the INLAID EAR

Let your mind slip and slide down the linguistic pathways it loves. Let it fall into new alcoves to discover ghost harpists igniting juniper knishes. Get distracted, found, lost. Get silly. PLAY CATEGORIES  This is a word game where you think of words that fit in certain categories and start with certain letters. Here is How to play. Draw your grid, four cells by four cells. Your categories across the tops of your four columns are: Words related                  Embellishments                Synonyms              Made-up words to show biz                      (up to you to define)         for "fix" ...

Beezo says, "Relax!" De Jackson, RJ Clarken and Phil Fleischmann all took prizes in rannygazoo round #2. The gem that really stuck with me was RJ's R-entry for "obscure words." Spending the weekend in Vegas with friends from college, I had many opportunities to use the word rannygazoo , though nobody knew what I was talking about.   If you'd like to join me in reviving the old rannygazoo , it means about the same as shenanigans .   What? You want another round? Of course you do! I do, too! ROUND THREE! (Here's how to play ). For round three the categories are: 1. Someone you would like to hug 2. Objects smaller than a kernel of corn 3. Synonyms for "sexy" 4. A complete sentence beginning with the cue letter wherein that letter is used more often than any other single letter. The 4-letter word: MELD Points will be awarded capriciously and arbitrarily based on (or in spite of) these rules: 1 point per cell fille...

It's Beezo, the Categories Game Rabbit! Congratulations to Pamela (PCS) and Patricia who both took prizes in round one. The prize, a signed copy of "Monster Poems" by Daniel Ari, illustrated by Lauren Ari. Now, let's start round 2!If you don't know how to play, here are the simple directions . The categories are: 1. Fictional places 2. Two names of cities 3. Synonyms of "sound" 4. Obscure words The 4-letter word: HORN Points will be awarded as capriciously and arbitrarily as before according to (or in spite of) these rules: 1 point per cell filled + 1 point for each pair of cities in category 2 that are connected by roads (i.e., you can drive from one to the other). + 5 points for the single pair of cities among all entries that have the greatest driving distance between them. + 1 point for each obscure word in category 4 that includes a definition + 1-3 bonus points for LOLs + 10 bonus points if you also submit a poem or flash fic...

"Categories” or “The Grid Game” is something my family played on car trips or at home. As an adult, I have found it to be a lot of laughs at parties or writing jams. It’s also a good way to stir up creative energy. At the last writing jam at my place, Jud, Maria, Janice, Rachel, Lauren, Jason, Ajua and I played. Sharing our results inspired belly laughs as well as a-ha moments. Then we used the answers we came up with as a wordlist for free writing. So here’s the game and how you can participate now in this blog-based tourney. Three sections follow: HOW TO PLAY SCORING PLAY NOW! HOW TO PLAY Create a 4x4 grid on a piece of paper. You could do this by folding a paper into 16ths, or just draw lines. Here’s mine. You’ll notice I left a little space above and to the left, which is not a bad idea. Above each column, we'll write our categories. When I was a kid, we used categories like animals, foods, girl’s names, and colors.  As an adult, I have foun...