481 Mess with our heads Reinterpret some actual headline (or a major part of it), from any publication, print or online. H
1480 Oh, you don't really mean that Define" inaccurately and humorously any of the provided words. H 4
1474 Hyphen the Terrible Combine one side of a hyphenated word or phrase with one side of another such term -- either side can be the end or the beginning -- to create a new term. AND! Both halves of the term must come from the same issue of a newspaper (The Post or another one) or published the same day on its website, Feb. 3 through 14. H
1473 Sign right here Write a funny message for the overhead highway sign. H
1472 Phony money -- tell us fake financial trivia Tell us some fake trivia about money or the financial system. H
1469 Post Mortems 2021, our obit poems Write a poem of no longer than eight lines (plus an optional title) about someone who died in 2021. H H
1468 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1440 through 1464. H
1467 The Year in Redo, Part 1 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1413 through 1439, except for Weeks 1414-1416. H
1466 Be invitationally correct Give us a funny "correction" that a newspaper or magazine might offer. H
1465 Put your '22 cents in for our annual pre-timeline Name some humorous news event to happen in 2022. H H H H
1463 Fork over some (new) Spoonerisms Write and original Q-A joke featuring a spoonerism. H
1461 It's the eponymy, stupid Create an eponym -- a word based on the name of a well-known person -- define it, and perhaps use it in a humorous sentence. H
1456 The hunting of the snark Ask an insulting rhetorical question in the form (or a variation) of "Is that your _______ or _______? H H
1454 Punku 3 -- haiku with a pun Create a haiku containing a pun or similar wordplay. H H
1453 Haven't read it -- mis-subtitle a book Choose any book title listed on Amazon and misinterpret it by adding a subtitle. 3
1452 As the Word Turns Discover" a word or multiword term that consists of adjacent letters -- in any direction or several directions, up, down, back, forth, diagonally -- in the provided grid, and provide a humorous definition. H H
1451 Could have said it worse ourselves Give us a humorously bad "first draft" of a famous line from history, literature or entertainment. H
1448 Hear, hear -- it's Limerixicon XVIII Supply a humerous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any word, name or term beginning with "he-". H
1447 Give it to us straight Take any sentence from an article or ad in any publication (print or online) dated July 29 through Aug. 9, 2021, and intepret it in “plain English". H
1446 Clue us in -- and we spill the beans Write novel clues for as many as 25 answers in the provided grid, across or down, first substituting your own letters for any covered ones. H
1445 Put it in bee-verse -- poems with spelling words Write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer that includes at least one of the words used in Round 8 or later of this year's bee; OR: write a joke in Q&A form that uses at least one of the words. H H
1433 Questionable Journalism Choose any sentence (not a headline!) in an article or ad in The Washington Post or another publication dated April 22 through May 3, and write a question it might humorously answer. H H H H
1432 Turn tale and run with it Offer a new angle on a folk tale, nursery rhyme, children's song, etc., with a short poem, mini-story (under 100 words) or song parody. H 2
1428 The Tile Invitational VIII Create a five-, six-, or seven-letter word (or phrase) by scrambling the letters of any of the provided sets and define it. H 2
1427 Rocky of ages, or Badenov for you? State any historical event -- right up to 2021 -- in the provided "A, or B" format. H
1425 Picture this -- a caption contest Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided cartoons. H H
1424 We Bee back -- a neologism contest From any of the 30 provided Spelling Bee letter sets, coin a new term or phrase and describe it humorously. You must use the first letter in the set (anywhere in the word) plus any or all of the others, as often as you like. H H 2
1423 Muddled heads: Headline anagrams Choose a headline (or part of a headline) in any print or online publication dated Feb. 11-22 and rearrange all its letters into an anagram. H H
1421 Alternaugural Address '21 Write a humorous passage -- a "quote", an observation, a joke, a dialogue, a poem, anything -- using only words that appear in Biden's inaugural address. H H 2
1420 Singing on the job -- a parody contest Write a humorous "work song" for any job or profession. Set it to any well-known tune. H
1419 Send us the bill -- 'joint legislation' Combine two or more names from the provided list of the new members of Congress to “co-sponsor” a bill based on their combined last names, and state its purpose. H
1417 Dead Letters, our obit poem contest Write a poem of no longer than eight lines (plus an optional title) about someone who died in 2020. H 2
1416 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1388 through 1412. H
1414 Divining comedy: 2021 predictions Name some humorous news event to happen in 2021. H H
1413 We're finna give you some new words Write a poem of eight lines or fewer featuring one or more of the provided terms. The terms must be used as they're defined in the new m-w.com listing. H 2
1412 Jumble bells -- anagram a song line Rearrange all the letters in a song title, or a line (or more if you dare!) from a song. Optional: Offer a parody of the original tune (or a few lines of it) that refers to the new title. H H
1411 Back end of a Bulwer Write a humorously awful final sentence or two to an imaginary novel. L H
1409 Skip a groove: Drop a letter or more from a song title Drop one or more letters from somewhere in the middle of a song title and describe the new song, and/or quote some lyrics from it. W H
1406 The news could be verse Write a poem based on a recent news article, in which the lines' first letters spell out the title or subject of the poem. W 4
1404 Ask Backwards XXXIX The answers are provided. You supply the questions. H H H
1403 Who was that masked man? Current a short listing for a current or past TV show that has a coronavirus story line, or one reflecting some other issue in the news right now. H
1402 The fourteeners--a neologism contest Make up a word whose Scrabble letter values add up to exactly 14 (no blanks!), and define it. H
1401 How hai? A joke-haiku contest Write a joke (roughly) in the "It's so xxx" genre as a haiku. H
1399 The lie-zy days of summer Tell us some bogus trivia about the summer or things that happen or have happened in the summer. H H H 3
1398 This is the year that is Describe the year 2020 in a novel, colorful metaphor or simile. You may also offer an original graphic. W H
1396 Hail Limerixicon XVII: Write a limerick featuring a 'ha-' word Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "ha-". H
1394 Two movies, one line Cite a real or coined line, or give a description, that could work for two different movies, plays or TV shows. H H H
1393 Second chance (acned conches?) for anagrams Describe any of the provided anagram businesses, or offer its slogan. H H
1392 Picture this -- caption these cartoons Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided Bob Staake cartoons. W
1391 No-covid zone -- a neologism contest Coin a new word or phrase that lacks C, O, V, I and D and describe it. H H
1383 Questionable Journalism Choose any sentence (not a headline) in an article or ad in The Washington Post or another publication dated May 7 through May 18, and write a question it might humorously answer. H
1382 For us, it's still Post Time Breed" any two names from the provided list of 100 of the 145 previous Kentucky Derby winners, from 1875 to 2019, and name the foal to humorously reflect the parents' names. W
1380 Both sides now Delete one or more letters (in a row) from a word or brief phrase to find another word, and define it. H
1379 Your wish: A pun -- a star Tell a joke, in your choice of form, whose punchline is a pun on a song title or lyric. H
1377 Make your own March Madness Think of some sport, game, art project or other activity that you can conjure up using various items that you might find around the house. H H
1376 Get thee to a funnery Add a character (or more) to a Shakespeare play and supply some resulting dialogue. H
1375 Mess With Our Heads Reinterpret an actual headline (or a major part of it) by adding a bank head, or subtitle. H
1373 Prime time for some Amazon reviews Send us a humorous "review" for any of the provided Amazon-listed items. H H
1372 Trash talking, 1880-style Write a quatrain or -- heck -- two of Balliol rhyme about some person. H H
1371 The Tile Invitational VII Create a five-, six-, or seven-letter word (or phrase) by scrambling the letters of any of the provided sets and define it. H
1370 What's in a name? Write something about a well-known person, real or fictional, using only the letters in that person's name. H
1369 Shoot us some oops Tell us a concise original joke that revolves around a typo or misheard word. W H
1368 Picture This -- cartoon captions Supply a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. H
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 H H 4
1366 Tour de Fours XVI -- It's the LIAR club Coin a word or multi-word term that contains the letter block L-I-A-R and describe it. H H H
1365 Dead Letters, our obit poem contest Write a poem of eight lines or fewer (plus an optional title) about someone who died in 2019. H H H 3
1364 Clue us in Supply clever, funny clues for as many as 25 of the words and multi-word terms in the provided grid. H H H H 2
1363 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1334 through Week 1359. H H H
1362 The Year in Redo, Part 1 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1307 through 1333, except for Weeks 1309-1311. H
1361 2020 vision -- the year in preview Name some humorous news event to happen in 2020. H
1360 The lyin' in winter: Seasonal fictoids Give us some untrue trivia about winter or things that occur in winter. H
1356 Ask Backwards 38 Sixteen "answers" are provided. Tell us the questions. H H 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 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 3
1353 What's playing at the retroplex Change a movie title to its "opposite" by reversing one or more words; then describe the new movie. 2
1351 What concept will you be for Halloween? Give us a creative, clever idea for a timely Halloween costume (for one or more people) or an idea for a party or other activity. You may even send us a photo of an actual new costume you've created this year. H
1350 Here's inspo for new-word poems Write a poem of eight lines or fewer featuring one or more of these recent additions to m-w.com. H H H
1349 Revise and extend these remarks Go to congress.gov/congressional-record and click on the PDF for any day's Congressional Record. Choose any sentence (or substantial part of one) and write a question that it could answer. H H H
1348 Same difference Explain humorously how any two or more of the provided items are alike, different or otherwise connected. H H H H
1347 Reologisms Write a clever, funny definition for any of the provided Loser-concocted words and phrases, and/or show they'd be used. H
1344 Well, that's just great -- It’s Limerixicon XVI Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "gr-". H
1342 MRGRS: Mash 2 abbrevs. Combine two acronyms or other abbreviations, whether of entities or expressions, into one big one, and describe it, offer a slogan for the new organization, etc. H
1341 Portmanteautapping from E to R Coin a portmanteau word beginning with E through R, in which the words overlap by at least two letters, and describe it. H H 3
1340 Not-ables -- slightly alter a famous name Slightly alter the name (make sure the original is obvious) of a famous personage -- past or present, real or fictional -- and describe the resulting nonpersonage, or offer a quote from that person, or both. H H H
1338 Picture This -- cartoon captions Supply a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. H H
1337 Lidder me this: anagram riddles Write a Q&A joke (or an A followed by a Q, if you're into "Jeopardy!") in which the punchline contains an anagram or one or more relevant words or names. H
1336 Two ways about it What's something (printable) you could say in two -- or more -- of the provided situations. H 3
1335 Put it in bee-verse! Or . . . Write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer that includes at least one of the provided words, used in Round 9 or later of this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee; OR: write a joke in Q&A form that uses at least one of the words. H
1334 Mull 'er over: A search for collision Combine any two words, names, abbreviations, etc., from anywhere in the redacted Mueller report, in a two-word or hyphenated phrase and define it. H H
1333 Check your (homo)phones Invent a homophone--a word that sounds the same as an existing word but is spelled differently--and define it. H H
1331 Paste Imperfect Choose a headline or sentence from The Post or another publication, print or online, dated May 9-20, 2019. Then change that headline or other text by:
     A. Deleting up to 40 consecutive characters from it (put brackets around the deleted text);
     B. Adding up to 40 consecutive characters from the same article or ad (write the additions in capital letters);
     or C. Both A and B, as long as the added text goes at the end of your headline or sentence.		 H
1330 Spinoff x Time Is Now = Grandfoals Week! Breed" any two of the 65 foal names that got ink this week, and name the offspring to reflect both parents' names. H 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 H H H
1328 Hooked on 'classic': a do-over Summarize a book or play by any author, or retell a scene (or even a moment) from one, in the style of some other person. H
1327 Mess with our (or anyone's) heads Reinterpret (or comment wryly on) a headline (or a big part of a headline) by writing a bank head, or subtitle. H H H
1326 Foaling around Breed" any two names from the provided list of 100 horses and name the foal to reflect both names. H
1324 Chapter and worse Tell or describe a Bible story, or another classical or folk tale, very briefly (75 words would be lengthy) in the voice of a particular author or other person. W
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 H
1321 Pumping Prime: Amazon reviews Send us a humorous "review" (like the provided samples from our earlier contests) for any of the provided items. H H H
1320 Questionable journalism Find any sentence (or a substantive part of a sentence) that appears in the Post or another publication, in print or online, dated Feb. 21-March 4, and pair it with a question it might answer. H
1319 The Tile Invitational VI Create a five-, six-, or seven-letter word (or phrase) by scrambling the letters of any of the provided sets and define it. H H
1317 Punku 2: Haiku with puns Create a haiku containing a pun or similar wordplay. W H
1316 Lies, damn lies, with statistics Tell us some bogus trivia using "statistics" or some bogus quantitative meaure. H H
1315 Clue us in -- our reverse crossword Supply clever, funny clues for as many as 25 of the 74 words and multi-word terms in the provided grid. H H
1314 Bill Us Now -- 'joint legislation' Combine two or more names from the provided list of the new members of Congress to “co-sponsor” a bill based on their combined last names, and state its purpose 2
1313 Dead Letters -- our obit poem contest Write a poem of no longer than eight lines about someone who died in 2018. H H H H 4
1312 Neologisms in TOUR de Fours XV Coin a word or multi-word term that contains the letter block T-O-U-R and describe it. The letters may be in any order. H H
1311 Nextra! Nextra! The year in preview Name some humorous event to happen in 2019. H H H
1310 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1282 through Week 1306. H H H
1309 The Year in Redo, Part 1 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1255 through Week 1281. H H H H 2
1307 One-for-one for all Replace one letter in an existing word, name or multi-word phrase with one different letter (in the same place in the word) and define or describe the result. H H H
1306 PolitiCaroling: A song parody contest Write a song about something in the news lately -- political or otherwise -- using a Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year's tune. H
1303 Neologisms to di- for Replace a digraph in an existing word or phrase with another digraph to make a new term. H H H
1302 Ask Backwards 37 Fifteen "answers" are provided. Tell us the questions. Do one or more, up to a total of 25 A&Q's. H H
1301 Tell us a Fib(onacci) Write a humorous poem of 20 syllables divided among six lines like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. And a least two -- any two -- of the lines must rhyme. H
1298 It's IGH time for 3-word phrases Make up some entity that might take a three-letter abbreviation of GHI, HGI, GGG, GHH, etc., and then humorously describe it. 4
1297 A different type o' headline contest Change a letter in an article or ad in the Post or another publication dated Sept. 13-24 by adding or subtracting one letter; substituting a letter; transposing two letters; or changing spacing or punctuation; and then add a "bank head. W H
1295 Really, now? A matter of degree. Tell us an indication to some problem, followed by an even more dire sign. H H
1294 As the word turns “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. W H H H
1290 Bobbing for Witte words Come up with both an object/situation and a neologism for it. H
1288 Your results may vary Write a funny disclaimer or warning for some product or service. 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 H 2
1284 Same difference Explain how any two of the items in the provided list are similar, different or otherwise linked. H H H 4
1283 Put it in Bee-verse Write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer that includes one of the provided words, all from the 2018 National Spelling Bee. H H H H 4
1280 A la'ugh' a minute with 'air quotes' Highlight part of a word, name or short phrase in "air quotes" to give it a new meaning or description. H
1277 Come into Beeing with neologisms From any of the 15 provided Spelling Bee letter sets, coin a new term of one or two words and define it humorously. You may also supply an especially clever or funny definition of a real term. H
1276 What 4? A limerick contest Use a limerick using one of the provided lines as Line 5. W H H H
1275 That is the question Choose a line from Shakespeare (or a significant part of a line) and pair it with a question that the line could humorously answer. H
1273 Restocking the Cabinet Explain why a particular person -- or thing -- ought to fill a Cabinet post or other U.S. government position. H
1272 The hex files: creative curses Come up with a creative curse. H H
1271 Yodel Doyle's praises with a D-O-Y-L-E neologism Coin a new word or phrase that contains the letters D, O, Y, L and E. L 2
1270 The Style Invitational turns 5 x 5 Write a witty poem, on any subject, in any of these forms:
A. Five lines of five syllables each
B. Five lines of five words each
C. Five lines of iambic pentameter		 W H H
1268 Playing pinocchio Tell us some humorously bogus trivia about the news media or the publishing or broadcasting industries. 4
1265 Parody for the course Write a song relating to a class or course of instruction, or to school in general. H
1264 A cry for Yelp: 'Review' any place Write a humorous review, positive or negative, of anyplace (real of fictional) one might visit. H H 3
1261 Post mortems -- our annual obit poem contest Write a humorous poem of no longer than eight lines about someone who died in 2017. H
1260 What lies (are) ahead for 2018 Jokingly predict some news event to happen in 2018. H H 2
1259 Beat the banned with euphemisms Come up with creative euphemisms for the provided words, or for other words that might offend someone or other. H H H
1258 The year in redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1230 through Week 1254. H H
1257 The year in redo, Part 1 Enter (or re-enter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1203 through Week 1229, except for Weeks 1205 and 1206. H
1256 Picture this -- a caption contest Provide a funny caption for any of the provided cartoons. H
1255 Tour de Fours XIV: SANT is coming Coin a word or multi-word term that contains the letter-block S-A-N-T; the letters may be in any order, but there may be no other letters between them. H H H 4
1253 Fashion x fiction: More fake trivia Tell us some totally bogus trivia about clothing or fashion. H
1252 It's a med, med, med, med world Invent a clever name for a new medical product, and specify the condition it would treat. H
1251 Thanking outside the box Tell us something to be thankful for. H H H
1250 Poems of the year(s) Write a humorous poem incorporating three or more terms from a particular year or era listed on Time Traveler. H
1249 Ask Backwards 36 Choose any of the 15 provided items and follow it with a question that it could humorously answer. H
1248 C'mon, fess up! Send us a brief "confession" -- there will be categories for true and just-kidding. H
1246 Questionable journalism Find any sentence (or a substantive part of a sentence) that appears in The Post or another publication, in print or online, dated Sept. 21-Oct. 2, and pair it with a question it might answer. H H
1245 Call us reprehensible . . . Complain in a humorously missing-the-point way about something that has appeared in The Washington Post (in print or online) recently, or in another publication. H 4
1243 We bid you: No T-R-U-M-P Coin a new term, or choose an existing one, whose letters do not include a T, R, U, M, or P, and write a humorous definition. 4
1242 Generation Yux Give us a "then/now" joke. H
1241 Less taste, more fill-in Give us a novel clue for any word or phrase in which the remaining letters in the provided crossword puzzle fit, across or down. H 3
1234 It's incontestable Four weeks from now, the Empress will have just placed her dainty imperial toe back on our glittering shores. Which means that for the first time since January 2002, almost 800 contests ago—back during the late reign of her predecessor, theCzar—the Invitational will skip two contests in a row. H
1232 Picture this -- a caption contest Write a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. H
1229 Gorey bits from A to Z Send us one of more edgy rhyming alphabet-primer couplets. H 4
1228 That movie is SO about you Name someone who was the "secret inspiration" for a certain movie. W
1225 The Ideas of March Suggest a march for some group or field, along with one or more slogans. (You might also, or instead, comment on the march with some pertinent wordplay.) H
1224 We beg you to differ Explain how any two (or more) items in the provided list are the same or different, or otherwise connected. H
1223 Post again out to mislead public! Write a humorously sensationalistic, misleading headline on an otherwise mundane article or ad published in The Post or elsewhere from April 13 to April 24. H H H H
1222 Foaling around Breed" any two of the provided racehorses nominated for this year's Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont; and name the foal to reflect both of them. M H
1217 Mergers you wrote: Combine two businesses with puns Give a clever name for a combination of two or more businesses. H 3
1216 As the word turns Create a word or multi-word term that consists of adjacent letters -- in any direction or several directions -- in the provided grid, and provide a humorous definition. H H H H 2
1215 A so-so contest (How so-so is it?) Write a humorous exaggeration in the form "x is so y that . . . H
1214 The alternaugural address Write a humorous passage — a “quote,” an observation, a joke, a dialogue, a poem, anything — using only words that appear in Trump’s inaugural address. W H H
1213 Punku Write a haiku that incorporates a pun. H H
1211 The best tweets in history Write a stupidly disparaging tweet (140 characters or fewer, including spaces) about some laudable figure of past or present, true or fictional. H
1207 Clue us in -- a reverse crossword Supply clever, funny clues to up to 25 of the 72 words and multi-word terms in the provided grid. H
1204 Well, at least . . . Note some good news for the coming year to comfort -- or "comfort" -- those who are depressed about the change of presidential administration. H H
1198 Give it to us straight Take any sentence from an article or ad in any publication dated Oct. 20 to Oct. 31 — or from an online article dated within that period — and translate it into “plain English". H
1197 Picture This -- It's a Bob Staake caption contest Write a caption for any of the cartoons provided. H H
1195 Don't change a letter! Alter a movie title only by changing word spacing, changing capitalization, and adding or deleting punctuation marks, accents, etc., then describe the result. H H
1191 Mess with our heads Reinterpret (or comment wryly on) a headline appearing in The Post (print or online) and dated Sept. 1-12 by writing a bank head, or subtitle H H
1189 Gee, it's Limerixicon XIII! Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "ge". H H
1187 Just drop it, okay? Drop the last letter from an existing word, phrase or name and define the result. H
1186 We're always happy to verse you  Write a humorous poem, of any form, about or “by” the anagram of anyone’s name. H H H
1182 Where in the wor(l)d? (1) On What3words.com, find one or more humorously appropriate (or ironic) three-word codes at a particular place; or 2) find a three-word code, tell us where it is, and tell us what ought to be there. W
1176 Let 'er RIP: Write an obit line Write a humorous line or two for someone's obituary -- either for a particular person (dead or not) or for a fictional or generic one. H
1174 Colt following -- It's time for the grandfoals Breed" any two of the 57 foal names that got ink this week and name the offspring to reflect both parents' names. H
1173 Tinker with the recipe Slightly change the name of a food or brand of food (or something else in the food industry) and describe it, or write a slogan, jingle, etc. H H
1172 Pieces of 'Pie' Write a short passage -- an observation, a joke, a dialogue, a poem, anything -- using only words that appear in the song "American Pie". H H
1171 What's my (next) line? Take a line from any song and pair it with your own second line to make a humorous rhyming couplet; the second line should match the rhythm of the first, rather than the second line of the song itself. H H
1170 Derby or not Derby Breed" any two of the provided racehorses nominated for this year's Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont; and name the foal to reflect both names. H
1168 Asterisky business Tell us an original joke whose punchline can't be understood without knowledge -- not necessarily scientific -- that most of us don't have (which you'll supply with a concise explanation). H H
1166 Questionable journalism Take a sentence (or most of a sentence) that appears in text (not a headline) in The Washington Post or on washingtonpost.com dated March 10-21 and make up a question that the sentence could answer H H
1165 B all you can B Change a word, phrase or name by adding one or more B's, and/or by replacing one or more letters with B's, and define your new term. H H
1163 Put it in reverse Spell a word, name or phrase backward and define the result in a way that relates to the original. H H
1161 Give us four Pinocchios Tell us some false "facts" about politicians, present or past. H
1160 A remeaning task Redefine an existing word or two-word term beginning with P through Z. W H H
1159 It's all in the game Come up with a funny/ridiculous board-type game and describe it. H
1157 Clue us in -- a backward crossword Supply clever, funny clues to up to 25 of the words and multi-word terms in the provided grid. H 3
1155 Vowel movement Choose a title of a book, movie, play or TV show; drop all the vowels (including Y when it's used as a vowel); then add your choice of vowels -- as many as you like -- to create a new work; and describe it. H
1153 Be three-paired Choose two or more entities represented by a single three-letter combination from IAA through LZZ, found at the provided link, and say how they are alike or different or have some connection. H H
1152 Oops? You do it again. Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1098 through Week 1148, except for Week 1101, last year's do-over. H
1151 To [a glass], snarkly Write a short, snarky (but witty) note to one of the provided glassbowls. W
1150 A deviant character Change the name of person or animal -- real or fictional -- by adding or subtracting one letter; substituting one letter for another; or switching the positions of two nearby letters, and describing the results. H
1149 Gestures of depreciation Suggest ways to celebrate National Love Your Lawyer Day -- or a made-up "holiday" celebrating some other profession. H H
1147 It's E-Z find-a-word -- yours Create a word or multi-word term that consists of adjacent letters -- in any direction or several directions -- in the provided grid, and provide a humorous definition. H
1146 Stick it to us with a magnet Suggest a new Style Invitational honorable-mention magnet. H
1145 A DICEy situation Coin a word or multi-word term that contains the letter block D-I-C-E. H 2
1142 Two-faced tweets Combine two well-known names into a Twitter handle, and write a tweet (no more than 140 characters and spaces) that that portmanteau person might write. H
1141 Mess with our heads Reinterpret (or comment wryly on) a headline appearing in the Post (print or online) Sept. 17-28 by writing a bankhead, or subtitle. H H
1140 You're giving us a bad name Cite a REAL brand name, past or present, note its original use, and then say what sort of product, organization, etc., that name would be bad for. H 2
1139 A little sixty-four play Fashion an entry by selecting one element from each of the provided menu groups. Make sure you indicate the combination you chose (e.g., 2-C-iii). 4
1138 Show us your touché Offer an elegantly snide (and original) insult of anyone living or dead. H H
1137 Be a published author! Give us a spicy title for a boring book, real or imagined. H H 3
1136 Gaah! It's Limerixicon XII Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "ga-". H
1135 The meter's running Suggest actions in daily life that should require a time limit -- maximum or minimum -- and come with an appropriate penalty for running over (or under). 4
1134 The 'Sty'le Invitational Red'ux' Put quotation marks around part of a word, name or phrase and define the result. H
1133 Are 'hew ready? A contest for clerihews A clerihew is a humorous four-line rhyming poem about a person whose name is mentioned in the first line; in fact, the name must be at the end of that line (or constitute the whole line) so that it has to rhyme with something. The rhyme structure (and we don't want "lazy" rhymes) is AABB: the first line rhymes with the second, the third with the fourth. H H H H
1131 One man's trash Suggest a humorous way to reuse one or more of the items listed above -- or anything else advertised on RepurposedMaterialsinc.com. H
1130 Yux Redux: Play on a foreign phrase Make a word play on a foreign phrase or term (or English phrase using foreign words) and describe it. H H H
1126 Picture this Provide a humorous caption for any of the cartoons provided. H H H
1124 Heed! Indeed: Advice verse Write one of the provided reminders as a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer. W H
1123 The Tile Invitational III Give us a five-, six-, or seven-letter word (or two words) by scrambling the letters of any of the provided seven-letter sets. T
1122 Colt Following: 'Grandfoals' Breed" any two of the 65 foal names that got ink this week and name the offspring to reflect the parents' names. H
1121 The an(n)als of civilization Briefly describe some "bad day in history" -- you may be creative in what you classify as such -- and sum it up with a humorous heading. H H H 2
1120 Celebrating our differences Each of the provided 17 items appeared in a different Style Invitational compare/contrast contest from 1996 to 2014. Explain how any two of them are alike or different or otherwise linked. H
1119 We want hue so bad Invent a name for a color and describe it. H 4
1118 Breed 'em and weep Breed any two of the provided 100 racehorses nominated for this year's Triple Crown events and name the foal the reflect both names. H
1116 Punning in place Create a new term using only the letters in a place name. You don't have to use all the letters, but you can't use a letter more often than it appears in the word. H H H
1115 Our type o' headline Change a headline in an article or ad in the Washington Post and then add a "bank head" or subtitle. H H 3
1114 Awww together now Write us a humorous headline -- from the past, present, or future -- that puts an optimistic perspective on some otherwise not-so-promising news. H
1113 Our occasional parodies Write a song celebrating someone's birthday or other personal occasion (rather than, say, a holiday), set to a familiar tune. 4
1112 Some SHARP words Coin a word or short term that includes all the letters S, H, A, R, and P. H H H
1111 When you riff upon a store Use a wordplay on a song title as a name or slogan for a real or imagined business. H H H H
1110 The mama of all humor Write a [Someone’s] Mama joke for some well-known figure, past or present, real or fictional. H
1109 Fictoids of Columbia Tell us some humorously untrue “facts” about Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area. H 3
1107 Send us the bill Combine two or more names from the list of members of Congress on this page to "cosponsor" a bill based on their combined last names, and state its purpose. H
1106 Show your resolve Suggest a New Year's resolution that someone might make 100 or more years in the future. H
1105 A lit obit of fun Write a humorous poem of no longer than eight lines about someone who died in 2014. H H 3
1104 A pair of threes Choose two or three entities represented by a single three-letter combination beginning with E- through H- — see the links at bit.ly/abbrevs-e-h — and say how they are alike or different. H H H
1103 Themes good enough for us Suggest an existing song to be used as the theme for a TV series or program for comic effect. H 2
1102 Let's get Sirius Suggest a new radio channel and describe it. H
1101 The year in redo Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1047 through Week 1097, except for Week 1050. H H H H
1099 Questionable journalism Take a sentence (or most of a sentence) that appears in an article in The Washington Post or on washingtonpost.com dated Nov. 20 through Dec. 1 (in print, any article from those days' papers), and make up a question that the sentence could answer. H H H H
1098 Prime time for some Amazon reviews Send us a creative "review" for any of the provided items that are listed on Amazon. H
1097 Futz your sign Select a line from one of the horoscopes appearing anytime from Nov. 6 through Nov. 17 in the Washington Post's daily Style or on washingtonpost.com and "clarify" it with a translation or extra "information". W H H
1095 TankaWanka! Write a TankaWanka about something that's been in the news lately. The poem must consist of five lines of 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7 syllables in that order. And it must include at least one rhyme. H H H H 3
1094 TAXI's the fare for Tour de Fours XI Coin a word or hyphenated term that contains the letter block T-A-X-I; the letters may be in any order, but there may be no other letters between them. H H H H
1092 Are we having funds yet? Suggest a humorous fundraising "challenge" for any organization. W H H H
1091 Good idea! or not. Come up with a good idea and, through a small change in wording, a bad idea. W
1090 Talk undirty to us Write a humorous poem in any form (no more than eight lines) that includes one or more of the provided words; the word must make sense in the poem in its TRUE meaning. H H H H 4
1089 It's E-Z Find-a-Word -- your own! Create a word or multi-word term that consists of adjacent letters -- in any direction or several directions -- in the provided grid, and provide a humorous definition. H 2
1088 Ask backwards with our answers, your questions Supply the questions to as many of the 16 supplied answers as you like. H H H 2
1087 The core ridiculum Come up with a comical class (any type of school) and provide a course catalog description. W
1086 Playing the dozens 1. Start with any 12-letter word, name or multi-word phrase.
2. Add one letter OR drop one letter OR substitute another letter OR switch the position of two letters to create a new term, as in the examples given.
3. Define or describe the result humorously.		 H H H H
1085 Eww-venirs: Ideas for gift shops Suggest a humorous--but NOT horribly tasteless--tchotchke, T-shirt, etc., from a real or imagined gift shop at a particular tourist site. H H H
1084 Limerixicon XI: Fi-, fo-, go! Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "Fl-" through "fo-". H 4
1083 Everybody get appy Offer up an idea for either a humorously useful app or a humorously counterproductive one. H H
1082 Band on the pun Alter the name of a music group or performer slightly -- not necessarily by just one letter, but enough so it's obvious what the original is -- and describe it in some way. W
1080 McGonagall with the windiness Memorialize a modern "tragedy" in a poem burdened with hilariously overwrought verse; lame, forced rhymes; and painfully uneven meter. Get the badness across in one verse of no more than eight lines. H H 2
1079 Little piddle riddle Ask a question and answer it with a rhyme. H
1078 Hyphen the Terrible Combine one side of any hyphenated word or compound term with one side of another word to make a new hyphenated term, and define it humorously. Both halves must appear in the same issue of The Post or another print newspaper, or in writing published the same day on washingtonpost.com or another online publication. H H
1077 Time marches Swiftly Give us a novel Tom Swifty, playing on either an adverb or a verb (e.g., "We care about the little people, the BP chairman gushed"). H
1076 Dactyly fractyly Send us some double dactyls that conform to Gene Weingarten's rules. H
1072 The Tile Invitational Come up with a 5-, 6-, or 7-letter term by scrambling any of the provided seven-letter ScrabbleGram sets, and define it. H
1071 A pair of threes Choose two or three entities represented by a single three-letter combination at bit.ly/3letterabs and say how they are alike or different. H H H 4 2
1070 Colt following -- our grandfoals contest Breed" any two of the foal names that got ink this week, and name the offspring to reflect the parents' names. H
1069 It's a small, small world Write a humorous poem of no more than eight lines -- it doesn't have to rhyme -- using only the top 1,000 words on Wiktionary.org's list of the most common among 20 million words found in movie and TV scripts. H
1067 A(t)tribute to your wit Alter a well-known quote slightly and attribute it to someone else. H H 3
1066 It's mating season Breed" any two from the provided list of 100 of the 3-year-old racehorses nominated for this year's Triple Crown and name the foal to reflect both names. H
1065 The ands have it Slightly alter ANY well-known phrase in the form "A-and-B" -- it doesn't have to be Latinate/Anglo-Saxon -- and define it. W H H
1064 HistoRebuffs Alter some moment in history and tell us -- in no more than about 50 words -- the likely outcome. 2
1063 Same difference Take any two items from the provided list and explain how they're similar or different. H H
1062 Scanning the headlines Write a rhyming poem about something currently in the news. H H 4
1061 Less taste, more fill-in Give us a novel clue for any word or phrase in which the remaining letters in the provided crossword puzzle fit, across or down. H H 2
1060 Picture this Write a caption, or captions, for one or more of the provided cartoons. H H
1059 With parens like these . . . Add some words in parentheses to a well-known song title to make it funnier in some way. H
1058 Eastwood Ho Create a good-bad-ugly progression. H
1057 Sportin' lie Give us some fake sports trivia. H
1056 Weather or nuts Coin a term relating to the weather, climate, etc. -- either literal or figurative -- and define it. H
1055 Oh, K! This week, to commemorate both Kevin Dopart and his 1K ink blots: Change a word, phrase or name by adding one or more K's, and define your new term. H
1054 Dead letters Write a short, humorous poem commemorating someone (or maybe even something) who died in 2013. H H
1050 Just redo it Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1000 through Week 1046. H 2
1049 Be rating Come up with a new movie rating and describe it. 4
1048 Ask Backwards You supply the questions to as many of the provided answers as you like. H H
1047 Bank shots Quote a headline appearing in The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com or another publication, print or online, dated Nov. 14 to Nov. 25, and supply a humorous "bank" headline that either misinterprets it or comments wryly on it. H
1046 Derive us crazy Offer a bogus but funny explanation of how a particular expression originated. W H
1043 Rechanneling celebrity Describe a TV reality show featuring a celebrity pursuing some unlikely endeavor. H H 4
1042 Tour de Fours X: Go SANE Create a new word or two-word term containing the letter block S-A-N-E -- in any order, but consecutively, and define it. L H
1041 What have you got to lose? Answer a question, real or rhetorical, that appears in a song. H
1039 Shookespeare Combine any of the words in Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, in any order, to create a humorous sentence or longer passage. H H
1037 Outrage us Find something offensive about an inoffensive name of a product, organization, place, etc. H H H
1035 The Empy 500 Explain what news Bob Staake is trying to tell in any of the provided drawings. H
1031 The 'Sty'le Invitational Choose any word, name, or short term; emphasize a key, suddenly pertinent part of it with quotation marks; then redefine the word. H
1029 Ditty Harry Write a descriptive theme song for a well-known movie, set to a well-known tune. H
1028 Joint Legislation Combine the names of two or more of the First Congress senators and/or representatives to create "joint legislation". H
1026 'Might' makes ink Give us a joke using any of the using any of the provided "you might be" templates. H H
1025 In so many words Create an original backronym for a name or other term, especially one that's been in the news lately. H
1023 Hai there, Martians! Write one or more humorous haiku that will greet the Martians or share a little nugget of what life is like on Earth. H
1022 What's the diff? Explain how any two of the provided items are alike or different. H H
1021 'Gram theft Come up with a term by scrambling any of the letters sets in the provided list, and define it. W H H H
1018 Reologisms Write a clever, funny definition for any of the Loser-concocted neologisms from Week 1014 as well as from Week 1000 that deserve better definitions than their creators offered at the time. H H H
1017 Vowel play Write a "univocalic" newspaper headline -- one that uses only one vowel throughout. H 4
1013 Har monikers Write a riddle that uses a pun of a person's name in the answer. H
1012 The news at 5 Write a limerick about a recent news event. H H
1011 Top these! Try your hand at any of the contests mentioned in this look back. H 3
1008 Switched reels Re-arrange all the words in the title of a movie, and describe the resulting work. 2
1005 Send us the bill Name a piece of legislation "cosponsored" by two or more of the 98 new House and Senate members provided. H
1004 Dead letters Write a humorous poem about anyone who died in 2012. H
1002 Wring out the OED Make up a false definition for any of the listed OED words. W H
1000 We now have 4 digits; you now have 7 letters Choose any word, name or two-word term beginning anywhere from T through Z; then add one letter, drop one letter, substitute one letter for another, or transpose two adjacent letters, and define the result. H
999 Drectrospective Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 946 through Week 995, except for Week 948. H H
997 Unworthy causes Name a dubious charity and describe its mission. H
996 A Life-Time opportunity Combine two magazines or journals and describe the result, supply a marketing pitch, or suggest a story or two that it might publish. H H
980 Def jam Supply a humorous definition for any of the provided Loser-penned neologisms. H
978 A reason to rhyme the news Write a short verse about something that's been in the news recently. H H
970 Couple it Take a line from any well-known poem and pair it with your own second line to make a humorous couplet. I H H
963 The overlap dance Send us a Before & After "person" whose name combines two people's names, real or fictional (okay, you can use animals' names, too), and describe the person in a funny way. H
962 Questionable journalism Take any sentence (or a major part of it) that appears in the Post or in an article on washingtonpost.com anytime from now through March 19 and supply a question it could answer. H
938 Free and Lear Write a limerick using the first two lines of any of Edward Lear's 115 limericks plus your own remaining three lines. H