Style Invitational Week 1167: What’s to liken — compare any 2 of these
18 things
Plus ‘El Bib,’ ‘epyks’ and other winning backward-spelled neologisms
The difference between President Taft’s bathtub and the last Cheeto in
the bag? Tell us in our Week 1167 contest. (Bob Staake for The
Washington Post)
By Pat Myers March 17
(Click here to skip down <#report> to this week’s winning
backward-spelled neologisms.)
*The last Cheeto in the bag vs. President Taft’s bathtub: You’d gladly
stick your tongue in the bag to get the Cheeto. *
*The Cat in the Hat had a game he called “UP-UP-UP with a fish.” After
an all-you-can-eat buffet, you might be playing that game too. *
Positively Biffy: This week’s second prize, a “Back to the Future” Hot
Wheels Ford complete with snap-off manure. (HOTWHEELS.BR.COM)
**
** Tiny hands
* The Apple Store employee of the month
* Three inches of snow
* Hillary’s emails
* Daylight-saving time
* An all-you-can-eat buffet
* President Taft’s bathtub
* A* *selfie stick
* The last Cheeto in the bag
* An octagon
** *The* *Pentagon
* 7th-grade boys
* Leftover * *Valentine’s candy
* Embalming fluid
* Bunions
* The Cat in the Hat
* Walmart mulch
* Scrabble tiles *
It’s our beloved compare-or-contrast contest, in which you take any two
items from the list above and explain how they’re similar or different,
as in the examples above, or connect them some other way. As she’s done
occasionally in the past few years, the Empress asked the 1,000-plus
members of the Style Invitational Devotees group
on Facebook to offer, a la Mad Libs, a bunch of random nouns or noun
phrases. From something like 115 ideas offered
,
the E chose the 18 above, pretty much by shutting her eyes and stabbing
her finger at a printout. They came from Devotees Ann Martin, Brendan
Beary, Daphne Steinberg, Diane Wah, Bruce Niedt, Dennis Power, Mike
Creveling, Kathy El-Assal, Marni Penning Coleman, Amanda Yanovitch, Dave
Prevar and Jeff Contompasis.
Winner gets the Inkin’ Memorial
,
the Lincoln statue bobblehead that is the official Style Invitational
trophy. Second place receives a genuine Hot Wheels 1948 Ford Super De
Luxe, specifically the model featured in “Back to the Future,” more
specifically after Biff rear-ended the manure truck.
(The manure on this one is
molded plastic, and it even snaps off.) Donated by Jeff Contompasis.
*Other runners-up* win their choice of a yearned-for Loser Mug,
the older-model
“This Is Your Brain on Mugs” mug
or a vintage Loser T-shirt. Honorable mentions get one of our Loser
magnets, “Magnet Dum Laude”
or “Falling Jest Short.”
First Offenders receive a smelly tree-shaped air “freshener” (FirStink
for their first ink). Email entries to /losers@washpost.com
/. Deadline is Monday night, March 28;
results published April 24 (online April 21). You may submit up to 25
entries per contest. Include “Week 1167” in your email 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 . The headline for this week’s
results is by Jesse Frankovich; the honorable-mentions subhead is by
Jeff Contompasis. Join the lively Style Invitational Devotees group on
Facebook at /on.fb.me/invdev ./ “Like” the Style
Invitational Ink of the Day on Facebook at /bit.ly/inkofday; / follow
@StyleInvite on Twitter.
*The Style Conversational: *The Empress’s weekly online column,
published late Thursday afternoon, discusses each new contest and set of
results. Especially if you plan to enter, check it out at
bit.ly/conv1167 .
And the results of the Style Invitational contest posted four weeks ago
. . .
*GOING BACK ON OUR WORDS: WINNERS FROM WEEK 1163*
In Week 1163 we asked you to spell a word or other term backward and
define the result, which should relate somehow to the original:
4th place:
*ST. NUTS:* The patron saint of daredevils. (Jesse Frankovich, Lansing,
Mich.)
3rd place:
*ABUC:* What to make out of closer relations with Havana. (Kevin Dopart,
Washington)
2nd place and the “Wanna Rub My Butt?” barbecue apron:
*REDYNS:* Well, we know it /doesn’t/ mean “blushes with shame.” (Todd
DeLap, Fairfax, Va.)
And the winner of the Inkin’ Memorial:
*QARI:* A deep hole the government throws billions into. (Ellen Ryan,
Rockville, Md.)
Flopped flips: honorable mentions
*REDYNS:* Here’s an inoffensive Washington football team name that
rhymes with the old name, still refers to the team color, and reflects
(literally) the ownership. (Francis O’Donnell, Silver Spring, Md., a
First Offender)
*EL BIB:* It covers a multitude of sins. (Frank Osen, Pasadena, Calif.)
*TNILF:* Acronym for “Town I’d Like to Flee” (Frank Mann, Washington)
*NEMICEPS:* Bladder muscles that oppose you at a medical exam. (Kevin
Dopart)
*EREHWYNA:* Where roughly half the population of the United States plans
to move if what’s-his/her-name is elected president. (Ivars Kuskevics,
Takoma Park, Md.)
*EPYKS:* Long, boring video chats. (Frank Osen)
*ELGAE:* Slime on America’s reputation: “The elgae outbreak of 2016 is
the worst since Jackson v. Adams in 1828.” (Kevin Dopart)
*DUH:* The government agency Rick Perry forgot. (Chris Doyle, Denton, Tex.)
*DEFINK:* To get a stoolie to zip it. (Chris Doyle)
*AEHRRAID: *You-know-what hitting the fan. (Bird Waring, Larchmont,
N.Y.; Chris Doyle)
*EL YOD:* Much ink he has. (Duncan Stevens, Vienna, Va.)
*DRIB:* One of those white splotches on your car after you park under a
tree. (Craig Dykstra, Centreville, Va.; Gerald Diamond, London, Ontario)
*SISONGORP: *Whatever it is, it’s not good. (Marni Penning Coleman,
Falls Church, Va.)
*YNNUF:* I laughed the first time, okay? (Gordon Cobb, Marietta, Ga.)
*EDUN*: Paradise. Or hell. It depends. (Tom Witte, Montgomery Village, Md.)
*NO-ROM:* A politician without any memory of stupid things he’s said.
(Christopher Damm, Charles Town, W.Va.)
*NOBLE PAP:* The Nats’ closer sounded good when he apologized. But will
that hold up when he chokes away a save? (Bill Lieberman, Ellicott City,
Md.)
*TAKTIK:* Strategic whining by a child in the checkout line so Mom will
buy the candy bar. (Matt Monitto, Bristol, Conn.)
*ADNAP:* To laze around all day, contribute nothing to society, and
still be fawned over by crowds of people. (Xin Yu, Fitchburg, Wis.)
*MOR GOP!:* Desire of some of Trump’s least educated supporters.
(Danielle Nowlin, Fairfax Station, Va.)
*ELBBOW:* That jiggly part on the back of your arm. (Danielle Nowlin)
*PEEB:*The irritatingly impatient driver behind you when the light
changes. (Craig Dykstra)
*PUKCAB:* Plan B for getting home from the bar. (Craig Dykstra)
*E-GABRAG:* Online gossip magazine. (Dale Frankel, Bloomfield, Mich., a
First Offender)
*KROW:* A foul-tasting creature, but boy, you really miss it when you
haven’t had it for a while. (Mike Ostapiej, Mount Pleasant, S.C.)
*LOOPRAC:* A torture device on which parents are strapped in, driven in
endless circles, and stretched extremely thin. (Amanda Yanovitch,
Midlothian, Va.)
*KLAW:* A cat’s response to a leash. (David Kofalt, Gaithersburg)
*MUGELBBUB:* A demon who tortures souls after sticking their shoes to
the floor. (Duncan Stevens)
*AISSUR:* Word meaning “we want only peace.” (Gerald Diamond)
*AWOI: *Classification for candidates who disappear after the first
caucus. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills, Md.)
*DELI OPS:* The FDA’s covert kitchen inspection program. (Jeff Shirley,
Richmond)
*NAYR:* A House leader who says no to anything the president proposes.
(Jesse Frankovich)
*KNUBED:* Set straight after falling for an Internet hoax. “I got knubed
immediately with a Snopes link after I shared that post about the
singing otter.” (Craig Dykstra)
*EEF FOC:* An ugly epithet hurled at those who greet us too early in the
morning. (Jamie Martindale, McLean, Va.; Melissa Balmain, Rochester, N.Y.)
*ELBERT:* A man with a high voice. (Tom Witte)
*KCAR:* A classic model with really big headlights. (Chris Doyle)
*ENOTLAID:* A guy who prefers Internet sex to the real thing. (Mark
Raffman, Reston, Va.)
*Still running — deadline Monday night, March 21: our Questionable
Journalism contest. See bit.ly/invite1166 . *