The_Empress

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  Washington Post's Mensa Invitational

  by chickpea in

  1. social
  2. humour

  the readers were asked to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

  here are the winners:.

  1. cashtration (n.): the act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time... .

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  The_Empress

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  There actually is no "Mensa Invitational," but The Washington Post does have a wonderfully clever humor contest called The Style Invitational. And two Invitational contests from 1998 are the sources of many -- but not all -- of the neologisms in the list above. (For example, "decafalon" isn't a one-letter change from "decathlon," is it? Or "caterpallor"?)

  Much better to see the real thing -- every week at washingtonpost.com/styleinvitational. The Style Invitational is a weekly humor/wordplay contest with unbelievably clever humor contributed by thousands of readers. It's published every Saturday in The Post's Style (features) section, and every Friday afternoon at about 3:30.

  The most recent results (Jan. 30, 2010) were for humorous poems about people who died last year. One winner:

  Because the AmEx card's their fave,

  They're here today to tout it.

  The diggers of Karl Malden'sgrave

  Just won't heave loam without it. (Chris Doyle, Ponder, Tex.)

  Last week’s was made-up homonyms or homophones. Among the winners:

  Ho-maid: The role of a traditional wife.

  Hi-deaf TV: Commercials.

  S-cargo: Snail mail.

  You can see links to these contests and dozens of earlier ones 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 regular readers and maybe even regular entrants.

  Best,

  The Empress of The Style Invitational