Home > The Book Page > Archives > 2008 > January > 11 > Entry
Best euphemism winner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our third Book Page contest, for Best Euphemism, has a winner. “A couple Skittles short of a rainbow,” a clever variation on the many versions of “not the sharpest knife in the drawer,” etc., ad finitum. It was submitted by Matt. Congratulations, Matt. You win my copy of “How Not to Say What You Mean,” the dictionary of euphemisms.
The contests I run here seem to be somewhat popular. For the first three, I have keyed them to a specific book, and given away the book as the prize. I am now opening up the floor for other contest ideas. They have to be book-related, in some way, and I will probably keep giving books away, just because it seems appropriate.
So help me out here. What should our next Book Page contest be?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Contests
Comments
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By Lily Toad
January 11, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this
How about make up a funny Malapropism — for example, what’s good for the goose is good for a dandy. OK, not the best example, but that’s the idea.
By Lily Toad
January 11, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this
How about make up a funny Malapropism — for example, what’s good for the goose is good for a dandy. OK, not the best example, but that’s the idea.
By Kate
January 11, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this
Maybe a worst opening line contest. ‘It was a dark and stormy night’ kindof thing. The winner gets a Nicholas Sparks book (jest kiddin’ Jeff!).
Or something with poetry….like that Shakespeare sonnet that went something like: my lover’s eyes are nothing like the sun.
Wait a minute!! I got it!! A limerick contest. Only originals…we know all about the young man from Japan.
By Dan Jones
January 11, 2008 9:05 PM | Link to this
James Agee.
Not even close.
I don’t know if there are any Agee fans out there but Univ Tennessee Press just put out the original restored text to “A Death in the Family” Edited by Michael Lofaro.
Wow. Made my year reading wise and it’s early!
By Short Lived
January 13, 2008 8:42 AM | Link to this
How about a contest where the way to win is not to enter. When we see a blank page, we’ll all know that we’ve won. Hooray. We’ve never won anything in our lives. We cant believe it. Is this our 15 minutes? OMG.
We’re not going to Disneyland.
PS. Seriously, how about a contest where the way to win is include the most egregious split infinitives, wrong tense, wrong person, dangling participles, preposition blunders, incomplete thoughts, and “third guy from the left on the evolutionary chart” prose. 25 words or less. (Oh right, the AJC editors have been in THAT particular contest for twenty five years.)
Nevermind. Go on with what you were doing. no, really, I zoned, my bad, a thousand pardons, I’m okay, It’s all good, mi casa, faded jeans, beans and franks….
By Jeff
January 14, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this
I actually like the ‘worst opening line’ idea, though I wouldn’t give away a Sparks book for it.
Another (and a way to promote a local author and AJC columnist) might be ‘Most startling but true fact about men’ from women or ‘Most startling but true fact about women’ from men, with similar contests of ‘Most startling but true fact about teenage girl/ boys’. Winner would get the appropriate title from Shaunti Feldhan’s For _(blank)_ Only series. (I know For Women Only, For Men Only, For Parents Only, and For Young Women Only are out, I think the one she is either currently working on or about to start is For Young Men Only)
Oh, and that might be another idea (sparking off the Feldhahn idea and the fact that a Foxworthy contest has already been done): How about contests featuring local (ATL and/ or GA) authors where appropriate?