Anti-Match Game – The Neighborhood of Make-Believe RESULTS

Answers to the quiz were received by 36 neighbors. In the results post, the neighbors’ names will be abbreviated as:

Andy Berisford – ABe
Andrew Bradburn – ABr
Andrew Esten – AE
Alex Jeffrey – AJ
Al Sanders – AS
Brigette Anderson – BA
Ben Smith – BS
Christopher Adams – CA
Christy Meisler – CM
Dan Katz – DK
Debbie Manber Kupfer – DMK
Erik Agard – EA
Eli Barrieau – EB
Foggy Brume – FB
Jackie Anderson – JA
Jason Brown – JB
Joanna Cheng – JC
Jeffrey Harris – JH
Joshua Kosman – JK
Jack Martin – JMa
J Melvin – JMe
Jeffrey Schwartz – JS
Katie Hamill – KH
Michael Fleck – MF
Mark Halpin – MH
Matt Jones – MJ
Miriam Nadel – MN
Marc Spraragen – MS
Nathan Curtis – NC
Neville Fogarty – NF
Projectyl – P
Scott Weiss – SW
Joe Cabrera – T!
Trip Payne – TP
Wil Zambole – WZ
Yossi Fendel – YF

1. King Friday XIII
A black cat crossing one’s path (3) – BA JH YF
Breaking a mirror (1) – JB
Failing to respond to a chain letter (2) – AS MF
Hanging a horseshoe with the ends pointing down (4) – ABe ABr BS JS
Meeting one’s doppleganger (7) – MH
Opening an umbrella while indoors (2) – CM MN
Placing chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice (6) – CA EA MJ MS NC P
Saying the word “Macbeth” while inside a theatre (4) – DK JA JC JMe
Seeing one’s doppelganger (7) – EB
Shoes on a table (5) – AE JK JMa TP WZ
Three on a match (2) – NF T!
Viewing one’s doppelganger (4) – AJ FB KH SW
Walking under a ladder (1) – DMK

The “meeting” and “seeing” answers were ruled incorrect because they did not match the enumeration or RSTLNE pattern of the puzzle. The unchosen correct answers are THUNDERSTORMS and TIPPING A SALT SHAKER OVER.

2. Queen Sara Saturday
Antigua and Barbuda (2) – FB NF
Australia (4) – DK DMK JC JH
Barbados (8) – ABe EA JMe JS KH MJ P WZ
Belize (2) – BS MN
British Virgin Islands (9) – MS
Canada (3) – BA MH SW
Grenada (1) – JA
Jamaica (3) – AS JMa MF
New Zealand (1) – CM
St Kitts and Nevis (4) – CA JB JK NC
St Lucia (3) – ABr AJ EB
St Vincent and the Grenadines (1) – TP
Trinidad and Tobago (9) – AE
United Kingdom (2) – T! YF

British Virgin Islands does not have “nation” status. Elizabeth II was head of state of Trinidad and Tobago until 1976 when the nation became a republic and the head of state position shifted to its president. The unchosen correct answers are the Bahamas, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

3. Prince Tuesday
A – Bono (3) – CA DK JH
B – Common (1) – EA
C – Drake (3) – FB SW YF
E – Logic (1) – AJ
F – Lulu (5) – AS JK KH NC NF
G – Moby (2) – JS T!
H – Pink (2) – JC MN
J – Sade (5) – ABe BS EB MJ MS
K – Seal (2) – MH P
L – Shaggy (5) – AE BA JA JMa MF
M – Slash (4) – ABr CM JB WZ
N – Sting (2) – DMK JMe
P – Vanity (1) – TP

Flea (D), Pitbull (I), and Thalia (O) were the unchosen answers.

4. Cornflake S. Pecially and Mr. McFeely
B – Best Buy (2) – BS TP
E – Apple (4) – EA JC NC T!
F – Abercrombie and Fitch (7) – EB
F – Burlington Coat Factory (3) – JB JS P
G – Target (6) – ABr AS CA FB JA WZ
H – Kohls (2) – AJ MN
(apostrophe) – Wendy’s (3) – CM DMK JK
(hyphen) – 7-Eleven (1) – NF
K – Kroger (2) – MF MH
L – Walmart (3) – BA JH SW
M – Yum! Brands (6) – ABe DK KH MJ MS YF
M – Yum! Foods (7) – JMa
O – Amazon (1) – AE
O – Costco (7) – JMe

This question went through a few different formats before the final draft, which may explain why some of the retail company choices seem a bit random. Costco is a correct answer but for the “C” envelope. The unchosen correct answers are (A)lbertsons, Home (D)epot, and Walgree(N)s.

5. Henrietta Pussycat
A – “Annyong” [Hel-loh “Annyong” Bluth from “Arrested Development”] (4) – CA JS MF MS
B – “Beep beep” [Road Runner from Looney Tunes animated shorts] – (1) JB
C – “I am Groot” [Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy”] (3) – BA DMK JC
D – “Hello” [George from “Crazy People”] (2) KH MJ
E – “Hodor” [Hodor/Wylis from “Game of Thrones”] (2) JK MH
F – “Meep” [Beaker from “The Muppet Show”] (1) YF
G – “Mine” [Seagulls from “Finding Nemo”] (6) ABr FB JMa NC T! TP
H – Nevermore [Raven from “The Raven”] (5) ABe AS JMe MN SW
I – Pop pop [Magnitude from “Community”] (10) BS CM DK EA EB JA JH NF P WZ
K – “Timmy” [Timmy Burch from “South Park”] (1) AJ
M – “Yarp” [Michael “Lurch” Armstrong from “Hot Fuzz”] (1) AE

When a question requires players to identify an answer from a closed set, I tend to order the set members in alphabetical order by answer as a minor solving aid. An early version of this question used “Groot” as the catchphrase, and when I changed it to “I am Groot” I failed to adjust its alphabetical order. Even though the alphabetical order wasn’t explicitly established, I apologize if this caused confusion. “Smurf” from the animated series “The Smurfs” and “Whatever” spoken by Duane Moffat on “Full House” are the unchosen correct answers.

6. X the Owl
box elder (2) AS EB
boxwood (2) FB NF
flax (2) WZ JB
foxglove (11) ABr AE AJ  BA DK DMK JA JH KH MH YF
ilex (2) EA NC
oxeye (4) BS MF MS SW
phlox (8) ABe CM JK JS MJ MN  T! TP
redbox gum (12) – JC
wax bean (1) – JMa
wax palm (1) – CA
xanthum (12) – JMe
xeranthemum (12) – P

Redbox gum and xanthum are not 11C (xanthum is not a close-enough misspelling of a valid plant name). Xeranthemum is appears in Merriam-Webster Unabridged but not 11C. Most of the common tree and plant names were chosen, but an unchosen answer that puzzlers might be familiar with is saxifrage.

7. Lady Elaine Fairchilde
Alpha – For all (8) – AE AJ AS JA JK MS NF YF
Bang – Signo de apertura de exclamación (8) – ABe ABr EA JMa MF MJ MN WZ
Because – Therefore (2) – CA JC
Circumflex – Hacek (2) – JB KH
Comma – Okina (1) – NC
Euler’s number – Schwa (5) – BA BS EB MH SW
Fasila manqoota – Semicolon (1) – FB
Grasshopper – Queen (3) CM JH P
Intersection – Union (2) – DK T!
Mho – Omega (3) JMe JS TP
Omega – Union (9) – DMK

Omega – Union is a reasonable guess but I could not find a typographical variation of an omega that resembles an inverted union symbol. Komi de/Rho and Tau/Up tack are the unchosen pairs.

8. Ana Platypus
aboriginal (9) – YF
billabong (6) – CA JK MJ P TP WZ
boomerang (2) – AE DK
coolibah (9) – JC JH
corroboree (1) – MN
didgeridoo (9) – BA SW
dingo (1) – MS
kangaroo (5) – DMK EA EB JB MF
koala (2) – JA JMe
kookaburra (8) – ABe ABr AS BS CM FB MH T!
numbat (9) – NC
wallaby (4) – AJ JMa JS KH
wallaroo (1) – NF

“Aborginal” comes from Latin roots. “Coolibah” (a variant of “coolabah”) and “numbat” are in Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged but not 11C. Theories on the origin of “didgeridoo” vary though most scholars believe the word is an imitative Western invention, which is the theory presented in 11C. Unchosen correct answers include barramundi, budgerigar, galah, and wombat.

9. Donkey Hodie and Harriet Elizabeth Cow
A – bubble and squeak (6) – CM DMK FB JMe MJ P
B – chowder (1) – JB
C – colcannon (1) – BS
D – French fry (3) – ABr AE BA
E – gnocchi (6) – AS JA JC JH MN YF
F – hash browns (1) – MF
I – knish (2) – DK SW
J – kugel (2) – JK JS
L – raclette (8) – ABe CA EA EB MH NC NF TP
M – red flannel hash (1) – KH
N – shepherd’s pie (2) – AJ WZ
P – bouillabaisse (9) – T!
P – vichyssoise (2) – JMa MS

The unchosen answers are G – hotchpotch, H – Irish stew, K – latke, and O – tzimmes

10. Daniel Striped Tiger
A – archery (10) – FB
A – boxing (2) EB WZ
A – judo (10) – AE
B – figure skating (5) – BA BS CM JA JB
C – curling (10) – T!
C – polo (9) – ABe AS EA JH JK JMa MN SW TP
C – rugby (10) – JS
D – rugby sevens (1) – CA
E – water polo (1) – NF
F – basketball (2 ) – AJ MJ
G – American football (2) – JMe YF
H – ice hockey (4) – KH MF MS P
I – Australian rules football (2) – ABr JC
J – roller derby (1) – NC
L – association football (3) – DK DMK MH

Timed rounds in Olympic archery have no distinction between male and female competitors. Judo matches are 4 and 5 minutes maximum for female and male competitors respectively. Curling has “thinking time” limits but the term chukka is specific to polo. K – Field hockey is the unchosen correct entry.

Tiebreaker:
550,000 – SW
650,000 – WZ
768,000 – T!
5,000,000 – KH
7,150,000 – MJ
8,000,000 – JA
8,000,000 – JMe
11,000,000 – MS
11,111,111 – JS
11,500,000 – TP
14,000,000 – AE
14,000,000 – JB
14,200,000 – DK
17,000,000 – MH
18,742,103 – FB
19,800,000 – CA
20,500,000 – BS
22,835,787 – CORRECT
23,000,000 – AJ
25,000,000 – DMK
28,000,000 – BA
29,000,000 – JC
30,000,000 – NF
36,000,000 – YF
37,000,000 – MN
37,000,000 – ABr
40,000,000 – JK
42,117,285 – EA
53,000,000 – AS
55,000,000 – ABe
63,000,000 – JMa
67,764,377 – NC
88,000,000 – EB
135,000,000 – MF
200,000,000 – CM
250,000,000 – JH
300,000,000 – P

FINAL SCORES

RANK	INIT	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	Q7	Q8	Q9	Q10	TOTAL
1	JB	1	4	4	3	1	2	2	5	1	5	28
2	AJ	4	3	1	2	1	11	8	4	2	2	38
3	MF	2	3	5	2	4	4	8	5	1	4	38
4	NF	2	2	5	1	10	2	8	1	8	1	40
5	CA	6	4	3	6	4	1	2	6	8	1	41
6	MN	2	2	2	2	5	8	8	1	6	9	45
7	BS	4	2	5	2	10	4	5	8	1	5	46
8	NC	6	4	5	4	6	2	1	9	8	1	46
9	DMK	1	4	2	3	3	11	9	5	6	3	47
10	DK	4	4	3	6	10	11	2	2	2	3	47
11	KH	4	8	5	6	2	11	2	4	1	4	47
12	SW	4	3	3	3	5	4	5	9	2	9	47
13	FB	4	2	3	6	6	2	1	8	6	10	48
14	JC	4	4	2	4	3	12	2	9	6	2	48
15	JS	4	8	2	3	4	8	3	4	2	10	48
16	TP	5	1	1	2	6	8	3	6	8	9	49
17	MS	6	9	5	6	4	4	8	1	2	4	49
18	BA	3	3	5	3	3	11	5	9	3	5	50
19	JMa	5	3	5	7	6	1	8	4	2	9	50
20	CM	2	1	4	3	10	8	3	8	6	5	50
21	MH	7	3	2	2	2	11	5	8	8	3	51
22	YF	3	2	3	6	1	11	8	9	6	2	51
23	JMe	4	8	2	7	5	12	3	2	6	2	51
24	JK	5	4	5	3	2	8	8	6	2	9	52
25	T!	2	2	2	4	6	8	2	8	9	10	53
26	WZ	5	8	4	6	10	2	8	6	2	2	53
27	AS	2	3	5	6	5	2	8	8	6	9	54
28	EB	7	3	5	7	10	2	5	5	8	2	54
29	AE	5	9	5	1	1	11	8	2	3	10	55
30	ABr	4	3	4	6	6	11	8	8	3	2	55
31	MJ	6	8	5	6	2	8	8	6	6	2	57
32	JA	4	1	5	6	10	11	8	2	6	5	58
33	P	6	8	2	3	10	12	3	6	6	4	60
34	EA	6	8	1	4	10	2	8	5	8	9	61
35	JH	3	4	3	3	10	11	3	9	6	9	61
36	ABe	4	8	5	6	5	8	8	8	8	9	69

Congratulations to Jason Brown! Thank you all for your participation and patience with the early postings of the quiz. Please contact me if you spot a problem in the results report and I will correct it as soon as possible.

 

Anti-Match Game: The Neighborhood of Make-Believe

It’s a beautiful day for an anti-match game, so let’s climb aboard the trolley and take a journey to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe! The inhabitants of that wondrous kingdom have questions to share and each question has many possible correct answers. Try to choose a correct answer that is chosen by as few other neighbors as possible. A correct answer scores 1 point plus 1 point for every other neighbor who chooses the same answer. An incorrect answer (or non-answer) receives a penalty score: the highest correct-answer score for the given question plus 1. The neighbor with the lowest total score wins.

The ten questions cover a variety of general knowledge subjects, but none of them requires significant knowledge of Fred McFeely Rogers, his long-running children’s television series, or the puppet characters he created and performed on that series. Some questions include the notation “11C”. This refers to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Researching answers is not allowed and reasonably close spelling is acceptable unless otherwise indicated.

NOTE: The image for question 7 originally posted was incorrect. The current image is correct. 

Email answers to me at tmcclar [at] gmail.com before Sunday, June 9, 11:59 p.m. (MST)

1. Trolley emerges from a tunnel and enters the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. King Friday XIII waves from the balcony of his castle and has a game to present.

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“It’s called Wheel of Misfortune,” King Friday explains. “I changed the rules of a certain TV show to create a totally original game! Each of the thirteen puzzles is an item listed on the Wikipedia page titled ‘List of Bad Luck Signs.’ I’ve revealed the R’s, S’s, T’s, L’s, N’s, and E’s. You can solve at least one of puzzles, I presume.”
“Correct as usual, King Friday,” you reply.

You choose one puzzle and answer by giving the full word/phrase.

2. Trolley stops at the other side of the castle where Queen Sara Saturday is holding a quilt.

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“I made this as a present for Queen Elizabeth II,” Queen Sara tells you. “It features the flags of the sixteen world nations for which Elizabeth currently serves as head of state. Do you have a favorite?”

You choose a nation represented by one of the flags in the quilt and answer by giving the name of this nation, though you do not specify a particular flag in your answer.

3. Before Trolley leaves the castle, you notice Prince Tuesday sitting in his room sniffing despondently.

“I’m doing a school report on famous musicians who used one-word performing names,” the Prince whimpers. “This poster was supposed to feature photos of all the singers along with their birth names. But something went wrong when I used Google Images to find the photos of the musicians. My report is ruined!”

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“Actually,” you observe, “It makes an interesting puzzle.” Prince Tuesday notes your interest and it seems to cheer him up.

You choose one of the images on the poster and answer by giving the image letter (A-P) and the one-word performing name represented by the image.

4. The trolley heads for a bustling factory near the castle. Cornflake S. Pecially stands outside the factory handing some mail to Speedy Delivery man Mr. McFeely. Trolley’s arrival startles Mr. McFeely and he drops the letters to the ground.  

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“Oh no!,” Corney shouts. “Those letters are addressed to companies ranked among the top 100 retailers in the United States according to the National Retail Federation. I want to see if they will sell my Rockit chairs. But now the envelopes are splattered with mud!”
“Can you figure out where any of these letter should be delivered,” Mr. McFeely asks.

You pick up an envelope and answer by giving the unobscured letter (or punctuation mark) in the company name, followed by the full company name.

5. Trolley approaches a large tree where Henrietta Pussycat sits in front of her schoolhouse looking through a book.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, yearbook, meow, meow.” She shows you a page.

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“Ah yes,” you say, “It’s an old yearbook, and there’s you with the word ‘Meow’ beneath your photo.”
“Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, guess, meow, meow, meow, caption, meow.”
“I think I’ve got it,” you reply. “Each of your pictured classmates has some word or phrase that makes up a majority of their vocabulary or is otherwise prominent in their speech. You’ve replaced these words and phrases with enumerations, so I can try guess them.”
“Meow,” Henrietta assents.

You choose a photo and answer by giving the letter in the photo’s upper left corner and the word or phrase represented by the enumeration below the photo.

6. The wooden door next to Henrietta’s house swings open and X the Owl leans out.

“I’m going to build a vacation house,” the proud owl bellows, “And I want you to choose the kind of tree in which I should build it. To be honest, it doesn’t have to be a tree. It could be any kind of plant. I only ask that it appears as an entry in 11C and has the letter X somewhere in its name. Oh, and I’m not interested in the name of a botanical structure like CALYX or XYLEM. It should be a type of tree or plant!”

X the Owl is being bossier than usual, but you oblige his request. You choose a type of tree or plant and answer by giving its name.

7. As Trolley pulls up to Museum-Go-Round, Lady Elaine Fairchilde calls you over. She makes a grand to-do about a new gallery show that you absolutely must see. Before you can respond, she snatches the admission fee from your pocket, slaps a program in your hand and shoves you through in the museum door. You stroll through the exhibit and then approach Lady Elaine.

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“The prints are just images of typographical symbols,” you reply. “And the program lists 24 prints, but I only count 12 in the gallery.”
“Don’t worry, Toots,” Lady Elaine says, “I’ll make sure you get your money’s worth … Boomerang … Toomerang … Zoomerang.”

Lady Elaine’s incantation disorients you for a moment, but then you look around the gallery and see 12 seemingly new prints!

“So how did you like the show,” Lady Elaine asks.

You figure out Lady Elaine’s scheme and answer by giving the titles of two of the prints that are actually the same print — one an upside-down version of the other!

8. As you head back to Trolley you spot a disgruntled Ana Platypus outside Museum-Go-Round.

“I got taken in my Lady Elaine’s gallery scam too,” Ana mutters.
“Yeah,” you say, “She needs to stop causing mischief with her magical boomerang.”
“Oh, and that silly incantation of hers,” Ana complains, “It trivializes a fine Australian aboriginal word that entered the English language. There are a number of uncapitalized 11C entries that have an Australian aboriginal origin according to the etymology notes. Can you name one?”

You answer Ana with a word that meets her requirements.

9. Trolley swings by a series of tall industrial towers. Donkey Hodie and Harriet Elizabeth Cow are near the towers and hand you a menu when you arrive.

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“We’ve washed, dried, sorted, and dumped a whole mess of potatoes,” Donkey Hodie brays, “So we’re opening a restaurant.”
“The menu is unusual,” you observe.
“The dishes are listed alphabetically,” Harriet explains, “But we replaced each dish name with a single letter. Each description is the enumeration of the dish followed by its 11C definition. So, what’ll it be?”

Harriet is poised with a server’s pad in hoof, so you realize that spelling counts. You answer Harriet by naming a letter in the menu along with the name of the dish the letter represents.

10. Trolley approaches the tall clock where Daniel Striped Tiger lives. Daniel is studying a chalkboard and looking very distraught.

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“I volunteered to be a sports timekeeper,” Daniel mewls, “But I’m struggling to remember the sport that goes in each of these sentences.”
“Hmm,” you ponder, “Is there any case where the facts in a sentence apply to more than one sport?”
“I’m not sure,” Daniel replies, “But if a sport fits a sentence and it’s distinct from the sport originally intended for that sentence, I’ll accept it as a different answer. Can you help me?”

You can’t help but sympathize with Daniel’s plight. You answer by giving the letter of one of the sentences and identifying the sport name that goes in the blank or blanks of that sentence.

TIEBREAKER. As Trolley approaches the tunnel leaving the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, you spot a sign with this tiebreaker question: According to Box Office Mojo, what is the current lifetime gross, in dollars, of the 2018 documentary film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”? Ties will be broken in favor of the entrant whose guess is closer to the actual figure.

Crosswords LA X / LA Escape Room Binge 2

Crosswords LA provided me an opportunity for a mini-vacation in Southern California last weekend. I constructed the opening puzzle and volunteered at the tournament as a judge and an assistant for some of the game events. The tournament had a good puzzle set this year and I encourage solvers to get solve-at-home packets once they become available. Puzzle 3 by Anna Gundlach and Erik Agard gave solvers the biggest challenge of the day, but it wasn’t as dramatic a pack separator as I predicted. Solid performance throughout the day netted berths in the finals for Jeff Davidson, Brian Fodera, and Eric Maddy. Eric took the victory with the only perfect solution of Brendan Emmett Quigley’s  championship puzzle. Congratulations to all the finalists!

* * *

Outside of the tournament, most of my waking moments in LA were assigned to a binge of local escape rooms. Tyler Hinman organized the binge and scheduled 15 escapes over the weekend. I participated in ten of them, eight on Saturday and two following the tournament on Sunday night, and it’s safe to say that the best was saved for last. Hatch Escape’s Lab Rat is the current hot escape room ticket in LA and I have to say that it lives up to the hype. The game put solvers in a world where rats are the scientists and humans the diminutive test subjects, and this premise is realized with amazing fabrication and humorous narrative. The game-play structure features many original puzzles including one challenge revealing that Tyler and I should work on some strategies if we ever end up on a charades team in the future. The room’s intricate mechanics seem a bit risk-inviting and, in fact, we suffered two mechanical hiccups that halted our game, but game master August was on the ball and got us back on track in short order. The whimsical prediction values and great teammates made this a memorable escape room experience.

Escapades LA was another highlight of the binge. Of its two rooms in North Hollywood, my favorite was Doggy Dog World in which the solving group took on the role of an intrepid canine on a quest for a beloved red ball. The dog’s-eye-view set was inspired and the endgame was hysterical. The Laboratory in downtown LA had an intriguingly manifest structure. After a generic “save the world” briefing, the group was shown a wall-mounted diagram of all the puzzles with clear visual indications of the solving order and the confirmation locations. This was helpful information as the mission had over 30 puzzles to solve. I found the structure refreshing and enjoyed the fact that we could organize our efforts so that everyone had opportunities to make contributions. I played several 60Out rooms on Saturday and my favorite was the circus themed Hyde and Seek with a fun train car set. Abyss at Maze Rooms was a two-person experience that Tyler and I completed as our last experience on Saturday night. It featured an interesting narrative and polished set but, like Maze’s Magic Kingdom, we struggled with intuitive leaps on how precisely to use the technical elements to complete each task.

The best part of escape room binges is the opportunity to solve with new friends. The montage of victory photos below includes people such as Al, Craig, Erik, Jenna, and Wyna with whom I shared an escape experience for the first time over the weekend. Thank you for adding to my joy and reminding me that it’s all about the team!

 

 

Anti-Match Game: Announcer’s Test RESULTS

I’m pleased to announce that 37 people submitted entries to the quiz. In the results the entrants’ names are abbreviated as:

AB – Andrew Bradburn
AE – Andrew Esten
AJ – Alex Jeffrey
AM – Alan Matson
AS – Al Sanders
DA – Derek Allen
DG – David Greenebaum
DK – Dan Katz
DMK – Debbie Manber Kupfer
DR – Dee Ruttenberg
EB – Eli Barrieau
EM – Eric Maddy
HS – Hollie Schmidt
JA – Jackie Anderson
JB – Jason Brown
JC – Joanna Cheng
JG – Jenny Gutbezahl
JK – Joshua Kosman
JMS – Joanne M Sullivan
JSz – Jeffrey Schwartz
JSi – Jim Siirola
KH – Katie Hamill
KS – Ken Stern
MJ – Matt Jones
MN – Myles Nye
MSp – Marc Spraragen
MSy – Michael Sylvia
MW – Max Woghiren
PB – Peter Broda
RK – Ronnie Kon
SaW – Sandor Weisz
ScW – Scott Weiss
SK  Steve Kinsky
T! – Joe Cabrera
TP – Trip Payne
VG – Victoria Golden
WZ – Wil Zambole

An asterisk (*) indicates an incorrect answer.

1. One hen
Choose a boldface 11C entry—or explicit, boldface inflected form of an 11C entry—that has exactly six letters and fits the cryptogram pattern 123432. In other words, the answer must have exactly four different letters with the second matching the sixth and third matching the fifth. Answers may contain capital letters, apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces. Answers that appear in 11C as parts of multiword entries but are not stand-alone entries/inflected forms in 11C are not acceptable.

acidic (1) – ScW
brewer (3) – AB, EB, MSy
gnomon (1) – HS
greyer (1) – RK
heinie (1) – AM
O level (1) – TP
petite (4) – DA, JK, KH, WZ
plagal (2) – MJ, PB
potato (4) – AE, DMK, JSz, T!
prefer (11) – DG, JA, JB, JC, JG, JMS, JSi, MW, SaW, SK, VG
revive (5) – AJ, AS, DK, DR, KS
torero (1) – EM
uneven (2) – MN, MSp

Greyer is not explicit in print 11C but is in online 11C. Other acceptable answers include la-di-da, La Nina, and Osiris.

2. Two ducks
The lettered list below contains phrases from Disambiguation pages on the Internet site Wikipedia. In each case, the phrase describes a term that can also be the name of a traditional children’s game. For example, the phrase “A steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War and used as a hospital ship” appears on the Disambiguation page for Red Rover, which is also “a children’s game.” All the games in questions are featured on the Wikipedia page List of Traditional Children’s Games. Terms may have slight spelling variations between the game name and the sense described in the lettered list. Choose one of the phrases and identify the related children’s game name. Your answer must contain the phrase letter followed by the game.

A – A 13th-century Italian explorer
B – A 1963 novel by Kurt Vonnegut
C – A 2004 American sports comedy film starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller
D – An afterlife condition hypothesized by Medieval Roman Catholic theologians
E – An American television series starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby
F – An educational toy company
G – An episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone
H – A fictional character, one of Snoopy’s siblings from the comic strip Peanuts
I – A form of graffiti signature
J – A single by alternative metal band Godsmack
K – A social networking website
L – A soft drink
M – Various small, oily fish in the herring family

A – Marco Polo (2) – MN, ScW
B – cat’s cradle (3) – AJ, EM, JSz
D – limbo (5) – AS, HS, JA, JC, JMS
E – I spy (5) – DA, JB, JK, RK, T!
F – Leapfrog (1) – KS
G – button, button (1) – PB
* G – I spy (6) – SK
G – kick the can (5) – AB, AE, EB, KH, MSy
H – marbles (1) – WZ
I – tag (5) – AM, JG, JSi, MW, TP
K – four square (4) – DR, MJ, MSp, SaW
L – seven up (2) – DG, VG
M – sardines (2) – DK, DMK

Kick the can was the intended answer for G (the episode was recreated in Twilight Zone: The Movie), but I accepted “Button, Button” as an alternate answer for meeting all the question criteria: Button, button who’s got the button? is on the traditional children’s game list, “Button Button” is the title of a Twilight Zone episode in the 1980s incarnation of the series, and both are included on a “Button, Button” disambiguation page. I could not find a Twilight Zone episode, in any incarnation, with the title “I Spy.” The answer for C is dodgeball. The answer for J is keep away.

3. Three squawking geese
The lettered list below contains bird call transliterations that appear in David Allen Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. Choose one of the calls and identify the bird associated with it in Sibley’s guide. Your answer must include the letter of the call followed by the name of the bird. As a solving aid, the initials of the bird names appear (in a separate order) after the list of calls. Some modifiers of the bird names are in parentheses and do not need to appear in your answer. For example, if the list included “A – tsip klseewi ptik” and the bird name initials included “(P-S) F”, you could answer “A – Flycatcher” rather than “A – Pacific-slope flycatcher.”

A – bru-u-ooo / p-p-p-prooo
B – caaw / cahrrr
C – chika dzee dzee
D – g-prrip prrEE / pwip
E – ho hoo hoo hoododo hooooo ho
F – hronk
G – jaaaay / toolili
H – ku-ku-ku-ku-kddowl-kddowl
I – ooEEK ooEEK
J – raaaaaaaak
K – tyeeeeee deew deew / teewdew / didideeer / didideeer
L – woit woit woit chew chew chew chew chew / pichew pichew tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw

B J / (A) C / (M) C / (N) C / (Y-B) C / (R) D / ( W ) D / (C) G / (H) H / K / (G H) O / W-P-W

A – (rock) dove (1) – MSp
* B – condor (12) – JSz
B – (American) crow (4) – AJ, EM, JSi, MN
C – (mountain) chickadee (4) – AB, AE, JA, T!
D – whip-poor-will (1) – JB
E – (great horned) owl (7) – AS, DG, JK, KH, KS, SaW, ScW
F – (Canada) goose (11) – DA, DK, DMK, DR, HS, JC, MSy, PB, RK, SK, TP
G – blue jay (1) – MW
* H – owl (12) – MJ
* I – blue jay (12) – WZ
I – (wood) duck (1) – EB
* I – whip-poor-will (12) – VG
J – duck (12) – JMS
K – killdeer (1) – AM
L – (Northern) cardinal (1) – JG

H is the (yellow-billed) cuckoo and J is (Harris’s) hawk.

4. Four limerick oysters
The image below is taken from Edward Lear’s 1846 poetry collection A Book of Nonsense. Each colored rectangle conceals one word in the verse. Identify one of the concealed words. You do not need to reference the image in your answer.

all (1) – TP
beard (2) – EM, JA
feared (7) – AJ, AM, AS, DR, JMS, KS, VG
four (1) – JC
just (8) – AB, DA, DK, EB, JSi, JSz, ScW, SK
* made (9) – KH, T!
* much (9) – JB
nests (1) – WZ
old (3) – AE, MN, MW
their (2) – DG, MJ
two (3) – PB, RK, SaW
wren (6) – DMK, HS, JG, JK, MSp, MSy

The full limerick:
There was an OLD MAN with a BEARD,
Who said, “It is JUST as a FEARED! —
TWO OWLS and a HEN, FOUR LARKS and a WREN,
HAVE ALL BUILT THEIR NESTS in my BEARD.”

5. Five corpulent porpoises
U.S. News & World Report publishes an annual ranking of the best diet plans. The 2018 list ranks 40 diet plans, with some identified as commercial brands (e.g. Zone) and others as generic descriptions (e.g. glycemic-index). In each of the 18 images below, the name of the pictured food combined with the superimposed string of letters will anagram into the name of one of the diet plans on the list (not including the initial article “The” or the word “diet”). The images appear left to right and row by row based on the alphabetical order of the pictured foods. Choose one of the diet plans represented by an image. You do not need to indicate the image corresponding to your answer.

Body Reset (3) – JG, JSz, SK
Eco Atkins (1) – PB
Fertility (2) – DA, JA
Flat Belly (2) – AM, JC
Jenny Craig (4) – DG, DMK, JSi, WZ
Macrobiotic (3) – EB, KS, MJ
Mediterranean (2) – JMS, MSy
NutriSystem (3) – HS, MSp, TP
Paleo (4) – AJ, DR, SaW, T!
South Beach (8) AS, DK, JK, KH, MW, RK, ScW, VG
Weight Watchers (5) – AB, AE, EM, JB, MN

I normally require exact spelling for this type of question but neglected to mention it in the question wording. As a result I accepted some answers with minor spelling errors. The other acceptable diets are Biggest Loser, Mayo Clinic, Medifast, Slim-Fast, SparkSolution, Vegetarian,  and Volumetrics. The pictured foods are cashew, date, feta, lobster, malt, manioc, McRib, mint, olive, oyster, pea, rice, steak, taco, tamarind, trifle, turnip, and vinegar.

6. Six pair of Don Alverzo’s tweezers
The image below displays a fully-expanded SwissChamp Swiss Army knife manufactured by Victorinox/Wenger. The SwissChamp has 33 functions annotated in the image.

Some of those functions,  numbered per the annotated image, appear in the list below as blanks representing enumerations with the letters A E I O and U properly placed. Choose one of the listed functions and identify its complete description by adding the consonants. You do not need to include the corresponding number with your answer.

3 –   _ O _ _ _ _ _ E _
4 –   _ A _     O _ E _ E _
8 –   _ I _ E     _ _ _ I _ _ E _
9 –   _ E _ I _ _     A _ _
12 –   _ O O _ _ _ I _ _
16 –   _ I _ _     _ _ A _ E _
17 –   _ O O _     _ I _ _ O _ _ E _
18 –   _ U _ E _
20 –   _ A I _     _ I _ E
24 –   _ _ I _ E _
26 –   _ _ I E _ _
29 –   _ A _ _ I _ _ I _ _     _ _ A _ _
30 –   _ _ E _ _ U _ I _ E _     _ A _ _ _ O I _ _     _ E _
33 –   _ _ I _ _ I _ _     _ _ _ E _ _ _ I _ E _

* auger (12) – AS
can opener (2) – DMK, ScW
corkscrew (1) – JSi
fish scaler (1) – DG
hook disgorger (1) – JB
magnifying glass (1) – MSy
nail file (3) – JG, VG, WZ
Phillips screwdriver (1) – SK
pliers (4) – AB, DR, JA, MN
pressurized ballpoint pen (4) – JK, MJ, MSp, PB
ruler (6) – AJ, DK, JC, JMS, JSz, SaW
toothpick (1) – DA
wire stripper (11) – AE, AM, EB, EM, HS, KH, KS, MW, RK, T!, TP

The other acceptable answers are sewing awl and chisel.

7. Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Choose one of the military actions in the lettered list below and identify the modern-day country that is home to the action site. Please include the corresponding letter with your answer.

A – Battle of Bitter Lakes (925 BCE)
B – Battle of Nineveh (612 BCE)
C – Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE)
D – Siege of Tyre (332 BCE)
E – Battle of Ephesus (258 BCE)
F – Battle of Utica (238 BCE)
G – Battle of Ebro River (217 BCE)
H – Battle of Tao River (205 BCE)
I – Battle of Alesia (52 BCE)
J – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE)
K – Battle of Watling Street (61 CE)
L – Iwai Rebellion (527 CE)

B – Iraq (3) – DG, EB, JA
* B – Israel (8) – KS, SaW
* B – Jordan (8) – VG
* B – Syria (8) – MSy
C – Israel (1) – PB
D – Lebanon (3) – DMK, EM, JK
* E – Greece (8) – DA
E – Turkey (7) – AB, AJ, AM, DR, JG, JSz, TP
* F – Greece (8) – AE, JMS, MSp, SK, T!
* G – Italy (8) – DK, HS
* G – Portugal (8) – ScW
G – Spain (3) – AS, KH, MJ
H – China (2) – JC, MN
I – France (1) – RK
* J – Austria (8) – JSi
J – Germany (1) – JB
K – United Kingdom (1) – WZ
L – Japan (1) – MW

I misjudged the overall difficulty of this question and perhaps threw some players off by not including any battles set in Greece or Italy. Utica, the site of many ancient battles, is in Tunisia. Battle of Bitter Lakes took place in Egypt.

8. Eight brass monkeys from the ancient, sacred, crypts of Egypt
The image below contains excerpts from definitions in 11C. Names of chemical elements have been replaced by emboldened letters in brackets. Some element names appear more than once in the excerpts; an element appearing multiple times is represented by the same bracketed letter. Choose a bracketed letter and identify the corresponding chemical element. Please include the both the letter and element in your answer.  Note that letters are assigned by an element’s first appearance in the image and are NOT meant to suggest element names or symbols.

A – iron (4) – JSi, KH, MN, SK
B – nickel (2) – DK, DR
E – copper (3) – JMS, MW, T!
F – titanium (1) – RK
G – zinc (2) – AB, AM
H – tin (8) – AS, EB, JA, JSz, KS, SaW, ScW, WZ
I – manganese (3) – EM, TP, VG
K – gold (6) – DA, JB, JG, JK, MJ, PB
L – silver (3) – AE, DG, DMK
N – lead (3) – AJ, HS, JC
O – carbon (2) – MSp, MSy

The other acceptable answers are C – aluminum, D – cobalt, J – magnesium and, M – sulfur.

9. Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates, with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has 416 leagues headquartered in cities around the world. The logos below represent 15 WFTDA leagues, and the logos are arranged left to right, row by row according to an alphabetical list of their home cities. Identify the home city of one of the leagues depicted below. You do not need to reference the logo or include a country, province, or state in your answer. Some of the logos have been modified to conceal city name information.

Baton Rouge (7) – DG, DK, EM, MJ, MN, MSy, SaW
Essen (1) – MSp
Honolulu (2) – JG, JMS
Knoxville (6) – AS, JA, JB, JSi, KH, VG
Las Vegas (8) – AB, DA, DR, JC, KS, MW, RK, TP
Paris (3) – AJ, HS, WZ
* Pittsburgh (9) – AM
St Louis (7) – AE, DMK, EB, JK, ScW, SK, T!
Vancouver (2) – JSz, PB

The other acceptable answers are Buenos Aires, Cardiff, Hamburg, Hamilton (Ont., Can.), Helsinki, New York, and Santiago.

10. Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who all stall around the corner on the quo of the quay of the quivvey, all at the same time.
The images below feature characters from the 1989 animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. Choose a character and identify the character by name. You do not need to reference the image in your answer.

Ariel (4) – AB, JSi, KS, MN
Carlotta (1) – T!
Flounder (7) – DK, JB, KH, MSp, MSy, MW, PB
* Grimms (8) – VG
Grimsby (2) – AE, RK
King Triton (6) – AM, AS, EB, MJ, SaW, TP
* Little Mermaid (8) – SK
Prince Eric (3) – DA, JA, JC
Scuttle (2) – DG, WZ
Sebastian (3) – JK, JMS, ScW
Ursula (6) – DMK, DR, EM, HS, JG, JSz
Vanessa (1) – AJ

The question asked for character names so “Little Mermaid” was not accepted.

Tiebreaker
At the 2016 International Association of Memory European Open, Katie Kermode set a record for memorizing random words from a list after 15 minutes of study. How many words did she memorize? Tie scores will be broken by the guess closer to the record.

72 – AE
87 – JSi
92 – DMK
94 – DG
99 – MN
100 – KS
104 – JSz
111 – AB
125 – DA
125 – SaW
127 – JK
141 – JG
150 – MSy
157 – TP
200 – ScW
204 – JA
212 – VG
232 – JMS
243 – AS
255 – HS
318 – Correct
340 – WZ
400 – AJ
436 – RK
477 – EB
777 – DK
778 – T!
801 – AM
854 – EM
1000 – JB
1000 – KH
1003 – JC
1200 – DR
1500 – SK
2152 – MW
2400 – MJ
9582 – PB
300000 – MSp

FINAL SCORES

Rank	Q 1	Q 2	Q 3	Q 4	Q 5	Q 6	Q 7	Q 8	Q 9	Q 10	Total
1	2	2	4	3	5	4	2	4	7	4	37	MN
2	2	1	11	3	1	4	1	6	2	7	38	PB
3	2	4	1	6	3	4	8	2	1	7	38	MSp
4	4	1	12	1	4	3	1	8	3	2	39	WZ
5	11	2	7	2	4	1	3	3	7	2	42	DG
6	5	3	4	7	4	6	7	3	3	1	43	AJ
7	1	3	4	2	5	11	3	3	7	6	45	EM
8	11	5	4	2	2	4	3	8	6	3	48	JA
9	4	2	11	6	4	2	3	3	7	6	48	DMK
10	2	4	12	2	3	4	3	6	7	6	49	MJ
11	11	5	1	6	3	3	7	6	2	6	50	JG
12	3	5	4	8	5	4	7	2	8	4	50	AB
13	1	5	11	3	8	11	1	1	8	2	51	RK
14	1	5	1	7	2	11	7	2	9	6	51	AM
15	3	5	11	6	2	1	8	2	7	7	52	MSy
16	4	5	4	3	5	11	8	3	7	2	52	AE
17	11	5	1	9	5	1	1	6	6	7	52	JB
18	11	5	11	1	2	6	2	3	8	3	52	JC
19	4	5	7	6	8	4	3	6	7	3	53	JK
20	1	2	7	8	8	2	8	8	7	3	54	ScW
21	3	5	1	8	3	11	3	8	7	6	55	EB
22	11	5	4	8	4	1	8	4	6	4	55	JSi
23	4	5	11	8	2	1	8	6	8	3	56	DA
24	1	5	11	1	3	11	7	3	8	6	56	TP
25	4	5	4	9	4	11	8	3	7	1	56	T!
26	1	5	11	6	3	11	8	3	3	6	57	HS
27	5	4	11	7	4	4	7	2	8	6	58	DR
28	11	5	1	3	8	11	1	3	8	7	58	MW
29	11	5	12	7	2	6	8	3	2	3	59	JMS
30	4	3	12	8	3	6	7	8	2	6	59	JSz
31	5	1	7	7	3	11	8	8	8	4	62	KS
32	5	2	11	8	8	6	8	2	7	7	64	DK
33	11	4	7	3	4	6	8	8	7	6	64	SaW
34	4	5	7	9	8	11	3	4	6	7	64	KH
35	5	5	7	7	8	12	3	8	6	6	67	AS
36	11	6	11	8	3	1	8	4	7	8	67	SK
37	11	2	12	7	8	3	8	3	6	8	68	VG

Congratulations to all participants for navigating some tricky questions and producing a tight range final scores. Well done, Myles Nye for topping the leaderboard (I understand he chose his answer while killing time in the Palm Springs airport). Apologies in advance for any errors in this report; please report anything you find and I will fix it as soon as I can.

Thank you for the kind words you included with your submissions. I enjoyed reading about your familiarity with Announcer’s Test or how you learned it when you were younger. This quiz had been sitting on my hard drive, half-written, for almost a year, and I was so relieved to get it completed and posted. I promise you won’t have to wait that long for the next one.

Anti-Match Game: Announcer’s Test

This quiz contains ten categories representing different areas of knowledge. Each category requires you to choose one answer from a range of possible correct answers. Your goal for each category is to choose a correct answer that is chosen by as few other players as possible. A correct answer scores 1 point plus 1 point for every other player who chooses the same answer. An incorrect answer receives a penalty score: the highest correct-answer score for the given category plus 1. The player with the lowest total score wins.

The questions are inspired by items in a variation of the “Announcer’s Test,” though familiarity with this cumulative verse recited as a tongue twister and memory game is not required. The notation “11C” refers to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Research is not allowed. Reasonably close spelling is acceptable unless otherwise indicated. Email answers to me at tmcclar [at] gmail.com before Sunday, August 12, 2018, 11:59 p.m. (MT)

1. One hen
Choose a boldface 11C entry—or explicit, boldface inflected form of an 11C entry—that has exactly six letters and fits the cryptogram pattern 123432. In other words, the answer must have exactly four different letters with the second matching the sixth and third matching the fifth. Answers may contain capital letters, apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces. Answers that appear in 11C as parts of multiword entries but are not stand-alone entries/inflected forms in 11C are not acceptable.

2. Two ducks
The lettered list below contains phrases from Disambiguation pages on the Internet site Wikipedia. In each case, the phrase describes a term that can also be the name of a traditional children’s game. For example, the phrase “A steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War and used as a hospital ship” appears on the Disambiguation page for Red Rover, which is also “a children’s game.” All the games in questions are featured on the Wikipedia page List of Traditional Children’s Games. Terms may have slight spelling variations between the game name and the sense described in the lettered list. Choose one of the phrases and identify the related children’s game name. Your answer must contain the phrase letter followed by the game.

A – A 13th-century Italian explorer
B – A 1963 novel by Kurt Vonnegut
C – A 2004 American sports comedy film starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller
D – An afterlife condition hypothesized by Medieval Roman Catholic theologians
E – An American television series starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby
F – An educational toy company
G – An episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone
H – A fictional character, one of Snoopy’s siblings from the comic strip Peanuts
I – A form of graffiti signature
J – A single by alternative metal band Godsmack
K – A social networking website
L – A soft drink
M – Various small, oily fish in the herring family

3. Three squawking geese
The lettered list below contains bird call transliterations that appear in David Allen Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. Choose one of the calls and identify the bird associated with it in Sibley’s guide. Your answer must include the letter of the call followed by the name of the bird. As a solving aid, the initials of the bird names appear (in a separate order) after the list of calls. Some modifiers of the bird names are in parentheses and do not need to appear in your answer. For example, if the list included “A – tsip klseewi ptik” and the bird name initials included “(P-S) F”, you could answer “A – Flycatcher” rather than “A – Pacific-slope flycatcher.”

A – bru-u-ooo / p-p-p-prooo
B – caaw / cahrrr
C – chika dzee dzee
D – g-prrip prrEE / pwip
E – ho hoo hoo hoododo hooooo ho
F – hronk
G – jaaaay / toolili
H – ku-ku-ku-ku-kddowl-kddowl
I – ooEEK ooEEK
J – raaaaaaaak
K – tyeeeeee deew deew / teewdew / didideeer / didideeer
L – woit woit woit chew chew chew chew chew / pichew pichew tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw

B J / (A) C / (M) C / (N) C / (Y-B) C / (R) D / ( W ) D / (C) G / (H) H / K / (G H) O / W-P-W

4. Four limerick oysters
The image below is taken from Edward Lear’s 1846 poetry collection A Book of Nonsense. Each colored rectangle conceals one word in the verse. Identify one of the concealed words. You do not need to reference the image in your answer.

5. Five corpulent porpoises
U.S. News & World Report publishes an annual ranking of the best diet plans. The 2018 list ranks 40 diet plans, with some identified as commercial brands (e.g. Zone) and others as generic descriptions (e.g. glycemic-index). In each of the 18 images below, the name of the pictured food combined with the superimposed string of letters will anagram into the name of one of the diet plans on the list (not including the initial article “The” or the word “diet”). The images appear left to right and row by row based on the alphabetical order of the pictured foods. Choose one of the diet plans represented by an image. You do not need to indicate the image corresponding to your answer.
6. Six pair of Don Alverzo’s tweezers
The image below displays a fully-expanded SwissChamp Swiss Army knife manufactured by Victorinox/Wenger. The SwissChamp has 33 functions annotated in the image.

Some of those functions,  numbered per the annotated image, appear in the list below as blanks representing enumerations with the letters A E I O and U properly placed. Choose one of the listed functions and identify its complete description by adding the consonants. You do not need to include the corresponding number with your answer.

3 –   _ O _ _ _ _ _ E _
4 –   _ A _     O _ E _ E _
8 –   _ I _ E     _ _ _ I _ _ E _
9 –   _ E _ I _ _     A _ _
12 –   _ O O _ _ _ I _ _
16 –   _ I _ _     _ _ A _ E _
17 –   _ O O _     _ I _ _ O _ _ E _
18 –   _ U _ E _
20 –   _ A I _     _ I _ E
24 –   _ _ I _ E _
26 –   _ _ I E _ _
29 –   _ A _ _ I _ _ I _ _     _ _ A _ _
30 –   _ _ E _ _ U _ I _ E _     _ A _ _ _ O I _ _     _ E _
33 –   _ _ I _ _ I _ _     _ _ _ E _ _ _ I _ E _

7. Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Choose one of the military actions in the lettered list below and identify the modern-day country that is home to the action site. Please include the corresponding letter with your answer.

A – Battle of Bitter Lakes (925 BCE)
B – Battle of Nineveh (612 BCE)
C – Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE)
D – Siege of Tyre (332 BCE)
E – Battle of Ephesus (258 BCE)
F – Battle of Utica (238 BCE)
G – Battle of Ebro River (217 BCE)
H – Battle of Tao River (205 BCE)
I – Battle of Alesia (52 BCE)
J – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE)
K – Battle of Watling Street (61 CE)
L – Iwai Rebellion (527 CE)

8. Eight brass monkeys from the ancient, sacred, crypts of Egypt
The image below contains excerpts from definitions in 11C. Names of chemical elements have been replaced by emboldened letters in brackets. Some element names appear more than once in the excerpts; an element appearing multiple times is represented by the same bracketed letter. Choose a bracketed letter and identify the corresponding chemical element. Please include the both the letter and element in your answer.  Note that letters are assigned by an element’s first appearance in the image and are NOT meant to suggest element names or symbols.

9. Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates, with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has 416 leagues headquartered in cities around the world. The logos below represent 15 WFTDA leagues, and the logos are arranged left to right, row by row according to an alphabetical list of their home cities. Identify the home city of one of the leagues depicted below. You do not need to reference the logo or include a country, province, or state in your answer. Some of the logos have been modified to conceal city name information.

10. Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who all stall around the corner on the quo of the quay of the quivvey, all at the same time.
The images below feature characters from the 1989 animated Disney film The Little Mermaid. Choose a character and identify the character by name. You do not need to reference the image in your answer.

Tiebreaker
At the 2016 International Association of Memory European Open, Katie Kermode set a record for memorizing random words from a list after 15 minutes of study. How many words did she memorize? Tie scores will be broken by the guess closer to the record.

ANTI-MATCH GAME: Mille Bornes (RESULTS)

The quiz had 48 entrants. In the results post, the entrants’ names are abbreviated as follows:

AB – Andrew Bradburn
AS – Al Sanders
BA – Brigette Anderson
BS – Ben Smith
CKr – Craig Kasper
CKy – Christian Kelly
CP – Chad Phillips
DA – Derek Allen
DK – Dan Katz
DMK – Debbie Manber Kupfer
DP – Doug Peterson
DS – Dave Shukan
EL – Eric LeVasseur
FB – Foggy Brume
FH – Francis Heaney
JA – Jackie Anderson
JB – Jason Brown
JCa – Joe Cabrera
JCe – Judy Cole
JG – Jenny Gutbezahl
JHa – Jeffrey Harris
JHn – Jeffrey Hochstein
JHs – Joel Hess
JHz – Jeremy Horwitz
JSn – Joanne Sullivan
JSz – Jeff Schwartz
KH – Katie Hamill
KS – Ken Stern
LR – Lee Ann R
M4 – Marc412
MH – Mark Halpin
MJ – Matt Jones
MSa – Mike Sylvia
MSn – Marc Spraragen
MSr – Mike Selinker
NC – Nathan Curtis
NH – Nina Henelsmith
RH – Ray Hamel
RK – Ronnie Kon
SKn – Seth Kleinerman
SKy – Steve Kinsky
SPe – Stephen Perry
SPu – Scott Purdy
SW – Scott Weiss
TKF – TK Focht
TP – Trip Payne
VC – Vic Chandhok
WZ – Wil Zambole

Incorrect answers are indicated with italics.

1) Go
The Oxford English Corpus is a massive survey of English language usage, pulling data from literature, journalism, and Internet discourse. A ranking of the most commonly used English words has been derived from analysis of the Corpus. The 100 most common English words in this ranking include 21 two-letter words. The most common of these words is “be”; per the ranking system “be” represents all of its other verbs forms including “is.” Choose any of the other 20 two-letter English words ranking in the top 100.

an (1) – MSa
as (4) – CKy, JG, JHn, MSn
at (3) – M4, SKy, SPu
by (3) – DP, FB, JSz
go (1) – BA
if (5) – MH, RH, RK, VC, WZ
in (1) – KS
me (2) DS, TKF
my (3) – JHs, JHz, MSr
no (1) – NH
of (5) – DA, JA, JCa, JCe, SKn
on (2) – DMK, TP
or (4) – AB, FH, JSn, LR
so (1) – NC
to (7) – AS, CKr, DK, JHa, KH, MJ, SW
up (5) – BS, CP, EL, JB, SPe

Everyone gets off to a good start by submitting a correct answer. The unchosen correct answers are do, he, it, us, and we.

2) Accident
The following quotations appear in the list25.com article “25 Accidental Inventions That Changed the World” (David Pegg, May 14, 2012). Choose one of the quotations and identify the associated invention. Enumerations for the inventions appear in parentheses after each quotation. Quotations are lettered for convenience; you do not need to indicate a particular quotation in your answer.
A –  “…Nobel accidentally discovered a method of…” (8)
B – “…because they were soggy. In an attempt to teach the customer a lesson, Crum sliced them extra thin…” (6 5)
C – “… play with for decades was originally intended as wallpaper cleaner.” (4-3)
D – “…running out of plates while the neighboring Persian waffle stall…” (3 5 4)
E – “…Roy Plunkett, a chemist who worked for DuPont in the early 20th century for accidentally stumbling across…” (6)
F – “…and when he came out in the morning he found his mixture frozen with the stirring stick…” (8)
G – “…Before turning out the lights one evening Charles Goodyear accidentally spilled…” (10 6)
H – “…Art Fry, realized that it would be perfect as a no-slip bookmark…” (4-2 4)
I – “…when he felt the chocolate bar in his pocket start melting.” (9)
J – “…Kellogg began helping his brother cook meals for patients at the Sanitarium at which he worked, he ended up accidentally…” (4 6)
K – “…was on a hunting trip with his dog when he noticed how burrs would stick to its fur.” (6)
L – “…accidentally knocked a flask off of his desk it fell to the ground but rather than shattering…” (6 5)
M – “…he accidentally dropped one of them. To his amusement the spring immediately righted itself…” (6)

Corn Flakes (3) – BS, EL, JHs
Ice cream cone (7) – FB, KS, MSn, NC, SPu, SW, WZ
Microwave (9) – DS, JHa, JSz, KH, MJ, MSa, MSr, SPe, TKF
Play-Doh (5) – DP, 5 JCa, JHz, NH, SKn
Popsicle (2) DMK, FH
Post-It note (3) – AS, DK, JCe
Potato chips (6) – BA, JA, JG, JSn, RH, RK
Slinky (3) – CP, JHn, TP
Teflon (1) – AB
Velcro (5) – CKr, LR, M4, MH, VC
Vulcanized rubber (4) – CKy, DA, JB, SKy

Everyone, again, submits a correct answer. A good number of entrants recognized the molten chocolate bar story associated with the creation of the microwave, and hoped that others would not recognize it. The unchosen correct answers are dynamite (excerpt A) and safety glass (L).

3) Out of Gas
Choose one of the lettered photos below and identify the fictional character represented by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon in the photo. Your answer must include the letter of the chosen photo. ENLARGED IMAGE

A – Spongebob Squarepants (3) – CKy, JHs, SKn
B – Bud Lightyear (7) – JCe
B – Buzz Lightyear (4) – JSn, LR, RK, SW
C – The Pink Panther (6) – AB, FB, JG, JHa, SPu, TP
D – Pikachu (1) – CP
E – Spider-man (1) – JHn
F – Energizer Bunny (3) – DK, MJ, WZ
G – Kermit the Frog (4) – DA, FH, JCa, SPe
H – Barney the Dinosaur (1) – NC
J – Snoopy (6) – CKr, DP, EL, KS, MH, SKy
K – Horton the Elephant (5) – BS, KH, MSa, MSn, VC
L – Garfield (2) – AS, DS
M – Dora the Explorer (6) – DMK, JA, JSz, M4, MSr, RH
N – Shrek (4) – BA, JB, JHz, NH
O – Thomas the Tank Engine (1) – TKF

The one wrong answer was clearly on the right track. The distribution of answers prevented the penalty score from being overly severe. Image I shows the deflated and difficult-to-identify Sonic the Hedgehog.

4) Flat Tire
The following fictional characters encounter flat tires in film, either as a driver or offerer of roadside assistance. Choose one of the characters and identify either the film title or the actor (first and last name) who portrays the character; choose one or the other, not both. Characters are lettered for convenience; you do not need to indicate the character in your answer. Film titles and actors are considered separate answers for scoring purposes. The years of the films are provided in parentheses.
A – Peter Warne (1934)
B – Joe Gillis (1950)
C – Humbert Humbert (1962)
D – Clyde Barrow (1967)
E – Wyatt/”Captain America” (1969)
F – Brad Majors (1975)
G – Jonathan Kent (1978)
H – Ralphie Parker (1983)
I – Phil Connors (1993)
J – S.F.C. William James (2008)

[no guess] (7) – NH
A Christmas Story (2) – CP, KS
Barry Bostwick (5) – DK, JB, JG, NC, VC
Bill Murray (2) – DS, MSa
Clark Gable (1) – RK
Darren McGavin (7) – SKy
Easy Rider (3) – FH, MSn, SW
Get Smart (7) – DMK
Glenn Ford (2) – DP, JHz
Groundhog Day (2) – JA, TKF
It Happened One Night (1) – AS
James Mason (4) – CKy, JCe, KH, SKn
Lolita (1) – JHn
Peter Billingsley (5) – BA, JSn, M4, MJ, MSr
Peter Fonda (1) – FB
Sunset Boulevard (6) – AB, JHs, JSz, MH, RH, SPe
Superman (4) – CKr, DA, EL, JCa
The Hurt Locker (1) – WZ
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (3) – BS, JHa, LR
Warren Beatty (1) – SPu
William Holden (1) – TP

I originally planned to use Darren McGavin’s character from A Christmas Story for this question but felt that the character name of “Mr. Parker” (or “The Old Man”) would make it too difficult to identify the movie. Both Mr. Parker and Ralphie (Billingsley) are involved in fixing the flat tire, so the entrant’s error is understandable. I’m not sure which character was assumed to be from Get Smart. The unchosen answers are Bonnie & Clyde and Jeremy Renner (fr0m The Hurt Locker).

5) Speed Limit
Choose a single-word, 11C entry that is Italian in origin and is defined as a direction in music related to tempo or change in tempo. Do not choose a multiple-word entry (e.g. “meno mosso”), a direction that is used as a modifier for another direction (e.g. “assai” or “molto”), or a direction that relates to style, volume, or a playing attribute other than tempo (e.g. “fortissimo” or “legato”).

Accelerando (3) – CKr, FH, MSr
Adagietto (7) – NC
Adagio (3) – JSz, LR, SPu
Affrettando (7) – JCe
Allegretto (2) – JB, MSn
Allegro (6) – CKy, DA, JA, JHn, NH, SW
Andante (5) – DK, DS, KS, MSa, TKF
Arpeggio (7) – JCa
Atempo (7) – DP
Grave (1) – JHz
Largo (4) – EL, JG, JHs, RH
Lentando (1) – TP
Lento (4) – AB, DMK, SKy, WZ
Moderato (1) – AS
Prestissimo (1) – JHa
Presto (6) – KH, M4, MH, MJ, RK, VC
Rallentando (2) – CP, SKn
Ritardando (1) – BS
Ritardo (7) – JSn
Sostenuto (7) – SPe
Staccato (7) – BA
Toccata (7) – FB

Adagietto and affrettando are tempo-related music directions that do not appear in 11C. Atempo appears in 11C as the two-word phrase “a tempo.” Ritardo was ruled a non-acceptable misspelling. Sostenuto and staccato are musical directions that do not specifically relate to tempo or change in tempo. Arpeggio and toccata are musical terms that are not directions. 

6) Spare Tire
Choose one of the lettered menu items below and identify the fast food chain that serves it. Your answer must include the letter of chosen menu item. All items are from different fast food chains.
A – Venti Egg Nog Latte (630 calories)
B – True Classic Pot Pie (790 calories)
C – Double SmokeShack Burger (850 calories)
D – XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito (860 calories)
E – Foot-Long Spicy Italian Sub (960 calories)
F – Caramel Pecanbon (1,080 calories)
G – Big Breakfast Platter With Hotcakes and a Regular Biscuit (1,090 calories)
H – Dave’s Hot ‘n’ Juicy 3/4 Lb. Triple (1,110 calories)
I – Triple Whopper (1,160 calories)
J – Large Carbonara Sub  (1,310 calories)
K – Carnitas Burrito (1,410 calories)
L – Personal PANormous Meat Lover’s Pizza (1,470 calories)

A – Starbucks (3) – CKy, JA, JG
C – Shake Shack (3) – BS, JHz, NC
D – Taco Bell (1) – MJ
E – Subway (4) – DMK, DP, JHs, RH
F – Cinnabon (10) – DK, EL, FB, JSz, KH, KS, SKn, SPu, VC, WZ
G – McDonald’s (1) – SPe
H – Wendy’s (11) – AB, CKr, FH, JCe, JHa, JSn, M4, MSa, MSn, RK, SW
I – Burger King (1) – SKy
J – Quizno’s (6) – AS, BA, CP, MH, MSr, TP
K – Chipotle (3) – DA, JB, JCa
K – Del Taco (12) LR
L – Domino’s (12) JHn, NH
L – Pizza Hut (2) – DS, TKF

Several entrants’ scores fattened in this question due to the unwitting popularity of Cinnabon and Wendy’s as answers. Burger King remained a lean choice despite the helpful brand name “Whopper” in the clue. The pot pie in choice B is served by KFC.

7) Extra Tank
The pictures below feature some popular types of freshwater aquarium fish. Choose one of the pictures and identify the type of fish. As a solving aid, the names of the fish appear below the pictures as transadditions, i.e. anagrams with one extra letter. Alternate names for the types of fish (names that do not form the given transadditions) will not be accepted and spelling counts. ENLARGED IMAGE

Angelfish (4) – BS, JHz, JSn, SPu
Baby Tiger (9) – JG
Betta (3) – DK, JB, SPe
Cichlid (3) – CKr, KS, M4
Clown Loach (1) – NC
Danio (1) – TP
Eidon (9) – AB
Goldfish (2) – AS, JCe
Guppy (8) – CKy, EL, JA, JHa, JSz, KH, LR, SW
Jack Dempsey (1) – MSn
Kino (9) – NH
Kissing Gourami (5) – FH, JCa, MJ, MSr, RK
Koi (7) – DA, DMK, DS, FB, JHn, MH, SKn
Neon tetra (6) – BA, DP, MSa, RH, TKF, WZ
Piranha (2) – SKy, VC
Tetradon (9) – JHs
Tiger barb (1) – CP

Both knowledge of aquarium fish and skill with anagrams helped entrants net good scores in this question. “Baby tiger” is perfectly reasonable transdeletion attempt that unfortunately missed the mark. The unchosen fish are oscar, plecostomus, and swordtail platy.

8) Driving Ace
Golf will be introduced as a medal sport at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, though more accurately it will be re-introduced since golf was played at the 1904 Summer Games. Besides golf, sixteen sports played at the Rio Games this year will be ones with an introduction year of 1972 or later — this includes re-introductions of sports that experienced hiatus for one or more Summer Games as well as sports that may have been played at Summer Games before 1972 solely as demonstrations. Choose one of these sixteen sports.

The IOC definitions of a “sport” can be tricky, and problematic answers will be handled as follows: If an entrant submits a valid “event” belonging to an Olympic sport then the answer will be converted to the relevant sport and scored accordingly. If an entrant submits a sport “grouping” then the entrant will be asked to be more specific. Being more specific will not involve clarifying gender or distance.

Baseball (13) – JCa, KH, RH, SW, VC
Basketball (13) – JHa
Beach volleyball (12) – AB, DK, DMK, DP, DS, EL, FH, JHz, LR, M4, MSn, SPu
BMX (2) – FB, JCe
Canoe Slalom (1) – CP
Field hockey (13) – MSa
Judo (2) – JSz, TKF
Marathon Swimming (13) – JHs
Rhythmic Gymnastics (4) – CKr, DA, JSn, RK
Rugby (3) – CKy, SPe, WZ
Softball (13) – KS
Synchronized swimming (3) – BS, JG, SKn
Table tennis (2) – JA, MH
Taekwondo (4) – BA, JB, NC, TP
Tennis (1) – AS
Trampoline (2) – MJ, MSr
Triathlon (1) – NH
Ultimate (13) – SKy
Wrestling (13) – JHn

None of the answers to this question required clarification, but the IOC’s arbitrary designations of “sport” caused some difficulty in judging and I apologize for disagreeable rulings. Baseball, softball, and ultimate are not included at the 2016 Games. Basketball, field hockey, and wrestling have been continuously present at the Games starting in years earlier than 1972. Wrestling technically could have required clarification as the IOC recognizes freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling as separate sports, but both have long tenures and would be invalid. Marathon swimming was introduced in 2008 but it is considered an event in the perennial sport of swimming, thus it did not require clarification and was unfortunately ruled invalid. Rugby, specifically rugby sevens, debuts at the Games this year. Rugby union was played at previous Games, but the two variants have never been played at the same Games and it is unclear if the IOC would define them as separate sports or separate events within the sport of rugby. Because of this ambiguity, I equated and ruled in favor of the entries “rugby,” “rugby sevens,” and “rugby union.” Unchosen correct answers include archery (re-introduced in 1972), badminton, and mountain biking.

9) Right of Way
Choose a living (as of February 28, 2016) political figure who currently holds or previously held one of the following offices as a given party representative:
Prime Minister of Australia, representing the Liberal Party
Prime Minister of Canada, representing the Conservative Party or Progressive Conservative Party
President of France, representing the Union for a Popular Movement
President of Mexico, representing the National Action Party (PAN)
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, representing the Conservative Party
President of the United States of America, representing the Republican Party

Abraham Lincoln (9) – FH
Brian Mulroney (1) – MSr
David Cameron (5) – BA, JA, RH, SKn, TP
Edward Heath (9) – JG
George H. W. Bush (7) – DA, JB, JCa, JCe, JHn, SW, WZ
George W. Bush (8) – AB, DK, DS, JHa, KH, LR, NH, SPe
John Harker (9) – RK
John Howard (4) – CKy, CP, JSz, MSa
John Major (5) – AS, BS, DMK, JHz, MSn
Kim Campbell (1) – CKr
Margaret Thatcher (9) – SKy
Stephen Harper (5) – FB, KS, M4, MJ, SPu
Tony Abbott (1) – TKF
Vicente Fox (7) – DP, EL, JHs, JSn, MH, NC, VC

John Harker seems to be an errant attempt at another leader, perhaps Stephen Harper. Heath, Lincoln, and Thatcher are no longer living. Unchosen answers include current Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, former Mexican president Felipe Calderón, and the French leaders Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

10) Stop
The lettered images below are segments of subway transportation maps representing fifteen major world cities. The maps were cited in a February 2016 Science Advances article as part of a study of cognitive networking and map complexity. The maps are ordered from most complex (A) to least complex (O) per the study’s findings. Choose one of the images and identify the major city that the subway system services. Your answer must include the letter of the chosen image. ENLARGED IMAGE

A – New York (4) – DP, JG, JHa, SW
D – London (5) – DK, DMK, DS, JA, RH
E – Madrid (1) – MSr
F – Athens (9) – JHn
F – Barcelona (5) – CP, JHz, JSz, LR, RK
G – Moscow (3) – KS, SKn, TP
H – Seoul (8) – DA, FB, JB, M4, MH, MJ, NC, SKy
J – Rio de Janeiro (9) – BA
K – Berlin (8) – AB, AS, BS, CKy, FH, MSa, NH, SPe
L – Chicago (6) – EL, JCe, JSn, SPu, VC, WZ
M – Osaka (2) – JHs, TKF
N – Beijing (2) – CKr, KH
O – Hong Kong (1) – MSn
O – Tokyo (9) – JCa

The unchosen correct answers are: B-Paris, C-Tokyo, are I-Shanghai.

Tiebreaker
Edmond Dujardin grew up in Lille in northern France but he later moved to Arcachon on the Bay of Biscay and, in a former fish cannery, began manufacturing card sets for his newly invented game Mille Bornes. What is the distance, in kilometers, of an automobile trip on the A10 from Lille to Arcachon? Tie scores will be broken by the answer closer to the correct distance.

100 – JB
100 – RH
150 – SKy
180 – AS
200 – SW
217 – AB
234 – JCe
245 – NH
246 – JCa
300 – M4
333 – CKy
343 – DK
372 – DA
427 – VC
450 – LR
500 – MH
500 – MSa
500 – MSr
514 – DP
572 – CKr
600 – NC
600 – SPu
666 – EL
700 – CP
720 – BS
723 – RK
750 – DMK
750 – TKF
754 – BA
865.7 – CORRECT
866 – SPe
950 – JA
1000 – JG
1000 – JHa
1000 – JHs
1000 – JSn
1000 – JSz
1001 – MSn
1200 – WZ
1250 – MJ
1300 – TP
1500 – KH
1501 – JHz
1600 – FH
1800 – SKn
1932 – FB
2000 – KS
4568 – DS
[no answer] – JHn

FINAL SCORES

1 – CP 30
2 – TKF 32
3 – TP 32
4 – AS 36
5 – BS 40
6 – MSr 41
7 – NC 44
8 – JHz 44
9 – JB 45
10 – CKr 46
11 – CKy 47
12 – SKn 47
13 – JA 48
14 – MSn 51
15 – MJ 51
16 – WZ 52
17 – DA 52
18 – BA 53
19 – JG 53
20 – SPe 54
21 – DMK 54
22 – JHs 54
23 – JCe 54
24 – DS 54
25 – KS 55
26 – JSz 56
27 – RK 56
28 – DP 56
29 – FB 56
30 – SPu 57
31 – SKy 57
32 – JSn 58
33 – MH 58
34 – RH 60
35 – DK 61
36 – NH 61
37 – FH 61
38 – JCa 62
39 – JHn 63
40 – MSa 64
41 – LR 64
42 – VC 64
43 – M4 64
44 – EL 65
45 – AB 69
46 – SW 70
47 – JHa 70
48 – KH 72

Congratulations to Chad Phillips and thanks to all who participated.

ANTI-MATCH GAME: Mille Bornes

This quiz contains ten categories representing different areas of knowledge. Each category requires you to choose one answer from a range of possible correct answers. Your goal for each category is to choose a correct answer that is chosen by as few other players as possible. A correct answer scores 1 point plus 1 point for every other player who chooses the same answer. An incorrect answer receives a penalty score: the highest correct-answer score for the given category plus 1. The player with the lowest total score wins.

The questions are inspired by types of cards in the game Mille Bornes, though familiarity with the French auto racing game is not required. The notation “11C” refers to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Research is not allowed. Reasonably close spelling is acceptable unless otherwise indicated. Email answers to me at tmcay [at] comcast.net before 11:59 p.m. (MT) Saturday, March 12.

1) Go
The Oxford English Corpus is a massive survey of English language usage, pulling data from literature, journalism, and Internet discourse. A ranking of the most commonly used English words has been derived from analysis of the Corpus. The 100 most common English words in this ranking include 21 two-letter words. The most common of these words is “be”; per the ranking system “be” represents all of its other verbs forms including “is.” Choose any of the other 20 two-letter English words ranking in the top 100.

2) Accident
The following quotations appear in the list25.com article “25 Accidental Inventions That Changed the World” (David Pegg, May 14, 2012). Choose one of the quotations and identify the associated invention. Enumerations for the inventions appear in parentheses after each quotation. Quotations are lettered for convenience; you do not need to indicate a particular quotation in your answer.
A –  “…Nobel accidentally discovered a method of…” (8)
B – “…because they were soggy. In an attempt to teach the customer a lesson, Crum sliced them extra thin…” (6 5)
C – “… play with for decades was originally intended as wallpaper cleaner.” (4-3)
D – “…running out of plates while the neighboring Persian waffle stall…” (3 5 4)
E – “…Roy Plunkett, a chemist who worked for DuPont in the early 20th century for accidentally stumbling across…” (6)
F – “…and when he came out in the morning he found his mixture frozen with the stirring stick…” (8)
G – “…Before turning out the lights one evening Charles Goodyear accidentally spilled…” (10 6)
H – “…Art Fry, realized that it would be perfect as a no-slip bookmark…” (4-2 4)
I – “…when he felt the chocolate bar in his pocket start melting.” (9)
J – “…Kellogg began helping his brother cook meals for patients at the Sanitarium at which he worked, he ended up accidentally…” (4 6)
K – “…was on a hunting trip with his dog when he noticed how burrs would stick to its fur.” (6)
L – “…accidentally knocked a flask off of his desk it fell to the ground but rather than shattering…” (6 5)
M – “…he accidentally dropped one of them. To his amusement the spring immediately righted itself…” (6)

3) Out of Gas
Choose one of the lettered photos below and identify the fictional character represented by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon in the photo. Your answer must include the letter of the chosen photo. ENLARGED IMAGE

4) Flat Tire
The following fictional characters encounter flat tires in film, either as a driver or offerer of roadside assistance. Choose one of the characters and identify either the film title or the actor (first and last name) who portrays the character; choose one or the other, not both. Characters are lettered for convenience; you do not need to indicate the character in your answer. Film titles and actors are considered separate answers for scoring purposes. The years of the films are provided in parentheses.
A – Peter Warne (1934)
B – Joe Gillis (1950)
C – Humbert Humbert (1962)
D – Clyde Barrow (1967)
E – Wyatt/”Captain America” (1969)
F – Brad Majors (1975)
G – Jonathan Kent (1978)
H – Ralphie Parker (1983)
I – Phil Connors (1993)
J – S.F.C. William James (2008)

5) Speed Limit
Choose a single-word, 11C entry that is Italian in origin and is defined as a direction in music related to tempo or change in tempo. Do not choose a multiple-word entry (e.g. “meno mosso”), a direction that is used as a modifier for another direction (e.g. “assai” or “molto”), or a direction that relates to style, volume, or a playing attribute other than tempo (e.g. “fortissimo” or “legato”).

6) Spare Tire
Choose one of the lettered menu items below and identify the fast food chain that serves it. Your answer must include the letter of chosen menu item. All items are from different fast food chains.
A – Venti Egg Nog Latte (630 calories)
B – True Classic Pot Pie (790 calories)
C – Double SmokeShack Burger (850 calories)
D – XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito (860 calories)
E – Foot-Long Spicy Italian Sub (960 calories)
F – Caramel Pecanbon (1,080 calories)
G – Big Breakfast Platter With Hotcakes and a Regular Biscuit (1,090 calories)
H – Dave’s Hot ‘n’ Juicy 3/4 Lb. Triple (1,110 calories)
I – Triple Whopper (1,160 calories)
J – Large Carbonara Sub  (1,310 calories)
K – Carnitas Burrito (1,410 calories)
L – Personal PANormous Meat Lover’s Pizza (1,470 calories)

7) Extra Tank
The pictures below feature some popular types of freshwater aquarium fish. Choose one of the pictures and identify the type of fish. As a solving aid, the names of the fish appear below the pictures as transadditions, i.e. anagrams with one extra letter. Alternate names for the types of fish (names that do not form the given transadditions) will not be accepted and spelling counts. ENLARGED IMAGE

8) Driving Ace
Golf will be introduced as a medal sport at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, though more accurately it will be re-introduced since golf was played at the 1904 Summer Games. Besides golf, sixteen sports played at the Rio Games this year will be ones with an introduction year of 1972 or later — this includes re-introductions of sports that experienced hiatus for one or more Summer Games as well as sports that may have been played at Summer Games before 1972 solely as demonstrations. Choose one of these sixteen sports.

The IOC definitions of a “sport” can be tricky, and problematic answers will be handled as follows: If an entrant submits a valid “event” belonging to an Olympic sport then the answer will be converted to the relevant sport and scored accordingly. If an entrant submits a sport “grouping” then the entrant will be asked to be more specific. Being more specific will not involve clarifying gender or distance.

9) Right of Way
Choose a living (as of February 28, 2016) political figure who currently holds or previously held one of the following offices as a given party representative:
Prime Minister of Australia, representing the Liberal Party
Prime Minister of Canada, representing the Conservative Party or Progressive Conservative Party
President of France, representing the Union for a Popular Movement
President of Mexico, representing the National Action Party (PAN)
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, representing the Conservative Party
President of the United States of America, representing the Republican Party

10) Stop
The lettered images below are segments of subway transportation maps representing fifteen major world cities. The maps were cited in a February 2016 Science Advances article as part of a study of cognitive networking and map complexity. The maps are ordered from most complex (A) to least complex (O) per the study’s findings. Choose one of the images and identify the major city that the subway system services. Your answer must include the letter of the chosen image. ENLARGED IMAGE

Tiebreaker
Edmond Dujardin grew up in Lille in northern France but he later moved to Arcachon on the Bay of Biscay and, in a former fish cannery, began manufacturing card sets for his newly invented game Mille Bornes. What is the distance, in kilometers, of an automobile trip on the A10 from Lille to Arcachon? Tie scores will be broken by the answer closer to the correct distance.

Exquisite High School Students

I recently had the opportunity to lead a group of high school students in some puzzle and game activities. We played some classic packaged games like Set and Squint and then I taught them Exquisite Fruit. As is often the case with newcomers to the game, the students took one round to warm up to the mechanics and then proceeded confidently and enthusiastically. Several students wrote down names of teachers and colleagues on their slips leading to inside references, but I was mainly interested to see the general topics that these teenagers would pick for answers, and the grammatical and editorial approach they would use in forming the questions. I transcribed some of the rounds below. Feel free to post answers in the comments — one answer per commenter, please. Clues with asterisks have been guessed.

1. What is a delicious thick meat fried crunchy baked on a beak and white?
2. Gotta go fast Harrison Ford in Star good person vest with a gun Chewie?
3. What is a warm cozy shirt you wear when it is comfy and warm?
4. Who is this cute snowman that is a dweeb who likes warm hugs stuff?
5. What is a planet by the earth is next month is like cheese in sky?
6. A card game that has ninja panda that is annoying actor that sells cheap?
7. The best holiday full ham food stuffy dinner food yummy gravy and turkey stuffs?
8. What is the big smelly trash car but bigger junk packed vroom vroom vroom?
9. What is the worst and has meaning nothing matters food sleep all day everyday?
* 10. What is the state with snow and colorful scenery right here smoke weed here?
11. Who is the funny guy with bad ugly poophead ugly and can’t be president?
12. Who is a detective that solves mysteries very good thinker and cool as smart?
* 13. Who is the best narrator deep voice snakes plane and Shawshank looks like gold?
14. He comes down the chimney with big chubby belly and cookies of diabetes life?
15. Are they windows can be curious minded looking at one’s retinas and corneas scratched?
16. What is the character a hard exterior body builder can be speedy car?
17. What is the yummy iphone products crushed sauce that is red green crisp?
* 18. Who is the GQ model cry baby football player with nice football player football?
19. What is the colorful stripes of different much color gay pride with color explosion?
20. A horrible movie very terrible breaking dawn that’s Kristen Stewart stupid romance Edward?
21. Is the best patriotic free large US are great free independent outrageous taxes too?
22. What is the spinning circle hip swing fun party around circle big ring sparkly?
* 23. It’s full of naked cats are everywhere my life love Netflix and turkey explore?

ANTI-MATCH GAME – M*A*S*H (RESULTS)

The 35 entrants are abbreviated in the results as follows:

AA – Andy Arizpe
AR – Andrew Ries
BS – Ben Smith
CK – Craig Kaspar
DK – Dan Katz
DMK – Debbie Manber Kupfer
DP – Doug Peterson
DSh – Dave Shukan
DSt – Dan Streit
EM – Eric Maddy
ES – Eric Suess
FB – Foggy Brume
JB – Jason Boomer
JCa – Joe Cabrera
JCh – Joanna Cheng
JCo – Judy Cole
JHa – Jeffrey Harris
JHe – Joel Hess
JK – Joshua Kosman
JO – Jan O’Sullivan
JS – Jeffrey Schwartz
KH – Katie Hamill
KS – Katje Sabin
MJ – Matt Jones
MN – Myles Nye
MS – Marc Spraragen
NC – Nathan Curtis
RH – Ray Hamel
RK – Ronnie Kon
RR – Rick Rubenstein
SD – Samuel Donaldson
SK – Steve Kinsky
SW – Scott Weiss
TG – Tom Gazzola
TP – Trip Payne
WZ – Wil Zambole

1) Capt. Benjamin Franklin Pierce
Choose a two-syllable word that can fill the blank of the phrase “___ State” to form the nickname of one of the United States. Words in alternate-form nicknames, e.g. “Dixie” in “Heart of Dixie,” are not acceptable. Your answer should be a single word, not a hyphenated word or multiword phrase. Given that most U.S. states have multiple nicknames, official and unofficial, any answer meeting the above criteria and appearing the in the Wikipedia article “List of U.S. State Nicknames” as of the time of this game’s posting will be accepted. Your answer does not need to specify the state.

* Aloha (6) – RK
Badger (3) – KH, MS, RH
Beaver (3) – MJ, SD, TG
Beehive (5) – AA, AR, JK, KS, TP
Buckeye (1) – RR
Empire (4) – JCa, JS, SK, SW
Garden (1) – DSh
Gopher (2) – BS
Gopher (2) – JHa
Keystone (1) – JCo
Nutmeg (3) – DMK, DSt, JO
Ocean (1) – DK
Prairie (1) – WZ
Sagebrush (1) – EM
Sooner (1) – NC
Sunshine (3) – CK, JCh, MN
Treasure (5) – DP, ES, FB, JB, JHe

I wasn’t sure how people who didn’t live in the United States would fare with this category but every player submitted a correct nickname. The Sagebrush State is an alternate nickname for Nevada, less common than Silver State. Aloha is valid for Hawaii but has three syllables. For those unfamiliar with M*A*S*H, Capt. Pierce’s nickname was Hawkeye and Iowa’s nickname was a valid unchosen question for this category along with Golden, Bluegrass, Granite, and Mountain.

2) Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt
Choose a two-word entry in 11C in which the first word starts with B and the second word starts with J. Either word may be capitalized. Either word may contain hyphens or apostrophes and still be considered a single word, e.g. if “broken jack-in-the-box” were an 11C entry it would be an acceptable answer. Related forms such as phrasal verb inflections and performer-suffix noun phrases are acceptable, though these forms will be equated for scoring purposes. Entries that appear in the Biographical Names or Geographical Names section are not acceptable.

ball joint (1) – RR
ball-and-socket joint (1) – JHa
* bank job (6) – JCa, TG
BASE jumping (5) – DSh, ES, KH, MS, WZ
bell jar (3) – AR, BS, DK
bench jockey (1) – JHe
* black jack – (6) MN
blow job (5) – DSt, EM, RK, SD, TP
blue jay (5) – CK, DMK, JB, JCo, SK
blue jeans (2) – DP, JCh
bomber jacket (2) – FB, JK
broad jump (3) – KS, MJ, NC
* bug juice (6) – JO, JS
bungee jump (1) – AA
bush jacket (1) – RH
* by Jove (6) – SW

Capt. Hunnicut told people that his initials could stand for “whatever you want,” though he eventually admitted that he was named for his mother Bea and his father Jay. The allowance of partially capitalized and hyphenated answers mentioned in the description was meant to accommodate ball-in-socket joint and BASE jumping. Blackjack, in all senses, is listed as a single word in 11C. By Jove is findable in the definition for Jove but the phrase is not a boldface entry. Bank job and bug juice are nice phrases that unfortunately are not 11C. Other answers include box jellyfish and butt joint.

3) Col. Henry Braymore Blake
Choose one of the following geographical names, each a former name of a world nation, and identify the current name of the nation. Your answer must include the letter of the nation’s former name.

A. Abyssinia
B. Ceylon
C. Dahomey
D. Dutch Guiana
E. East Pakistan
F. Gilbert Islands
G. New Holland
H. Siam
J. Southern Rhodesia
K. Temasek
L. Upper Volta
M. Zaire

A – Ethiopia (2) – KH, WZ
B – Sri Lanka (6) – BS, CK, DK, JCo, MS, SD
C – Benin (6) – DP, DSh, JB, MJ, TG, TP
E – Bangladesh (2) – JS, RK
F – Kiribati (4) – ES, JHe, JK, NC
G – Australia (1) – JCh
H – Thailand (5) – JHa, KS, MN, RH, SW
J – Zimbabwe (3) – DMK, DSt, FB
L – Burkina Faso (4) – AA, AR, EM, JO
* M – Congo (7) – SK
* M – Republic of Congo (7) – JCa, RR

The unchosen answers are Suriname (D), Singapore (K), and Democratic Republic of Congo (M). Republic of Congo is a distinct African nation from DRC which is why I required “Democratic” to be part of a valid answer for M. Col. Blake was find of saying “Abyssinia” as a word of farewell. The episode in which Blake dies in a plane crash on the way home from Korea is titled “Abyssinia, Henry.”

4) Col. Sherman T. Potter
Choose one of the song lyrics below and identify the song in which it originally appeared. Your answer must include the letter of the corresponding lyric segment. In some cases the wording of the lyrics varies slightly according to the source referenced, e.g. in lyric segment D several alternate versions exist with replacements for the word “kissed” that are considerably less modest.

A. “And the roses will die with the summertime, and our roads may be far apart”
B. “Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square!”
C. “I’ll amputate his reveille and step upon it heavily, and spend the rest of my life in bed”
D. “She hasn’t been kissed in forty years, hinky-dinky, parley-voo”
E. “So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word to beware”
F. “They’ll never want to see a rake or a plow, and who the deuce can parley-vous a cow?”
G. “Those deviling hounds who know what fighting means”
H. “Turn the dark cloud inside out till the boys come home”
J. “Where the nightingales are singing and a white moon beams”
K. “While you’ve a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that’s the style”
L. “You’ll never get rich a-digging a ditch”
M. “You’re the only g-g-g-girl that I adore”

* (no answer) (12) – AA
* A – Danny Boy (12) – DK
B – It’s a Long Way to Tipperary (2) – DMK, JB
* B – Over There (12) – FB, RK
C – Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (3) – BS, JHe, KH
D – Mademoiselle from Armentieres (1) – RH
E – Over There (3) – DSt, MJ, SW
* G – Fisticuffs (12) – JCh
H – Keep the Home Fires Burning (2) – ES, WZ
J – There’s a Long Long Trail A-Winding (1) – MS
K – Pack Up Your Troubles (in an Old Kit Bag) (3) – JO, KS, RR
L – You’re in the Army Now (5) – JCa, JK, MN, SD, SK
M – K-K-K-Katy (11) – AR, CK, DP, DSh, EM, JCo, JHa, JS, NC, TG, TP

Col. Potter, a former cavalry soldier, could probably identify all of these Word War I-era songs but for many players this category proved to be a major spoiler, especially with the bandwagoning of song M. The unchosen songs are “Roses of Piccardy” (A), “How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?” (F), and “Tell That to the Marines” (G).

5) Maj. Margaret Houlihan
Choose a film that depicts the winning actors of an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss. As a selection aid, the initials of the films appear below in chronological order (from 1992 to 2014) followed by the surnames of the winning actors in alphabetical order; multiple winners are only listed once.

MG / UH / IP / DAD / S / ID / TWS / SIL / CI / STLD / AP2 / S-M / S&H / TN / BM / TN:TBORB / SU2:TS / T / TTS:NM / TTS:E / TTS:BD-P1 / SLP / WTM

Aniston Barrymore Biggs Blair Carrey Chlumsky Cohen Cooper Culkin Dunst Electra Evigan Ferrell Fiennes Fox Gellar Gosling Guidera Gyllenhaal Harrelson Henstridge Hoffman Holly Lawrence Ledger Maguire McAdams Moore Paltrow Pattinson Poulter Roberts Sandler Scott Slater Smart Smith Stewart Stiles Thomas Tomei Wilson

Brokeback Mountain (3) – DSt, SK, SW
Cruel Intentions (1) – DSh
Dumb and Dumber (2) – CK, KH
Indecent Proposal (2) – AR, MJ
Independence Day (1) – JHe
My Girl (2) – EM, JK
Save the Last Dance (2) – BS, JS
* Secretary (5) – RK
Shakespeare in Love (4) – NC, RR, SD, TG
Species (2) – AA, FB
Spider-Man (4) – JCa, JO, KS, MN
Starsky & Hutch (2) – ES, WZ
Step Up 2: The Streets (3) – DP, JCh, TP
The Notebook (1) – RH
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (3) – DMK, JB, MS
The Wedding Singer (1) – JCo
Twilight (1) – DK
We’re the Millers (1) – JHa

I’m not sure if the winners of MTV Movie Awards are well-known so I chose to provide a lot of extra information. I would imagine that some players wished that I was equally generous with category 4. The distribution of correct answers was fairly even. The other correct titles are Untamed Heart, American Pie 2, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and Silver Linings Playbook. The category was inspired by Maj. Houlihan’s nickname “Hot Lips.”

6) Maj. Frank Burns
The ferret is a member of family Mustelidae, a large division of carnivorous mammals that comprises 57 known living species. Choose another animal in this zoological family. Your answer should be a single-word entry in 11C (i.e., ignore animals with multiword names such as black-footed ferret) with a definition that includes a relevant genus label; genera associated with Mustelidae include Mustela, Gulo, Enhydra, and Lutra.

Badger (1) – JCh
Ermine (2) – JO, KS
Fisher (3) – DSt, JHe, MS
* Honey badger (8) – DP
* Marmot (8) – AR
Marten (2) – JB, RH
Mink (7) – ES, JCa, JCo, JHa, NC, SK, TG
* Mongoose (8) – SW
* Nutria (8) – JS
Otter (3) – CK, DK, RR
Skunk (1) – DSh
Stoat (7) – BS, FB, JK, KH, MJ, RK, TP
* Vole (8) – AA
Weasel (4) – DMK, MN, SD, WZ
Wolverine (1) – EM

Maj. “Ferret Face” Burns might have enjoyed knowing that his nickname animal was in the company of many other mustelids. Some players came up with good guesses that are physically similar but biologically distinct from the weasel family. Marmots, nutrias, and voles are rodents and the mongoose is a feline relative of family Herpestidae. I disqualified honey badger for violating the single-word requirement in the category description; I also discovered that honey badger is not 11C. Skunk is a tricky answer: genus Mephitis is not currently classified in family Mustelidae but it used to be, and the 11C definition implicitly supports the old biological association so I ruled the answer as correct.

7) Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III
Choose a United States institution of higher learning with a 2013 endowment that exceeded $4 billion. Twenty schools had such an endowment. As a reference for selection, the schools with the next twenty highest 2013 endowments are listed below.

21. University of Southern California
22. Dartmouth College
23. Vanderbilt University
24. Ohio State University
25. Johns Hopkins University
26. University of Pittsburgh
27. Pennsylvania State University
28. New York University
29. University of Minnesota
30. Brown University
31. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
32. University of Washington
33. Purdue University
34. University of Richmond
35. University of Wisconsin–Madison
36. University of Illinois system
37. California Institute of Technology
38. Amherst College
39. Pomona College
40. Boston College

* Boston University (7) – FB
Columbia University (2) DP, JCa
Cornell University (1) – SD
Duke University (2) – AR, NC
Emory University (2) – ES, TP
Harvard University (4) – JCh, MS, RK, SW
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1) – MJ
Northwestern University (1) – BS
Princeton University (6) – DK, DSh, DSt, JCo, KH, WZ
Stanford University (5) – CK, EM, JK, RR, TG
University of California (2) – JHa, KS
University of Michigan (1) – JS
University of Notre Dame (2) – JO
University of Notre Dame (2) – RH
University of Texas (3) – AA, JHe, SK
Yale University (3) – DMK, JB, MN

Another good spread of correct answers. Maj Winchester’s alma mater of Harvard tops the endowment lust by a healthy margin over second-place Yale. Boston University ranks in the sixties. Other schools in the top twenty include University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and Rice University.

8) Cpl. Walter O’Reilly
Choose one of the images below, each showing a close-up of the labeling of beverage produced by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and identify the beverage brand. You do not need to specify the image in your answer.

7-Up (3) – JCh, MN, RK
Cactus Cooler (1) – DP
Clamato (1) – BS
Country Time (5) – CK, DK, SK, TG, WZ
Diet Rite Cola (2) – JCo, TP
Hawaiian Punch (2) – DMK, DSt
* Hi-C (8) – JK
IBC Root Beer (3) – JB, RH, SW
Orangina (3) – AA, JCa, KS
Squirt (5) – EM, FB, JO, KH, SD
Vernor’s (7) – AR, DSh, ES, MJ, MS, NC, RR
Yoo-Hoo (3) – JHa, JHe, JS

Interestingly, the only beverage not chosen was Radar O’Reilly’s favorite: Nehi.

9) Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger
Choose the nickname (not geographical name) of a currently active team in the International League of Triple-A baseball. As a selection aid, the logos of the current teams appear below, with some visual elements obscured. You do not need to specify the image in your answer.

Bats (6 ) – AA, DP, JHa, JS, MJ, SD
Bisons (1) – SW
Bulls (3) – DMK, MN, RK
Clippers (3) – JCa, TP, WZ
Indians (1) – RH
Iron Pigs (3) – EM, FB, KH
Knights (3) – CK, JB, JHe
Mud Hens (11) – DSh, DSt, ES, JCo, JK, JO, KS, MS, NC, RR, TG
Red Sox (2) – DK, JCh
Red Wings (3) – AR, BS, SK

Klinger would be pleased to see so many Toledo Mud Hens supporters among the players. The other answers are Braves, Chiefs, Rail Riders, and Tides.

10) Capt. Francis John Patrick Mulcahy
The Hallmark website (shop.hallmark.com) has a calendar labeled “2014 Holidays” that features many dates including the ten listed below. Choose one of the dates and identify the holiday associated with it on the website. Your answers must include the letter of the associated date.

A. 2/14
B. 3/17
C. 4/15
D. 4/20
E. 7/28
F. 9/25
G. 10/23
H. 10/31
J. 12/17
K. 12/25

* (no answer) (9) – JHa
A – Valentine’s Day (4) – AA, DMK, EM, JB
B – St. Patrick’s Day (8) – JCh, JCo, JO, KS, MJ, MS, RH, TG
C – Passover (1) – ES
* D – Patriot’s Day (9) – JCa
F – Grandparents Day (9) – AR
F – Rosh Hashanah (4) – FB, JS, KH, NC
G – Diwali (1) – BS
* G – Hanukkah (9) – JHe
H – Halloween (6) – DK, DP, MN, SK, SW, WZ
J – Hanukkah (1) – CK
K – Christmas (7) – DSh, DSt, JK, RK, RR, SD, TP

The chosen Hallmark card dates are all for religious holidays or secularized occasions that derive from spiritual observances such as saint feast days. The religious theme comes from the fact that Capt. Mulcahy is the M*A*S*H chaplain. Players who didn’t catch the religious theme were occasionally lured to some wrong answers that are close on the calendar. Answer E is Eid al-Fitr.

Tiebreaker
The signpost pictured below was a familiar set piece of the television series M*A*S*H; it is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Ten numbers have been obscured from the sign. Choose a number that you believe to be the largest of the ten obscured numbers. Tie scores will be broken by the answer closer to the largest number.

Note: I won’t vouch for the geographical accuracy of any of the numbers used on the prop signpost.

2200 – SW
2214 – AR
4077 – FB
4500 – MJ
4800 – TP
5000 – AA
5000 – JHa
6297 – JK
6405 – JB
6500 – DMK
7000 – JCo
7216 – RH
7300 – EM
7451 – SD
7513 – DP
8001 – JCa
8437 – DSt
8500 – NC
8500 – RK
8700 – WZ
8765 – TG
9000 – ES
9000 – JCh
9000 – SK
9412 – CORRECT
9450 – KS
9876 – DK
10000 – JS
10801 – DSh
12000 – JO
12000 – KH
12231 – CK
12250 – BS
14210 – RR
20000 – MS
1000000 – MN
(no answer) – JHe

FINAL SCORES

RH – 3 1 5 1 1 2 2 3 1 8  = 27
BS – 2 3 6 3 2 7 1 1 3 1  = 29
DMK – 3 5 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4  = 32
JHe – 5 1 4 3 1 3 3 3 3 9  = 35
WZ – 1 5 2 2 2 4 6 5 3 6 = 36
JB – 5 5 6 2 3 2 3 3 3 4  = 36
JCh – 3 2 1 12 3 1 4 3 2 8  = 39
KH – 3 5 2 3 2 7 6 5 3 4 = 40
EM – 1 5 4 11 2 1 5 5 3 4 = 41
MN – 3 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 6  = 42
SW – 4 6 5 3 3 8 4 3 1 6  = 43
CK – 3 5 6 11 2 3 5 5 3 1  = 44
DK – 1 3 6 12 1 3 6 5 2 6  = 45
KS – 5 3 5 3 4 2 2 3 11 8  = 46
ES – 5 5 4 2 2 7 2 7 11 1  = 46
DSt – 3 5 3 3 3 3 6 2 11 7 = 46
SD – 3 5 6 5 4 4 1 5 6 7  = 46
MJ – 3 3 6 3 2 7 1 7 6 8  = 46
JS – 4 6 2 11 2 8 1 3 6 4  = 47
JHa – 2 1 5 11 1 7 2 3 6 9 = 47
SK – 4 5 7 5 3 7 3 5 3 6  = 48
JO – 3 6 4 3 4 2 2 5 11 8  = 48
AA – 5 1 4 12 2 8 3 3 6 4 = 48
RR – 1 1 7 3 4 3 5 7 11 7  = 49
JCa – 4 6 7 5 4 7 2 3 3 9  = 50
DP – 5 2 6 11 3 8 2 1 6 6  = 50
FB – 5 2 3 12 2 7 7 5 3 4  = 50
TP – 5 5 6 11 3 7 2 2 3 7 = 51
MS – 3 5 6 1 3 3 4 7 11 8  = 51
NC – 1 3 4 11 4 7 2 7 11 4 = 54
RK – 6 5 2 12 5 7 4 3 3 7  = 54
AR – 5 3 4 11 2 8 2 7 3 9  = 54
DSh – 1 5 6 11 1 1 6 7 11 7  = 56
JK – 5 2 4 5 2 7 5 8 11 7  = 56
JCo – 1 5 6 11 1 7 6 2 11 8  = 58
TG – 3 6 6 11 4 7 5 5 11 8 = 66

Congratulations to Ray Hamel who finished with the lowest score. Thank you all for playing!

ANTI-MATCH GAME: M*A*S*H

This quiz contains ten categories representing different areas of knowledge. Each category requires you to choose one answer from a range of possible correct answers. Your goal for each category is to choose a correct answer that is chosen by as few other players as possible. A correct answer scores 1 point plus 1 point for every other player who chooses the same answer. An incorrect answer receives a penalty score: the highest correct-answer score for the given category plus 1. The player with the lowest total score wins.

The categories in this game are named for characters in the 1972-1983 television series M*A*S*H, based on the 1970 feature film and the 1968 novel by Richard Hooker. Each category’s subject matter is only tangentially related to the character, thus a familiarity with the M*A*S*H franchise is not required. The notation “11C” refers to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Research is not allowed. Reasonably close spelling is acceptable unless otherwise indicated. Email answers to me at tmcay [at] comcast.net before 11:59 p.m. (MT) Wednesday, October 22.

1) Capt. Benjamin Franklin Pierce
Choose a two-syllable word that can fill the blank of the phrase “___ State” to form the nickname of one of the United States. Words in alternate-form nicknames, e.g. “Dixie” in “Heart of Dixie,” are not acceptable. Your answer should be a single word, not a hyphenated word or multiword phrase. Given that most U.S. states have multiple nicknames, official and unofficial, any answer meeting the above criteria and appearing the in the Wikipedia article “List of U.S. State Nicknames” as of the time of this game’s posting will be accepted. Your answer does not need to specify the state.

2) Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt
Choose a two-word entry in 11C in which the first word starts with B and the second word starts with J. Either word may be capitalized. Either word may contain hyphens or apostrophes and still be considered a single word, e.g. if “broken jack-in-the-box” were an 11C entry it would be an acceptable answer. Related forms such as phrasal verb inflections and performer-suffix noun phrases are acceptable, though these forms will be equated for scoring purposes. Entries that appear in the Biographical Names or Geographical Names section are not acceptable.

3) Col. Henry Braymore Blake
Choose one of the following geographical names, each a former name of a world nation, and identify the current name of the nation. Your answer must include the letter of the nation’s former name.

A. Abyssinia
B. Ceylon
C. Dahomey
D. Dutch Guiana
E. East Pakistan
F. Gilbert Islands
G. New Holland
H. Siam
J. Southern Rhodesia
K. Temasek
L. Upper Volta
M. Zaire

4) Col. Sherman T. Potter
Choose one of the song lyrics below and identify the song in which it originally appeared. Your answer must include the letter of the corresponding lyric segment. In some cases the wording of the lyrics varies slightly according to the source referenced, e.g. in lyric segment D several alternate versions exist with replacements for the word “kissed” that are considerably less modest.

A. “And the roses will die with the summertime, and our roads may be far apart”
B. “Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square!”
C. “I’ll amputate his reveille and step upon it heavily, and spend the rest of my life in bed”
D. “She hasn’t been kissed in forty years, hinky-dinky, parley-voo”
E. “So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word to beware”
F. “They’ll never want to see a rake or a plow, and who the deuce can parley-vous a cow?”
G. “Those deviling hounds who know what fighting means”
H. “Turn the dark cloud inside out till the boys come home”
J. “Where the nightingales are singing and a white moon beams”
K. “While you’ve a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that’s the style”
L. “You’ll never get rich a-digging a ditch”
M. “You’re the only g-g-g-girl that I adore”

5) Maj. Margaret Houlihan
Choose a film that depicts the winning actors of an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss. As a selection aid, the initials of the films appear below in chronological order (from 1992 to 2014) followed by the surnames of the winning actors in alphabetical order; multiple winners are only listed once.

MG / UH / IP / DAD / S / ID / TWS / SIL / CI / STLD / AP2 / S-M / S&H / TN / BM / TN:TBORB / SU2:TS / T / TTS:NM / TTS:E / TTS:BD-P1 / SLP / WTM

Aniston Barrymore Biggs Blair Carrey Chlumsky Cohen Cooper Culkin Dunst Electra Evigan Ferrell Fiennes Fox Gellar Gosling Guidera Gyllenhaal Harrelson Henstridge Hoffman Holly Lawrence Ledger Maguire McAdams Moore Paltrow Pattinson Poulter Roberts Sandler Scott Slater Smart Smith Stewart Stiles Thomas Tomei Wilson

6) Maj. Frank Burns
The ferret is a member of family Mustelidae, a large division of carnivorous mammals that comprises 57 known living species. Choose another animal in this zoological family. Your answer should be a single-word entry in 11C (i.e., ignore animals with multiword names such as black-footed ferret) with a definition that includes a relevant genus label; genera associated with Mustelidae include Mustela, Gulo, Enhydra, and Lutra.

7) Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III
Choose a United States institution of higher learning with a 2013 endowment that exceeded $4 billion. Twenty schools had such an endowment. As a reference for selection, the schools with the next twenty highest 2013 endowments are listed below.

21. University of Southern California
22. Dartmouth College
23. Vanderbilt University
24. Ohio State University
25. Johns Hopkins University
26. University of Pittsburgh
27. Pennsylvania State University
28. New York University
29. University of Minnesota
30. Brown University
31. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
32. University of Washington
33. Purdue University
34. University of Richmond
35. University of Wisconsin–Madison
36. University of Illinois system
37. California Institute of Technology
38. Amherst College
39. Pomona College
40. Boston College

8) Cpl. Walter O’Reilly
Choose one of the images below, each showing a close-up of the labeling of beverage produced by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and identify the beverage brand. You do not need to specify the image in your answer.

9) Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger
Choose the nickname (not geographical name) of a currently active team in the International League of Triple-A baseball. As a selection aid, the logos of the current teams appear below, with some visual elements obscured. You do not need to specify the image in your answer.

10) Capt. Francis John Patrick Mulcahy
The Hallmark website (shop.hallmark.com) has a calendar labeled “2014 Holidays” that features many dates including the ten listed below. Choose one of the dates and identify the holiday associated with it on the website. Your answers must include the letter of the associated date.

A. 2/14
B. 3/17
C. 4/15
D. 4/20
E. 7/28
F. 9/25
G. 10/23
H. 10/31
J. 12/17
K. 12/25

Tiebreaker
The signpost pictured below was a familiar set piece of the television series M*A*S*H; it is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Ten numbers have been obscured from the sign. Choose a number that you believe to be the largest of the ten obscured numbers. Tie scores will be broken by the answer closer to the largest number.