I am an unashamed word-geek. I love the vocabulary, the writers, the depths of literature, the rich images, and the play on words that the English language permits.

The Washington Post is an American daily newspaper, founded in 1877 and published in Washington, D.C. (duh – right!).

Highly regarded, respected for its coverage of national politics, it features a weekly humour contest, known as the Invite. Contributions are invited on a subject, and responses range from the intellectual to street smart.

These are extracts from the theme where contributors take a word, add, subtract or change one letter, then provide a fresh definition.

Intaxication: euphoria at getting a tax refund – which lasts until you realize it was your money in the first place.
Giraffiti: vandalism painted very high above street level
Reintarnation: coming back to life as a hillbilly
Karmageddon: everybody sending off really bad vibes – & then the earth explodes
Sobstitute: hardluck story told by a criminal to disguise the fact that he’s guilty as sin
Carruption: political favours in exchange for expensive cars
Sarchasm: the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit & the person who doesn’t get it