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PERMANENT INKSTAIN FOR FRED DAWSON



WEEK TITLE SYNOPSIS INK Types
1525 Arty Har-har Give us an idea for a humorously audacious modern art work 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. I
1081 It's the stupidity, stupid Write us stupid questions that will make us laugh. I
1057 Sportin' lie Give us some fake sports trivia. H
1050 Just redo it Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1000 through Week 1046. H
1002 Wring out the OED Make up a false definition for any of the listed OED words. H
952 Dead Letters Write a humorous poem about someone who died in 2011. H
947 Tour de Fours VIII: Neologisms Come up with a new word or two-word term that includes the letter block N-O-E-L, in any order but with no other letters between them, and define it. H
941 They don't say! Give us a quote that a particular person, present or past, real or fictional, sooo wouldn't have said. H
937 Staake it to him Write a caption for any of the five pages or details pictured from some of Bob's more than 50 picture books. H
888 It's the eponymy, stupid Coin a word or expression based on the name of a well-known person, define it, and perhaps use it in a sentence H
869 Clue us in Send us funny, clever clues for any of the words already in this grid. H
744 You OED Us One Make up a humorous and false definition for any of the words listed below. H
742 Clue Us In Give us a whole new set of clues to a crossword puzzle penned by Ace Constructor Paula Gamache. H
741 Well, What Do You Know? Tell us what Major Life Lessons can be derived from any of these venues or situations. W
713 Painings Name and interpret any of the provided paintings by Fred Dawson. I H H H
711 Join Now! Hyphenate the beginning and end of any two multi-syllabic words appearing anywhere in the April 29 or May 6 Style or Sunday Arts section, and then define the compound. H
691 Haven't Got a Clue Make all the clues in the provided crossword ooh-clever or at least ah-that's-funny, even the little words. H
684 Backtricking Spell a word backward and define the result, somehow relating the definition to the original word. H
672 Just Sign This Write a funny message for an overhead highway sign. P
662 How Low Will You Go? Humiliate yourself for ink, and a stupid prize. W
648 Caller IDiot Name a product or company and supply a stupid question to ask the consumer hotline person. 3
630 Hyphen the Terrible Combine the beginning and end of any two multisyllabic words in this week's Invitational, and then define the compound. H
618 Of D.C. I Sing Give us a song about Washington, set to a recognizable tune. H
598 Site Gags Come up with an appropriate name for a cafeteria--or meeting room, or an employee lounge, or some other workplace spot--for a particular institution. P
585 It's Parody Time Offer, in the holiday spirit of goodwill, some advice--as constructive and unifying as Loserly suggestions always are--to our nation's leaders (or the loyal opposition) as we prepare for the next four years. This advice will be set to the tune of some winter holiday song, either religious or secular. 2
583 Mess With Our Heads Take any headline, verbatim, from the Washington Post or its Web site from today through next Sunday, and reinterpret it by writing either a "bank headline"--or subtitle--or the first sentence of an article that changes the original meaning entirely. H
501 Questionable Sentences Take any sentence appearing anywhere in today's Washington Post and make it the answer to a question. H
472 Water Stupid Idea Propose bad ideas for saving water in the continuing drought. H
448 What Kind of Foal Am I? Mate any two of the horses qualifying for the Triple Crown races this year and propose a name for their foal. No name may exceed 18 characters, including spaces. H
445 Another Round of Bierce Add a few entries to Ambrose Bierce's famous "Devil's Dictionary. H
422 Taught Language Come up with lessons learned from (1) the movies, (2) popular songs, (3) romance novels or (4) the comics page. H
396 April Foals Mate any two of the horses qualifying for the Triple Crown races and come up with appropriate names for their foals. Maximum 18 letters and spaces. H H
368 Hyphen the Terrible Combine the first half of any hyphenated word in a story in today's paper with the second part of a different hyphenated word from the same story, and provide a new definition. H 4
355 Seeing Stars Tell us ways we can attract celebrity participation to this contest. H H
339 Campaignful Developments Come up with signs that a presidential campaign might be in trouble. H H 5
291 HYPHEN THE TERRIBLE Take any story in today's paper, find a word that breaks with a hyphen at the end of a line, and combine it with the second half of different hyphenated word in the same story. Then supply a definition for the new hybrid word. H
238 CHALK IT UP TO STUPIDITY Propose apologies for yourself in the style of Bart Simpson writing on his blackboard. H
230 TALES FROM THE CRYPTOGRAM Take any proper noun--a person, a book, a movie, whatever--and create for it an appropriate cryptogram. I
207 TIED TO BE FIT Each of the eight provided items is related, in some fashion, to one or more of the provided individuals. You make the connections. H
185 WONDERLUST Come up with replacements for the Seven Wonders of the World. To qualify, an object must really exist, and be manmade and, in some way, awesome. H
157 WARNING SIGNS Complete any of these "you might be about to" warning sentences. H
156 HYPHEN THE TERRIBLE Create new word by combining the first half of a hyphenated word with the second half of a hyphenated word. Both words must appear in the same story anywhere in today's Washington Post. Each entry must provide a definition for the newly created word. I
152 WE ARE CURIOUS (YELLOW) Take any headline in today's Washington Post and rewrite it in tabloid fashion so the story seems a lot more scandalous and/or lurid than it is. H 4
151 STRIP MINING Come up with a concept for a new, controversial strip to replace an existing one in The Post. W
150 TRIAL BALLOONS What are the people saying? H
142 EXHIBITING BAD TENDENCIES Come up with the winner of next year's Turner Prize, which says its aim is to expand ideas of what is art. W
138 LIST BUT NOT LEAST Come up with Top-10-style lists for any of the above four subjects. W
130 NICELY STATED Create a fictional city to be humorously paired with a real state abbreviation. H H
115 THE MNEMONIC PLAGUE Come up with new mnemonic devices to remember complicated lists. H H
96 STICK IT IN YOUR ERA Come up with a catch phrase for the 1990s. H
95 HOW'S THAT AGAIN? Take any headline appearing anywhere in The Post this week and completely rewrite the first lines of the story to put a different, unintended spin on it. H
89 CHILD'S PLAY Come up with bad ideas for new toys for the Christmas season. H
66 THE SON-OF-SMITH LAW In 50 words or fewer, what do we do about the Chuck Smith problem? H
47 CAN YOU DO VERSE? Bad Valentine's Day poetry. Any rhyme scheme, any form of literary dysfunction. 2