44 voters made it a fairly quiet month, as has been the trend in the last three months both in the voting and on the Forum. Some regulars have been missing or quiet; there have been not many new faces; and a surprisingly low number people on the Reminder List actually ever vote.

Despite that, it has been a good year for the Anagrammy Awards overall. The quality of the anagrams remains high, even if the quantity is lower.

This month's competition was dominated by two very active members who scooped up eleven of the 15 awards. They were Mey Kraus, of course, and, in his best month ever, Tony Crafter.

Mey opened up a handy lead halfway through the first day, with View nine points back, followed by Rick and David. Rick was polling well and moved into second place mid-competition.

By the end of the second day, Mey was 15 points clear and never looked in doubt. Rick was also securely in second place, but Tony was the big finisher, pushing past View to get the third place award.

Rick's win was his seventh this year, giving him 13 awards in his career.

1

  Mey Kraus

47  

Abusive relationships = Pain? Bruises? I have lots.

2

  Rick

37  

Cognitive therapist: ~ "I've got rich patients!"

3

  Tony Crafter

28  

"Hope is a waking dream." - Aristotle = So heartwarming. Said like a poet!

4

  View

25  

Deadly combination = Man, lady, bed, coition.

5

  David Bourke

22  

Stouter girths = Tight trousers.

Another category where Mey won fairly comfortably.

Mey was five points in the lead over Paul by the end of Day One. Toby moved up into second by the last day, but Mey was well clear winning by 17 points.

1

  Mey Kraus

57  

The Mona Lisa drawing = A damsel with a grin on.

2

  Toby Gottfried

40  

"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne = Recall, then, the 'A' worn by Hester in that tale.

3

  Paul Pan

37  

The Hunchback of Notre Dame = A bucktoothed Frenchman, he.

Three in a row for Mey, but he was not the early leader.

Don took a small lead over Toby after 12 hours. Mey joined Toby as joint leader by the 24 hour mark. From there he moved steadily ahead, winning by 21 points.

1

  Mey Kraus

62  

Sir Elton's big day = Not by a girl's side...

2

  Don Rogers

41  

Ariel Sharon hospitalized = A leadership is horizontal.

3

  Toby Gottfried

39  

Times Square, New York City = It quite rocks my New Year's.

I was quite happy with my entry in People's Names and thought that it had at least an outside chance of winning.

I had a small four-point lead over Toby at the end of Day One. Over the next 12 hours, this lead was whittled down to just one point. I was able to break clear on the last day to win by seven points.

This was my eighth win this year and takes my total to 95.

1

  Larry Brash

39  

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone = He began on an experiment: A "Hello?" travelled forth.

2

  David A Green

32  

Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev = Unrivalled, he's famously bravoed in the 'Nutcracker'.

3

  Toby Gottfried

30  

Astronaut John Glenn = Long non-Earth jaunts.

3

  Mey Kraus

30  

The Blessed Virgin Mary = Delivers by this manger.

View quickly opened a small lead here and kept that until the end, never getting more than ten points ahead.

This was View's fourth win this year. His total is now eight awards, placing him in the Top 25 on the All-Time Table.

1

  View

55  

The Polaroid cameras = Clear photo is a dream.

2

  Larry Brash

46  

The Microsoft Corporation = Sort of pathetic or moronic.

3

  Mey Kraus

40  

Hitler's dictatorship = A Third Reich's its plot.

Tony has shown a lot of ability in the Medium and Long categories this year. He won both this month.

In the Medium Category, he was a clear favorite, gradually opening up a twenty point finishing margin.

1

  Tony Crafter

62  

"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." Mark Twain =
"Whereas the others were all, thankfully, the imprudence of my phobic, misbehaving imagination."

2

  Larry Brash

42  

It provokes the desire but it takes away the performance =
Risk's fair that we've had too many beers to keep it up erect.

3

  David Bourke

36  

The new leader of the Conservative Party, David William Donald Cameron =
Onward, after Michael Howard's malevolence, deviation, and petty drivel!

This was definitely the closest category this month.

Toby opened a one-point lead halfway through Day One. Tony was right with him the whole way and passed him at the end of the second day. Tony hung onto a narrow margin to win by just four points.

1

  Tony Crafter

38  

The Christmas movie 'It's A Wonderful Life' = Festive old film hit is sure to charm anew.

2

  Toby Gottfried

34  

"It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas." = Tell Santa, "Come in! Bring those gifts I like!"

3

  Mike Mesterton-Gibbons

29  

The Twelve Days of Christmas ~ Left my saved cash with store.

For the first 36 hours of the competition, Tony and Mey exchanged the lead repeatedly . After that, Tony piled on the points and ended up winning with a 14 point margin.

1

  Tony Crafter

55  

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT by... = 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night...

2

  Mey Kraus

41  

[Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Stag... = The rehearsal Ms. Barber: Nice to s...

3

  David Bourke

38  

John is getting married to the girl of his dreams... = "Ha ha ha! Thanks indeed! Pleased to meet you...

Mey was my favorite for this category, but it was not all plain sailing for him.

Mey did lead from start to finish, but there were good challenges from James and Tony, who took second and third places respectively.

Mey's four wins gave him 44 awards for the year, his highest yearly tally and just one off Richard Grantham's record of 45 monthly awards in 2000. His career total stands at 231 Anagrammies.

James picked up two Specials in the last two months, giving him a total of eight wins overall.

1

  Mey Kraus

43  

Ambigram of the first verse of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.

2

  James H Young

33  

Google.

3

  Tony Crafter

31  

Annabel Lee.

4

  Horrid Stretchy Pus

23  

The Leader by Anonymous.

5

  Hans-Peter Reich

21  

Anagrammed Bible in German.

Well, what a month for Tony!

This category was closely contested with Mey and Tony tied at the half-way point. Tony polled more strongly in the second half for six-point win.

His total of six awards for the month is quite remarkable. Winning six or more awards in a month has only been achieved on nine previous occasions, all by either Mey Kraus or Richard Grantham.

Tony won 21 awards this year, giving him a grand total of 26, which puts him into 11th place of the All-Time Table.

1

  Tony Crafter

50  

The hardcore-porno star Linda Lovelace = Deep Throat's carnal icon loved her oral!

2

  Mey Kraus

44  

The calendar model = A doll had men erect.

3

  Rick

32  

Ah! A suppository clue... ~ Oh, place it up your ass.

With Mey and Tony taking out the lion's share of the awards, there were a lot of authors with non-winning entries this month.

Those in contention included two of David Bourke's (General and Long), two of Toby's (Entertainment and Challenge), Don's Topical, David A. Green's People's Names and Horrid Stretchy Pus' Special. I took into account closeness to the lead and, of course, quality.

With that in mind, I went for:

Toby Gottfried with:
"It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas." =
Tell Santa, "Come in! Bring those gifts I like!"

Toby's win gives him six for 2005, and 21 awards all-up.