Week 1072: The Tile Invitational — our second ScrabbleGrams contest


By Pat Myers
,
Published: May 15

*OEESTXT → TEXTOSE: Sweet tweets are made of this. *

*OEESTXT → EXTOTS: Little girls with lipstick and platform shoes. *

*OEESTXT → TEETSOX: Brand name for an especially comfortable sports bra. *

Last year just around this time, the Empress took the suggestion of Echt
Loser Jeff Contompasis and ran a contest based on Jeff’s passion for
ScrabbleGrams, a word game that appears daily in The Post’s comics
pages. Week 1021 was such a success that we ran the results for two
weeks straight. And so:

*This week: Come up with a five,- six- or seven-letter term by
scrambling any of the seven-letter ScrabbleGram sets at the bottom of
this page, and define it, *as in the examples above. (The letter sets
are taken from “The Big Book of ScrabbleGrams”

as well as some old Post puzzles.) The word may be a brand-new term, as
in the examples, but you may also find an existing word and supply a
clever definition for it. *Note that we are NOT playing for Scrabble
points, *as in the real game; the letters won’t have point values. As
usual, don’t send more than 25 entries this week. And we mean it: If you
don’t include the letter set with your entry, in the letter order we
supply here, we won’t look at it.

Winner gets the Inkin’ Memorial
,
the Lincoln statue bobblehead that is the official Style Invitational
trophy. Second place receives a Style Invitational Two-Volume Set of
Literature: “The Origin of Feces” and “What’s Your Poo Telling You?,”
two li’l books donated by Jeff Contompasis and Tom Witte, respectively
(but not respectfully).

*Other runners-up *win their choice of a yearned-for Loser Mug
or the ardently
desired “Whole Fools” Grossery Bag.
Honorable
mentions get a lusted-after Loser magnet, either the Po’ Wit Laureate

or Puns of Steel.
First
Offenders receive a smelly tree-shaped air “freshener” (FirStink

for their first ink). E-mail entries to /losers@washpost.com
/ or, if you were born in the 19th century,
fax to 202-334-4312. Deadline is Tuesday, May 27 (Heaven forbid we
interrupt your Memorial Day); results published June 15 (online June
12). No more than 25 entries per entrant per contest. Include “Week
1072” in your e-mail subject line or it might be ignored as spam.
Include your real name, postal address and phone number with your entry.
See contest rules and guidelines at wapo.st/InvRules
. This week’s honorable-mentions subhead is by
Kathy El-Assal; the alternative headline in the “Next week’s results”
line is by Seth Brown. Join the lively Style Invitational Devotees group
on Facebook at /on.fb.me/invdev ,/ and click
“like” on Style Invitational Ink of the Day at /bit.ly/inkofday.
/

*The Style Conversational *The Empress’s weekly online column discusses
each new contest and set of results. Especially if you plan to enter,
check it out at wapo.st/styleconv
.

*Report from Week 1068: Yeah, you wish *

In Week 1068, we asked you to ponder what your
first act would be if you found yourself in someone else’s position.

*The winner of the Inkin’ Memorial: *

*If I were the owner of a sports team with a racially offensive name,*
my first act would be to secretly tape another team’s owner saying
something even more racially offensive. (Ben Aronin, Arlington, Va.)

*2nd place and the dog-shapedtoilet paper cozy:

*

*If I were in charge of the World Cup,* my first act would be to let the
players use their hands as long as they wear shoes on them. (Jeff
Shirley, Richmond, Va.)

*3rd place:*

*If I were Noah,* the very first thing I would do is surreptitiously
swat just one of the mosquitoes. (Beverley Sharp, Montgomery, Ala.)

*4th place:*

*If I were chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,* I’d make every day
Casual Friday because nobody ever went to war in a polo shirt. (Michael
Greene, Alexandria, Va.)

*Wishful inking: honorable mentions*

*If I were made of money, *my first act would be to allow my daughter to
buy everything she wanted (I have informed her of this repeatedly). (Jim
Stiles, Rockville, Md.)

*If I were hauntingly gorgeous, *my first act would be to tell my wife.
(Larry Neal, McLean, Va.)

*If I were a model for Michelangelo,* my first act would be to request a
warmer room. (Jennifer Dickey, Silver Spring, Md., a First Offender)

*If I were appointed Deputy Assistant Associate Undersecretary for
Interagency Accountability and Coordination,* my first act would be to
covet the job of the Assistant Associate Undersecretary for Interagency
Accountability and Coordination. (Mark Raffman, Reston, Va.)

*As Chancellor of Traffic, *I would have a fleet of special helicopters
circling overhead. Whenever a pilot spotted someone in a turn lane who
didn’t start moving once the arrow turned green, a helicopter with a big
magnet would swoop down, stick to the roof of the car, then fly it to
the back of the line. (Pie Snelson, Silver Spring, Md.)

*If I were Lord of the Flies,* the first thing I’d do is ban eating poo.
I mean, seriously, it’s poo. (Bird Waring, Larchmont, N.Y.)

*If I were the head of NASA,* my first act would be to make mission
names less Eurocentric and more culturally diverse. Sending a probe to
the planet nearest us could be, say, project Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli.
(Jeff Contompasis, Ashburn)

*If I were named U.S. poet laureate, *my first act would be to
reclassify limericks from light verse to welter verse. (Konrad
Schwoerke, Durham, N.C.)

*If I were secretary of the interior, *my first act to preserve
America’s wildlife would be to make spotted-owl pickles. (Larry Gray,
Union Bridge, Md.)

*If I were the King of the World,* I wouldn’t travel from England to
America in third class on a boat. (Gary Crockett, Chevy Chase)

*If I owned the L.A. Clippers, *I’d hop in my time machine and go back
200 years. I’m homesick. (Joe Neff, Warrington, Pa.)

*If I had been Pheidippides,
*I would’ve signed
up for the 5K. (Kevin Dopart, Washington)

*If I were governor of Georgia,* my first act would be to declare that
congregants’ guns must remain holstered for the entire sermon. (Howard
Walderman, Columbia, Md.)

*If I were William Shakespeare,* my first act would be Act I. I would
probably also start with Scene 1, but just to appease the
traditionalists. (Todd DeLap, Fairfax, Va.)

*If I were President Chris Christie in 2016,* my first act would be to
tackle our nation’s obesity epidemic by mandating that all fast-food
restaurants post pictures of me in a Speedo. (Kathleen DeBold,
Burtonsville, Md.)

*If I were President Ted Cruz, *my first act would be to give back the
millions of guns President Obama has been seizing from law-abiding
citizens. (Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.)

*If I were President Rick Perry,* my first act would be to find out the
name of the government agency that I wanted to abolish and then, by
golly, I’d abolish it! (Robert Schechter, Dix Hills, N.Y.)

*If I were the postman,* I would occasionally ring only once. (Gary
Crockett)

*If I were elected pope,* my first act would be to check what was in
that smoke. (The cardinals are in college, right?) (Larry Neal)

/And Last:/ *If I were a therapist *starting up my practice, my first
act would be to start scrutinizing The Style Invitational. It even
supplies names and partial addresses! (David Ballard, Reston, Va.)

/And Even Laster:/ *If I were the Empress,* I’d give LOTS of ink to the
person I was having a tawdry, illicit but oh-so-satisfying affair with,
since everyone would expect me to do the opposite so that no one would
suspect any connection between us. (Tom Witte, 1,289-time Loser,
Montgomery Village, Md.) [And I am the Empress of Roumania.]



*Really, it’s not that dubious an honor! *

Congratulations to Danielle Nowlin — rhymes with “growlin’” — who was
named Loser of the Year by her fellow contestants Saturday at the
Flushies, the Losers' own 19th annual award luncheon. The 32-year-old
former school band teacher from Woodbridge, Va., and mother of two
preschoolers blotted up 87 spatters of ink in Year 21, just a year after
her debut. See this week’s Style Conversational column
for a sampling of Danielle’s cleverest entries.

/Still running — deadline Monday night: our contest to compare/contrast
two entities that have the same abbreviation. See bit.ly/invite1071
. /

*Give us a word: The ScrabbleGram sets*

AAEOUSN

AAURGJN

AEGHTCD

AEUHBP

AINDLTN

AOAOLHM

AOAYMND

AUEALGB

EAYLTGL

EEANPHX

EEIAMFD

EEVTPXR

EOAOGTS

EOLHRMC

EOUUGSM

EUEWRLF

EUIMRSQ

IAITGMB

IATWRHM

IENMVRN

IIUOMDP

IODNDSR

IORWNWN

IUAASRF

IUTDLPP

IYBLPSM

IYTMSFL

OABTCRV

OAHMRFT

OANDGRN

OAOERDF

OAYRWLR

OEADNHX

OEESTXT

OIENZRC

OIMDGSZ

ORHNLGT

UAUTMPS

UEURMRM

UIIKMWP

*Next week’s results: It’s a Small, Small Word, or Lessquipedalian, a
contest to write a poem using only words found in a list of the 1,000
most commonly used. See bit.ly/invite1069. *

© The Washington Post Company