Here are the results of the 2004 Grand Anagrammy Awards. This was our seventh annual awards competition, where the winners from the monthly awards compete for the Grand Anagrammies. You will notice that all categories had less than twelve entries, because members with more than one anagram in a category often take up the option of reducing the number of their entries.

As with past Anagrammies, the standard is always extremely high, which makes voting very difficult, especially when asked to select their favorite Overall Short and Long anagram.

We had 51 voters this year, which is the highest for the Grand Anagrammies, but well short of our record 67 for earlier in the year.

The Anagrammy website has continued to improve over the last twelve months, with enhancements in both the voting page and the forum. I would like to thank my colleagues, Richard Grantham and Tony Gottfried for their continuing work on the website.

We have had quite a lot of new members join this year who have been very active on the forum. Sadly, some of our very good regulars have become less frequent with their postings. Despite that, records have continued to be broken, with record numbers of postings and nominations, as well as record number of voters in 2004.

On Day 1, the early leaders were Mey and Adrian sharing the lead, with a bunch, including David, Zoran, Hans-Peter and Chris Sturdy, being in contention. However, by the end of the first day, Hans-Peter had a narrow lead over Rosie and David.

On Day 2, the Hans-Peter gradually consolidated his lead, whereas the minor placings changed from vote to vote. By the end of the competition, Hans-Peter had moved a good eight points clear, with two of David's anagrams taking the minor placings and Mey just being pushed into fourth place by a mere one vote.

Prior to the competition, Hans-Peter had asked my opinion as which of his two anagrams to run in this competition. I thought that the December winner was by far the stronger anagram and I pointed out that anagrams from the latter part of the year tended to do better than those from early in the year. It turned out to be a good choice.

This was Hans-Peter's third Grand Anagrammy.

1

  Hans-Peter Reich

48  

What is the square root of nine? = THREE, for an equation shows it!

2

  David Bourke

40  

Pure animal lust = Natural impulse.

3

  David Bourke

34  

A domestic housecat = Does it catch a mouse?

4

  Meyran Kraus

33  

A Siberian tiger = It is a rare being.

5

  Chris Sturdy

30  

Week ashore = Seek a whore!

5

  Chris Doyle

30  

Familiarity breeds contempt = It's one cramped, bitter family.

This was never going to be a close event and halfway through Day 1 it was clear Mey had a very big lead and even his second string anagram was looking solid for second place. Those positions did not change during the competition, with him winning by over 20 points with his second place anagram and 30 points ahead of Adrian in third.

A very impressive victory, given the very high standard of Entertainment Anagrams this last twelve months.

1

  Meyran Kraus

72  

Ceiling murals of the Sistine Chapel = Hail Michelangelo's finest pictures!

2

  Meyran Kraus

51  

The DreamWorks Studio = Our team did two 'Shreks'.

3

  Adrian Hickford

42  

"On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin = Chronicle brings new ideas of ape history.

This was certainly quite a close competition, with Mey opening a small lead on Day 1 over Chris, David, Don and Adrian close for second place. By the end of Day 2, David had tied with Mey in first place. They went head to head and by the end of the final day Mey was leading by one point.

1

  Meyran Kraus

48  

The White House Daily Press Briefing = Hey, I air the lies of President G.W. Bush!

2

  David Bourke

47  

The Presidential election = Select the perennial idiot!

3

  Chris Doyle

35  

A father's day card = Dad has a cry after.

This was another easy win category for Mey, who had a sixteen point lead by the middle of the first day. That gap just continued to open up as the competition went on, for a huge win of nearly 30 points by the end.

1

  Meyran Kraus

67  

Bill Clinton, the former president of the USA = On reflection, I'd still prefer the man to Bush!

2

  JB

38  

Nurse Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp = This Crimea War angel, on duty helping the fallen.

3

  Adrian Hickford

37  

Surrealist Salvador Dali = All art's a visual disorder.

This was yet another extremely close event, with Adrian leading out, followed by Mey and Chris Doyle. By the end of Day 2, Adrian had a small lead over Chris and on the final day they tied for the lead to share the award in this category. Alan Morley did well to get within three points of them, having started very slowly but finished very strongly.

Adrian's win was his seveth Grand Anagrammy, whereas This was Chris' first

1

  Adrian Hickford

42  

Castle, knight, armour... = King Arthur's Camelot.

1

  Chris Doyle

42  

The National Rifle Association = Fanatical loonies are into this.

3

  Allan Morley

39  

The Leaning Tower of Pisa = A spire of note, with angle.

We decided to move Rude back to the front page so that it could be included in voting for the overall short anagram.

Rick took an early lead here and was clear by five points at the end of the first day. He maintained that margin through to the end, with Chris always looking confident for second place.

This was Rick's second win in the Grands, with his previous win back in 2000.

1

  Rick Rothstein

45  

An incestuous act = Eat a cousin's cunt.

2

  Chris Sturdy

39  

A woman having triplets = Won't ma split her vagina?

3

  Meyran Kraus

33  

Her best asset = These breasts!

As I mentioned above, the December winners always seem to have an advantage over anagrams from the early months of the year and this was no exception.

Richard opened a six point lead early on the first day and increased this steadily. The votes strongly favoured him on the final day for him to win with a 32 point margin. There was a close battle for second between Adrian and I.

1

  Richard Grantham

70  

If it squirms, it's biology
If it stinks, it's chemistry
If it doesn't work, it's physics
And if you can't understand it, it's mathematics. =
If it's wordy, it's English
If it's knotty, it's economics
If it squeaks, it's music
And if it's run by the Antichrist, dammit, it's sport day.

2

  Adrian Hickford

32  

There are 10 kinds of people: those who understand binary and those who don't. =
Ho ho! The sharp-eyed nerd! How wonderful not to be trained to speak in 1's and 0's.

3

  Larry Brash

31  

The late John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, the late George Harrison, and Ringo Starr =
In long careers, they all once sang major hits in a rather talented Northern group.

Mey was the early leader here and was well clear by ten points by the end of the first day. That margin stayed fairly static for the rest of the competition, with yet another win for Mey.

1

  Meyran Kraus

50  

Ironic by Alanis Morissette An old man ... = Now, How Was That Ironic? Dear Alanis...

2

  Richard Grantham

41  

My girlfriend, in addition to being (amo... = However, don't let it be said that I'...

3

  Larry Brash

39  

INTERNATIONAL LOTTO. Sir/Madam, We a... = Dear Madam, Thank you for letting m...

There were some really high quality anagrams as usual in this category this year.

This was always a very close and exciting competition, with the two Richards tying for the lead after the first day and David Burke's Grinch anagram coming in third.

At times, Richard Grantham would break a few points clear but eventually they tied on 50 points each at the end of the competition. David Burke's Grinch anagram was third, but reasonably closely challenged by my own, three points adrift in fourth place.

Richard Brodie's win here was his seventh Grand Anagrammy.

1

  Richard Grantham

50  

An anagrammed crossword puzzle.

1

  Richard Brodie

50  

Shakespeare's 17th sonnet anagrammed five different ways.

3

  David Bourke

26  

How The Grinch Stole Christmas!.

4

  Larry Brash

23  

May I take the liberty to introduce myself...

5

  Meyran Kraus

18  

Sonnet Number Two by William Shakespeare.

As has been the case in the last few years, there were really only two serious contenders here, with Anagram Artist and Anagram Genius. Last year, Anagram Artist won pretty comfortably, but it was a much closer competition this year.

By the end of the first day, Anagram Artist was nine points clear and ultimately only finished eleven points clear. I think this clearly indicates that there are only two seriously good anagram programmes on the market and they are both very popular.

Out of the 51 voters, 29 actually did vote in this category, indicating that both programmes are quite extensively used.

This was Mike's fourth consecutive win in this category. He has won nine Grands overall.

1

  Mike Keith

66  

Anagram Artist 2.6 by Mike Keith

2

  William Tunstall-Pedoe

57  

Anagram Genius Version 9 by William Tunstall-Pedoe

3

  Onno Zweers

8  

FART (Free Anagram Research Tool) 5.1 by Onno Zweers

In the final wash-up, there were 46 of the short anagrams that got at least one point. However, it was clear from the very beginning which one was going to ultimately win, with Mey opening up a small lead with his Bill Clinton anagram. He was a very easy winner in this category.

As usual, it is very difficult to try and pick one of 50 or so great short anagrams.

1

  Meyran Kraus

23  

Bill Clinton, the former president of the USA = On reflection, I'd still prefer the man to Bush!

2

  Adrian Hickford

13  

Castle, knight, armour... = King Arthur's Camelot.

3

  Meyran Kraus

13  

Ceiling murals of the Sistine Chapel = Hail Michelangelo's finest pictures!

4

  Chris Sturdy

12  

Week ashore = Seek a whore!

5

  Jesse Frankovich

11  

William Shakespeare, the Immortal Bard o... = I am a hero and master of verbal skill...

6

  David Bourke

10  

The Presidential election = Select the perennial idiot!

7

  Chris Doyle

10  

Familiarity breeds contempt = It's one cramped, bitter family.

8

  Meyran Kraus

10  

Abstinence Education Program = Campaigned to ban intercourse.

9

  Hans-Peter Reich

10  

What is the square root of nine? = THREE, for an equation shows it!

10

  JB

9  

Nurse Florence Nightingale, the Lady wit... = This Crimea War angel, on duty helping...

While there are a much lower number of choices in picking the overall long anagrams, it is still extremely difficult because of the high quality of the contenders. Richard Grantham's winner in Special had a small lead from Richard Brodie's Special on Day 1. Richard Grantham's anagram consolidated over the next two days for a good six point margin.

A very solid performance in this year's Grands for Richard with three winners and a total of 30 over the last six years

1

  Richard Grantham

31  

An anagrammed crossword puzzle.

2

  Richard Brodie

25  

Shakespeare's 17th sonnet anagrammed five different ways.

3

  Meyran Kraus

19  

Ironic by Alanis Morissette An old man ... = Now, How Was That Ironic? Dear Alanis...

4

  Larry Brash

15  

INTERNATIONAL LOTTO. Sir/Madam, We a... = Dear Madam, Thank you for letting m...

5

  David Bourke

11  

A duck walks into a bar and orders a bee... = A man, a flamingo, and a black cat e...

6

  Richard Grantham

11  

If it squirms, it's biology If it stink... = If it's wordy, it's English If it's k...

7

  David Bourke

10  

PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

8

  David Bourke

9  

How The Grinch Stole Christmas!.

9

  JB

8  

'A Story Wet As Tears' by Marge Piercy ... = 'Yet Another Story' Once upon a time...

10

  Richard Grantham

8  

My girlfriend, in addition to being (amo... = However, don't let it be said that I'...

Chris Doyle.

Chris joined us mid-2004. While he may not post a large number of anagrams, they are always of high quality. He won five monthly awards and tw Grand Anagrammies (including this one) this year.

Tony Crafter

Tony also joined us this year and it was debateable whether he or Chris Doyle should win Rookie or Most Improved. Tony has been a very active poster and has been unlucky on may occasions not to win awards. He won five monthly awards and this Grand Anagrammy this year.

David Bourke

Early in 2004, I might have picked Adrian Hickford for this award, but David continued to post and win consistently all year long with some memorable long anagrams. He won 16 monthly awards and four Grands this year.

Mey Kraus

41 monthly awards and six Grand Anagrammies, and a record 990.92 DFE points score, make Mey the undoubted Anagrammatist of the Year.

Thank you all for participating and voting in this month's awards. Congratulations to the winners.

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