Just in time for your long holiday car trips...

THE PREPOSITION GAME!

I know, I know, some of you have been waiting with bated breath since the oblique mention of the Preposition Game a few posts back. "Whatever can that be?" you wonder. "It sounds so fun!"

Well, because it can be played in a car, and because you may be preparing for a long car trip, I have decided the time has come to explain the Preposition Game.

Here is what you do: Someone picks out a verb -- any verb, though some work better than others -- and then you take turns thinking of prepositions that go with that verb to create an idiomatic phrase. Or, if you're not choosy, just prepositions that go with the verb and still make sense. Once you run out of options, whoever thought of the last one gets to pick the next verb.

As an example, a good verb to start with is "turn." From there you can create: turn on, turn off, turn in, turnover, turn up, turn down, etc., etc.

That's it. That's all there is to it. Enjoy!


Fine print (the part read really fast at the end of the drug commercial):
This game should not be played by people who like games but do not appreciate the English language, as the main point of the Preposition Game is to revel in how amazing prepositions are.
It should not be played by people who prefer games with clear rules, because deciding what qualifies as "idiomatic" can quickly devolve into anarchy.
The Preposition Game is most likely lost on small children, unless they are truly precocious. (But do you really want to test that just yet?)
Despite all this, it's really more addictive than you might imagine at first. Really.