Style Invitational Week 1485: That crazy switchcraft
Transpose two letters in a word, name or phrase to make a new one. Plus winning plays on real headlines.
Cartoon by Bob Staake for The Washington Post
Switch the L and D in LEMONADE and you get DEMON ALE: What made Billy and Susie’s curbside stand sell out in 20 minutes.
—If you’re not yet getting this newsletter by email (or if you got dropped because you didn’t expressly opt in since we moved over to Substack): By all means …
BETTY GARBLE: Famed pin-up model with great legs, not so great a voice.
ACT OF DOG: Does your homeowner’s policy cover shredded furniture?
This week’s neologism contest: Switch the positions of two letters within a word, name, title or phrase, then describe the result. (Oh, I guess you could transpose numbers as well.) Feel free to include a funny sentence showing how your term could be used, since other Losers might think of the same word, and because we want readers to laugh, you know? Deadline for Week 1485: Monday night, May 2.
And we have the results of our always hilarious Week 1481 contest, our perennial Mess With Our Heads, in which the Losers looked all over their newspapers and websites for headlines to reinterpret by adding a bank head, or subtitle. (Along with the song parody contests, MWOH is my favorite contest of the year.) Here’s a runner-up:
Real head: ‘My goal, ultimately, is to get eyeballs’:
Barbara Turner’s bank hed: Our exclusive interview with Mr. Potato Head
And this week’s winner is an instant classic — timely and literally LOL funny. Check it out.
In my supplementary column, The Style Conversational, I talk about this week’s contest and results, and share some eerily similar entries from multiple people.
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LINKS TO …
This week's Invitational column, Week 1485, and results of Week 1481
The same column for non-subscribers (but do sign up — there are always great promotions going on!)
No-paywall entry form for Week 1485
This week’s Style Conversational column
Still running -- deadline Monday night, April 25: We list various settings: at the gym, in elementary school, at a religious service and several more — including the fave “in bed” — and you tell us a sentence that could be said at any two of those places. Like at a gym and hairstylist: “Look how I can curl!” See Week 1484 here; see the no-paywall entry form here.
More ways to enjoy The Style Invitational and be part of the Loser Community:
Join the Style Invitational Devotees group on Facebook and the Devs will anagram your name every which way.
Also on Facebook, the Style Invitational Ink of the Day page presents one classic entry as a colorful graphic that's easy to share. "Like" the page to get it regularly on your news feed, or to scroll through the archives. bit.ly/inkofday.
And we're now on Season 2 of the You're Invited podcast, half-hour episodes with host Mike Gips and various Invite luminaries. Catch all 18 episodes at bit.ly/invite-podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
— Pat Myers, Empress of The Style Invitational, pat.myers@washpost.com (or just reply to this email)
*That's Loser with a capital L; named for the runner-up prizes emblazoned "LOSER," the community of regular Style Invitational entrants now proudly calls itself the Losers. If you enter the Invite, you're a Genuine Loser. But not (necessarily) a loser.