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PERMANENT INKSTAIN FOR TERRI BERG SMITH



WEEK TITLE SYNOPSIS INK Types
1577 Why the #$%#$% Not? The Washington Post is looking for some bold ideas -- Let's show it some! 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
1565 Oh, For Namesakes! Compare two people who share part of a name. W
1563 The Perfect(ly Ridiculous) Gift Offer up some products for people-who-have-everything catalogs. 3
1540 Picture This It's caption contest time, with eight motley pictures to choose from. H 2
1524 Picture This A caption contest H
1523 Where in Hell ...? Name a "circle" for some "evil", plus a suitable punishment H 4
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
1509 MASH MASH: combine 2 one-word movies Combine two single-word movie titles to make a new movie and describe it. W
1506 Let's go magnet-fishing with new words From the provided list, write a humorous poem of eight lines or fewer. H
1501 Try a little 'kindness' Tell about an “act of kindness” that you or someone else does that, well, won’t be appreciated. 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
1489 Let's movie things around Rearrange the words of a movie title to create a new movie, then describe it H
1486 No can do: Signs of incompetence Give us a clue that someone was incompetent in a given field. H H
1484 Two ways about it What's something (printable) you could say in two -- or more -- of the provided situations. H H
1477 Thinking outside the big box Send us a humorous "review" for any of the provided items listed on walmart.com<\em>. H
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 H
1473 Sign right here Write a funny message for the overhead highway sign. H H
1466 Be invitationally correct Give us a funny "correction" that a newspaper or magazine might offer. 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 H H
1459 And we quote: 'It's Parody Time' Write humorous first-person lyrics for a song "by" some particular person. H
1457 What is Ask Backwards XL? You are on "Jeopardy!"; various answers are provided. You provide the questions. H
1453 Haven't read it -- mis-subtitle a book Choose any book title listed on Amazon and misinterpret it by adding a subtitle. 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
1450 Putting the 'anoid' in humanoid Humorously describe some aspect of our current society as a space alien and/or future anthropologist might interpret it. H 4
1444 It's a whole new all-game Slightly change the name of a sport, sports event or similar pastime to create a new one, and briefly describe it. H
1443 The letters of the laws Propose some law -- it doesn't have to be a serious issue -- and give it a name and an acronym, H
1440 It's parody time! Write a satiric song about anything in the news these days. H
1439 Vowel Movement: The Musical Choose a song title; remove all the vowels; then add back as many vowels as you like to create a new title, and describe the song. You might also provide a line or two of lyrics. H
1437 One-offs: A 'typo' neologism contest You're a fat-fingered typist: Change a word, name or phrase by either adding or substituting one letter that's adjacent (in any direction) to the original one on a regular QWERTY keyboard, or by doubling the correct letter. 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
1431 The On-Our-Way-Back Machine Tell us how (in some funny way) things will be different as we emerge from the pandemic. H
1418 Tour de Fours XVII: Just Undo It Coin a word or multi-word term containing the letters U-N-D-O -- consecutive but in any order -- and describe it. W
1416 The Year in Redo, Part 2 Enter (or reenter) any Style Invitational contest from Week 1388 through 1412. H
1410 Legends of the fall -- more fictoids Tell us some bogus trivia about autumn, or things that happen (or have happened) in autumn. H
1408 Re-Organization Slightly change the name of a nonprofit organization and describe it. 2
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
1395 Add nauseam: A plus-one contest Add a "plus one" to some familiar numerical grouping, true or fictional M
1392 Picture this -- caption these cartoons Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided Bob Staake cartoons. 2
1384 Of course there are stupid questions! Give us stupid questions, especially ones reflecting Our Current Situation. H
1356 Ask Backwards 38 Sixteen "answers" are provided. Tell us the questions. 3
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
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
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". L
1073 Bank shots: Mess with (y)our heads Quote a headline appearing in the Washington Post, washington.com or another publication, print or headline, dated May 22 to June 1, and supply a "bank" headline that either misinterprets it, as in the examples above, or comments wryly on it. H H