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PERMANENT INKSTAIN FOR ROB COHEN



WEEK TITLE SYNOPSIS INK Types
1618 Week 100! ...which we celebrate with a centennial contest W
1606 The Cold New Trend What would be an even sillier new fad than decorator refrigerator shelves? H H
1605 Get Thee to a Punnery Change a quote slightly and credit it to someone else. H
1603 Hu-boy, It's Limerixicon XXI Write a limerick featuring a word beginning 'hu' or 'hy'. H
1602 We Got Game Tell us some funny ways to 'improve' a sport. H
1601 Stop, Hey, What's That Sound? Tell us what these noise-words mean. H H
1600 Taylorgaters Take a line from a 'Tortured Poets' lyric and rhyme it with one of your own. H 3
1599 Picture This It's our caption contest. 4
1598 Same Difference We give you a random list of things, and you tell us how any two are alike or different. 3
1594 So Good! So Bad! So Ugly! We bring back a classic contest H
1589 Wait Wait Right Here! Write some 'Not My Job' questions a la the NPR quiz show. 2
1586 Pun for the Roses Our annual crazy-popular horse 'breeding' wordplay contest. L H
1582 You're Workin' on a Chain, Gang A classic connection game. 2
1578 The Pepys Show Give us a diary entry from anyone in history. H
1574 Oh, Grandpa, Stop! Turn a 'dad joke' into a less-tame 'grandpa joke' H
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 3
1568 Nextra! Nextra! Tell us the funny news events from 2024 L H H
1567 Picture This A caption contest H
1564 "Air" "Quotes" A new forefinger contest L L
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 4
1559 As the Word Turns 'Discover' new words by snaking through this random grid H H
1558 It's Parody Time Send up the news with those songs and videos you do so well H
1556 Cross Us Up Mirror a phrase, more or less H 3
1554 U (Heart) TFG's BFFs Reach out to beleaguered Trump supporters and bathe them in the warmth of your love, to help bind the nation’s wounds H
1553 Doody and Muldoon Write a Muldoon, a four-line poem that features at least two body parts and a place name, and at least one rhyme. H
1551 Ask Backwards XLII We give the answers. You give the questions. H H
1550 Holy Moly, It's Limerixicon XX Write a limerick featuring a word beginning "ho-". H
1546 Put It in Bee-verse Write a funny poem using a spelling bee word H
1541 Wrong enough for ya? Fake facts about the weather T 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
1533 The Very Last 'Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions' Tell us a stupid question followed by a funny retort. H H
1532 We Bee Back With Neologisms Make up words using letter sets from the NYT Spelling Bee game H H
1528 It's Our Birthday. Party Like It's 1993. As the Invite turns 30, enter your choice of contests from our year of infancy L H
1524 Picture This A caption contest H
1521 Send Us the Bill Our "Joint Legislation" contest H H
1520 Nextra! Nextra! Read All About it. Predict the big news events of 2023 H H 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
1513 You're such a card Come up with a greeting card rhyme for an un-greeting-card occasion. L
1507 All over the map! Choose one of the contiguous 48 U.S. states or D.C. Then write a funny slogan for that state by “traveling a route” from that state into several others. Use the first letters of the states in your route as the first letters of the words in your slogan. H 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. L H H
1503 Sing of your supper--parodies about food Write a humorous song on the subject of food. 3
1501 Try a little 'kindness' Tell about an “act of kindness” that you or someone else does that, well, won’t be appreciated. L H
1486 No can do: Signs of incompetence Give us a clue that someone was incompetent in a given field. W
1484 Two ways about it What's something (printable) you could say in two -- or more -- of the provided situations. 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
1477 Thinking outside the big box Send us a humorous "review" for any of the provided items listed on walmart.com<\em>. H
1472 Phony money -- tell us fake financial trivia Tell us some fake trivia about money or the financial system. H
1459 And we quote: 'It's Parody Time' Write humorous first-person lyrics for a song "by" some particular person. L
1451 Could have said it worse ourselves Give us a humorously bad "first draft" of a famous line from history, literature or entertainment. 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
1436 Haven't seen it: Fun with movie titles Misinterpret a movie title in a supposed plot description. H
1429 Forsoothsayers Quote a line or so from any Shakespeare work, and exemplify it with a contemporary quote, real or imagined. L
1427 Rocky of ages, or Badenov for you? State any historical event -- right up to 2021 -- in the provided "A, or B" format. H
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
1415 The Year in Redo, Part 1 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1360 through 1387, except for Weeks 1361-1363. 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
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. H H
1397 Trope springs eternal Use any of the four provided standard settings -- (a) desert island, (b) bartender at a bar, (c) desert, (d) psychiatrist next to a couch -- and describe a cartoon that includes your choice of characters, along with a caption. 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
1395 Add nauseam: A plus-one contest Add a "plus one" to some familiar numerical grouping, true or fictional W H
1384 Of course there are stupid questions! Give us stupid questions, especially ones reflecting Our Current Situation. H
1378 It's (emergency) Parody Time Write a song about life in the Age of Corona, set to a familiar tune (or even one of your own, if you perform it on video). 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
1372 Trash talking, 1880-style Write a quatrain or -- heck -- two of Balliol rhyme about some person. H
1363 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1334 through Week 1359. 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. L
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
1338 Picture This -- cartoon captions Supply a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. H
1336 Two ways about it What's something (printable) you could say in two -- or more -- of the provided situations. W
1322 Back to the drawing board Come up with an idea for an invention that still needs a bug ironed out. 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
1317 Punku 2: Haiku with puns Create a haiku containing a pun or similar wordplay. 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. 4
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
1287 It's parody time: Oldies for newsies Write some song lyrics about something in the news these days, set to a familiar tune. H
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
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. 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
1260 What lies (are) ahead for 2018 Jokingly predict some news event to happen in 2018. 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 H
1240 We GIVE you Limerixicon XIV Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "gh-" or "gi-". H
1210 Send us the bill: Our 'joint legislation' game Combine two or more names from the provided list of members of Congress to “co-sponsor” a bill based on their combined last names, and state its purpose. H
1206 Do-over the do-over -- enter any of the year's contests Enter (or re-enter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1149 to 1202, except for Week 1152, last year's do-over. 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
1202 Don't be afraid of the dark Write lyrics to a song that, in some way, express hope. H
1201 Tour de Fours XIII: What's there to NOVE? Coin a word or multi-word term that contains the letter block N-O-V-E. L
1189 Gee, it's Limerixicon XIII! Supply a humorous, previously unpublished limerick significantly featuring any English word, name or term beginning with "ge". H
1188 Just short words, one more time Explain some concept or philosophy entirely in words of one syllable. H 2
1181 Put it in Bee-verse Write a short, humorous poem using one of the 36 provided words, all from the 2016 National Spelling Bee. H
1178 A ______ of collective nouns Propose one or more funny new names for groups of things. H
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
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
1161 Give us four Pinocchios Tell us some false "facts" about politicians, present or past. H
1156 Dead letters Write a humorous poem of no longer than eight lines about someone who died in 2015. H
1154 Tabby Road -- songs for cats Write a song for -- or about -- cats or other animals, set to a familiar tune. 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. 4
1149 Gestures of depreciation Suggest ways to celebrate National Love Your Lawyer Day -- or a made-up "holiday" celebrating some other profession. 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. 2
1144 Someone else's business Name a real brand, along with something else it would be a better name for. H
1143 Ask Backwards Provided are 15 answers, separated by asterisks. You supply the questions. 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
1127 From the creators of . . . Think up a spinoff of a real TV series, past or present, and furnish a description or bit of dialogue. 2
1124 Heed! Indeed: Advice verse Write one of the provided reminders as a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer. H
1117 You got another sing coming Write a song about a topic or person lately in the news, set to a familiar tune. 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
1101 The year in redo Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1047 through Week 1097, except for Week 1050. 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
1074 Let's go parody-hopping Describe a stage or movie musical in a parody of a song from a different musical. H
1067 A(t)tribute to your wit Alter a well-known quote slightly and attribute it to someone else. H
1063 Same difference Take any two items from the provided list and explain how they're similar or different. H
1057 Sportin' lie Give us some fake sports trivia. H
1054 Dead letters Write a short, humorous poem commemorating someone (or maybe even something) who died in 2013. H
1050 Just redo it Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 1000 through Week 1046. H
1032 Hid stuff Explain the symbolism "obviously" evident in any well-known site, artwork, etc., in 75 words or fewer. L
1008 Switched reels Re-arrange all the words in the title of a movie, and describe the resulting work. H
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
987 Bank shots Take any headline, verbatim, appearing anywhere in The Washington Post or on washingtonpost.com from Sept. 6 through Sept. 17 and reinterpret it by adding a "bank head," or subtitle. H
986 Hear here! Give us a sentence or short dialogue that would be a lot funnier if a word in it were mistaken for a homophone of that word. H
975 Gone mything Debunk a "Sixth Myth" about one of more of the recent "5 Myths" topics provided. 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. H
960 Raving reviews Send us a creative "review" for any of the provided items that are listed on Amazon. H H
956 Give us some bad ideas Finish any of the provided "You know" phrases. H
953 Clue us in Come up with creative, funny clues for the words and multi-word terms in the crossword puzzle that's already run in The Post. H
949 Analogies Give us an analogy using "a is to b as x is to y." H
928 Play feature Use the title of a movie as the answer to a riddle or other question. 2
915 Picture this Write a caption for any of the cartoons pictured here. H
887 Plus-Fours Write a limerick whose third or fourth line is one of those listed above. H
882 Limerixicon VII Supply a humorous limerick prominently featuring any English word, name or term beginning with the letters dr-. H
850 Dead letters Write a humorous poem about someone who died in 2009. H
832 Clue Us In You supply one or more clues for the words in a filled-in grid. H
806 DQ Very Much Give us a phrase or sentence that would nip a potential relationship in the bud (or elsewhere). H
803 The Pepys Show Write a humorous diary or journal entry for someone, famous or not, for any point in history. H
799 Send Us the Bill Come up with legislation that, given their names, two or more freshman senators or representatives might sponsor together. H H
793 Take The Fifth Enter any Style Invitational contest from Week 725 through Week 789. Each entry must include the word "five" of "fifth" or something fiveish, or -- depending on your favorite anniversary tradition -- something involving (a) wood or (b) silverware. W
765 It's Doo-Dah Day Write humorous lyrics commemorating any of the 50 states of the District, set to any of these Stephen Foster songs. H H