The Invitational Week 144: Move On Back
A coin-a-funny-word contest. Plus the link between Audi and Saudi, and more add-a-letter winners.
Pat Myers and Gene Weingarten
Oct 02, 2025


Contesting the seat. (See the honorable mention by Jay Branegan in today’s Invitational results.)
Hello.

About a year and a half ago, we asked you to move the last letter of a word to make it the first letter, then define the resulting new word. (Winner of Week 67, by Jesse Frankovich: “BADLI: How one typically speaks when unprepared.”) This week we’ll do the inevitable flip side.

For Invitational Week 144: Choose a word, name, or short phrase; move the first letter to the end; then define or otherwise illustrate the resulting term, as in the examples below, all inking entries from the first time we ran this contest, back in 2011. See the complete set of results here, to make sure you’re not repeating the same jokes, as well as for guidance, inspiration, and just plain laffs — and you’ll notice that the inking neologism almost always relates in some way to the original word.

OMMUTEC: The Egyptian god of wasted time. (David Garratt)

ANKST: Uneasiness about what the army sent into town to “keep the peace.” (Marian Carlsson)

EEKABOOP: A cruel game to frighten babies. (Ann Martin)

ERRIERED: Made an ass of oneself. (Jeff Contompasis)

CARECROWS: Women who are so devoted to their men that they frighten them away. (Lawrence McGuire)

Formatting this week: Start each entry with your neologism, as above — and as usual, write each entry as one long line (i.e., don’t press Enter until you’re ready to type your next entry).

Deadline is Saturday, Oct. 11, at 9 p.m. ET. Results will run here in The Gene Pool on Thursday, Oct. 16. As usual, you may submit up to 25 entries for this week’s contest, preferably all on the same form.

Click here for this week’s entry form, or go to tinyURL.com/inv-form-144.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email, please click on the headline at the top of the page to get an updated version of The Gene Pool online, with any amendments, emendations, etc. made after the email was sent.)

This week’s winner receives some very nice adult-size socks with dragons and wizards and shit on them. Donated by the ever-donatin’ Dave Prevar.


Runners-up get autographed fake money featuring the Czar or Empress, in one of eight nifty designs. Honorable mentions get bupkis, except for a personal email from the E, plus the Fir Stink for First Ink for First Offenders.

A Wor(l)d of Difference: Add-a-letters from Week 142
In Invitational Week 142 we asked you to choose two words that were the same except for one extra letter, and explain how they were similar, different, or otherwise linked. As we’d predicted, we got lots of Trump/rump. None of them got ink.

Third runner-up:
Vane and Vance: Both are in high positions, pointing whichever way the wind blows. (Jesse Frankovich, Laingsburg, Mich.)

Second runner-up:
Paper and Pauper: You’re not likely to see either in an Apple Store.
(Ben Aronin, Washington, D.C.)

First runner-up:
Needles: Used for vaccines.
Needless: Vaccines. — RFK Jr.
(Kevin Dopart, Washington, D.C.)

And the winner of the toilet earrings:
Q: You will fall for conspiracy theories.
IQ: You won’t fall for conspiracy theories.
(Leif Picoult, Rockville, Md.)

And now, the Invitational Gene Pool Gene Poll:

POLL
Which among the four entries above is your favorite?
3rd runner-up: Vane/Vance
34%
2nd RU: Paper/pauper
12%
1st RU: Needles/needless
17%
Winner: Q/IQ
36%
185 VOTES · 2 DAYS REMAINING
As always, if you think we ignored better entries in the Honorables (below) yell at us in the Comments.

Leave a comment

The (S)crap Heap: Honorable mentions
Audi and Saudi: Either might be found in a chop shop. (Kevin Dopart)

Lawful: The right thing to do.
Awful: The Right thing to do. (Leif Picoult)

Nice: Helping you out.
ICE: Helping you OUT. (Jesse Frankovich)

Gophers: Live most of their lives in the dark, are food for foxes.
GOPers: Live most of their lives in the dark, feed on Fox. (Jonathan Jensen, Baltimore)

Resident: Doctors the sick.
President: Doctors the truth. (Michael Stein, Arlington, Va.)

Addition: When you’re doing math.
Addiction: When you’re doing meth. (Leif Picoult)

Amen: Yes!
Amend: Yes, but… (Ben Aronin)

Banking and baking:
The difference isn’t as much as it looks
Depending on who might be cooking the books. (Jon Gearhart, Des Moines)

Imperious and impervious: Maddeningly, Trump is both. (Leif Picoult)

“Facilities to let”? I don’t care how snooty the door sign makes it sound, it’s still a pay toilet. (Jay Branegan, Washington, D.C., a First Offender)

Bible and bile: Pretty much all the President has to offer. (Jesse Frankovich)

Magma and MAGA: One of these spewing, uncontrollable masses cools off eventually. (Kevin Dopart)

Crowd: “No one’s ever seen a better one.”
Crow: “What I’ve just gotta do at a funeral.” — D.J.T., State Farm Stadium, Arizona (Judy Freed, Philadelphia)

Dogie: Git along.
DOGE: Git! (Neil Kurland, Elkridge, Md.)

Guilt-free: What Donald Trump will always be.
Gilt-free: What Donald Trump will never be. (Steve Smith, Potomac, Md.)

Bond: Government asset.
Bondi: Government liability. (Kevin Dopart)

Halligan bar: Tool known for tearing down doors.
Halligan, Barr: Tools known for tearing down democracy. (David Peckarsky, Tucson, Ariz.)

IBM: Big Blue.
BM: Big Brown. (William Kennard, Arlington, Va.)

In the airline industry today, it’s not easy being Boeing. (Chris Doyle, Denton, Tex.)

Black lives matter. Black olives, not so much. (Stuart Anderson, Seattle)

WHAT? Our public schools are teaching good Christian kids that “princes” can become “princess” just by adding the letter S, that changing gender is JUST THAT EASY? We must stop this woke liberal nonsense! — Rep. Nancy Mace (Gregory Koch, Falls Church, Va.)

No, a torch song doesn’t literally singe the singer. (Gary Crockett, Chevy Chase, Md.)

Office Depot: sells you paper clips. Office Despot: rations your paper clips. (Diana Oertel, San Francisco)

OJ: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
DOJ: “Trump says ‘indict’ or your job will take flight.” (Jeff Shirley, Richmond, Va.)

VIP and VP: One is a very important person. (Jon Cannon, Potomac, Md.)

Papal and papa: The Pope’s bull is an official decree; your Pop’s bull is, well, just plain ol’ bull. (Beverley Sharp, Montgomery, Ala.)

War: Newly named department.
Wary: What our allies are now. (Duncan Stevens, Vienna, Va.)

Prego: Like what Mama made.
Preggo: Look what Mama made! (Tom Witte, Montgomery Village, Md.)

Win: Get the most votes.
Wink: Find the most votes. (Kevin Dopart)

Spic and span: So clean you can lick the floor.
Spic and spank: Your dominatrix made you lick the floor clean. (Stephen Dudzik, Olney, Md.)

Public and pubic: To Yo Mama, they both mean “open to everyone.” (Dan Aronin)

Rabbits and rabbis: You can be sure that one of them won’t be raiding your garden on Yom Kippur. (Gregory Koch)

Roadway: Where some drivers are apt to lose their shit.
Broadway: Where some producers are apt to lose their shirt. (Jonathan Jensen)

Spine: Republican politicians used to have one.
Supine: Republican politicians today. (Neil Kurland)

You trust in a good friend.
You thrust in a very good friend. (Tom Witte)

Once television came along it was “Adios, radios!” (Gary Crockett)

Voidable: Federal jobs in 2025.
Avoidable: What if, in 2024, we hadn’t … (Neil Kurland)

And Last: In and kin: Put ’em together and this entry is inkin’! (Gary Crockett)

The headline “A Wor(l)d of Difference” is by Michael Stein; Neil Kurland wrote the honorable-mentions subhead.

Still running — deadline Saturday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m. ET: Our contest to come up with the idea for a humorous scientific study that could qualify for an Ig Nobel Prize. Click below for details.


InvisibleInk!
Idea: ()
Examples: (Jeff Contompasis; David Garratt; Marian Carlsson; Ann Martin;
Lawrence McGuire)
Judging: ()
Title: (Michael Stein)
Subhead: (Neil Kurland)
Prize: (Dave Prevar)
Add:H:1588: ()
VisibleInk!