The internet conspired to make me laugh today, which is good ’cause my workday left me feeling irritable. First, The Bloggess. Naturally. Time-share ponies = awesome idea. Then, John and I watched an episode of Castle on Hulu tonight (we’re maybe three episodes behind – it was the one with Donna from That ’70s Show), and there was one scene we laughed so hard at we had to pause the show and go back. Then, I read an email from last week (I’m not that behind – I must have missed this one) that’s a compilation of winning Style Invitational entries and alternate definitions of words. I can’t find the actual list online anywhere, so I think it’s just an email thing that was put together who knows how long ago (I’ve seen some of them before) and by who knows who, but it’s really funny. My favorite was lymph: to walk with a lisp.
Maybe you had to be there.
Pat Myers
It’s not just an e-mail thing: It’s a 1998 contest of The Style Invitational, The Washington Post’s weekly humor/wordplay contest (here’s the whole thing online: scroll down for the results)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/invitational/invit980510.htm
The great thing, though, is that The Style Invitational is still going on, every single week. Much better to see the the current Invitational — every week at washingtonpost.com/styleinvitational. We’ve had more than 600 contests since the ones above! The Style Invitational is published every Sunday in The Post’s Style (features) section, and every Friday afternoon at about 3:30 Eastern time. The contests encompass a wide variety of humor genres, from cartoon captions to song parodies, but there are neologism contests regularly as well.
In fact, our Jan. 23 contest is to move the first letter of a word to the end, and then define the new word. Examples: Ardiness — The feeling of being cramped in a small space. Elved: Dug a North Pole hole.
And here are some results for a recent contest for short notes from one famous person (or thing) to another:
Dear Leonardo: Your fly is open. – Sincerely, Mona Lisa (Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.)
Dear President Lincoln: Please note change to “87” for conciseness. – Sincerely, Copy Editor (Beverley Sharp, Washington)
Dear Rap: Who’s your agent? – Sincerely, Poetry
Dear Brain: Hope you enjoyed your nap. We were really busy while you were off duty! – Nether Parts (Beverley Sharp)
Dear Fast-Food Customer: Maybe I’m just insecure, but I just always want you to want me. – Cheese on That (Brendan Beary, Great Mills, Md.)
See the rest of the winners and learn how to enter the current contest at washingtonpost.com/styleinvitational. Or you can become a fan of “Washington Post Style” on Facebook (go to facebook.com/wapostyle ) and you’ll get a link to the Invitational when it’s posted. I hope you become a regular reader and maybe even a regular entrant.
Best, Pat Myers
The Empress of The Style Invitational
The Washington Post
Zannah
Thanks, Pat! I used to catch the Style Invitational every once in a while when Bob Levey was a columnist, but I lost the habit after he left. No reason not to come back!