PCWC statistics

Here are some statistics regarding the PCWCs.

The original PCWC scoring scheme required voters to rank all the clues in order — 1st, 2nd, etc. down to last place (with ties allowed). This was used in all PCWCs up to and including PCWC 23. PCWCs from PCWC 24 onwards used Mark Brader's algorithm as described in the main PCWC page.

A clue can score 100%, but only if all the judges who judge it give it their highest mark. So far, this has happened only in PCWC 115. A clue can score 0%, but only if all the judges who judge it give it their lowest mark. So far, this has happened only in PCWC 102 and 107.

In PCWC 70, the moderator allowed an entrant to submit 2 or more entries, provided that no entries had any element in common; 20 entrants submitted 48 entries; the moderator then admitted a maximum of 3 per entrant, so 39 entries were deemed official, the other 9 being bonuses.

In the table below, e, b and v are the number of entrants, bonus clues and voters respectively.

n	word	moderator	e	b	v	top mark	winner
1	democratic	Guy Jacobson	14		20	79.6	Ralph Kennedy
2	recapitulate	Ralph Kennedy	11		13	81.9	Tom Deneau
3	scapegoat	Tom Deneau	13		18	80.8	Mark Manasse
4	landslide	Mark Manasse	15		16	71.9	Greg Lawler
5	Macedonia	Greg Lawler	10		8	80.6	Christine Quinn
6	administer	Christine Quinn	13		18	77.8	Brian Spollen
7	wistful	Brian Spollen	7		10	79.2	Uday Rajan
8	cardinal	Greg Lawler	16		12	70.8	Ilana Stern
9	inaugurate	Ilana Stern	18		20	72.9	Ralph Kennedy
10	discriminate	Ralph Kennedy	20		17	73.8	Edward Carney
11	frequency	Christopher Boek	16		11	65.8	Matt Hudelson
12	phantasm	Clayton Colwell	15		19	67.7	Guy Jacobson
13	sforzando	Guy Jacobson	14		9	76.5	Alan Waldock
14	kitten	John Rickard	15		12	68.5	Guy Jacobson
15	right	Mark Brader	12		11	81	Bob Gregory
16	prehistoric	Mark Meyerson	15		8	82.1	Beacon
17	deliberate	Brian Spollen	21				Tom Deneau
18	cargo	Stuart MacMartin	13		9		Paul Asente
19	marmalade	Paul Asente	26	0	19	76	Felix Lee
20	carousel	Felix Lee	30	0	12	73.4	Chris Solnordal
21	Woody Allen						Greg Lawler
22	ordinance	R. K. Harding	12	0	5	82.7	Ilana Stern
23	select	Ilana Stern	17	0	9	73.6	Dirk Laurie
24	snowflake	Tovah Hollander	18	0		86.04	Ilana Stern
25	disaster						Greg Lawler
26	madrigalist	Bob Gregory	15	0		87.09	John Bryan
27	subterfuge	John Bryan	16	1	8	98.21	Merlyn LeRoy
28	ruminate
29	reincarnation	Ilana Stern	23	0		74.31	Rock Marshall Pereira
30	metonymy	Rock Marshall Pereira	13	0		77.17	Jake Bergmann
31	basement	Mark Brader	23	6	15	74.45	Ken Bays
32	telephone	Kevin Sherlock	26	0	10	88.47	Dirk Laurie
33	snapshot	Dirk Laurie	18	0		77.68	Kevin Sherlock
34	negative	Kevin Sherlock	23	3	9	80.46	Becky Swann
35	digest	Matthew Merzbacher	14	2		76.91	Tom Deneau
36	sprained	Clayton Colwell	21	5	7	80.03	Eric P. Burke
37	grounds	Mark Brader	21	2	16	74.62	Doug Peterson
38	curtailment						Kevin Wald
39	reactionary	Paul Evans	16	>=3?		93.83	Jared Solnick
40	dandelion	Doug Peterson	23	>=1?		83.25	Paul Evans
41	proponent	Jake Bergmann	23	3		78.06	Evan Whitney
42	hitchhiker	Evan Whitney	25	2	16	66.71	Matthew Merzbacher
43	lodges	Matthew Merzbacher	23	4		87.32	Chris Rimmer
44	classified	Chris Rimmer	21	5		76.41	Clayton Colwell
45	charade	Clayton Colwell	21	1	12	85.41	Kamal Shah
46	calamity	Jonathan Callet	17	0		86.22	Evan Whitney
47	prosecute	Evan Whitney	23	2		77.32	Don Monson
48	apothecary						Brian Spollen
49	empire	Brian Spollen	21	0		89.9	Don Monson
50	anthology	Don Monson	24	1		74.41	Greg Lawler
51	harmony	John Hakemian	25	6		85.7	Martin McCarthy
52	bookcase	Martin McCarthy	23	0		72.53	Evan Whitney
53	organism	Evan Whitney	26	4		76.7	Brian Spollen
54	leap year	Brian Spollen	18		15	74.45	Bob Gregory
55	coast	Tom Deneau	14	7	14	70.26	Clayton Colwell
56	center	Clayton Colwell	19	0		70.22	Brian Spollen
57	lilac	Brian Spollen	19	2		70.87	Kevin Wald
58	breakfast	Serge Elnitsky	24	3		78.57	David Eggleston
59	corpse	Joseph Ganley	25	6		80.41	Karen Lingel
60	spell	Karen Lingel	9	0		73.86	Paula Tanous
61	canines	Roy Thearle	16	6		87.87	Kevin Wald
62	inheritance	Jake Bergmann	16	9		81.09	Ed Coulson
63	absolute	Ed Coulson	19?	7		76.9	Kevin Wald
64	blockhead	Pete Mitchell	21	2		70.35	Gail Koontz
65	chagrin	Brian Spollen	21	3		78.92	Paul Weiss
66	launch	Matthew Merzbacher	17	1		79.75	Gareth Williams
67	reservoir	Jake Bergmann	16	0		72.46	William Shatzer
68	pharmacy	Keith Engers	18	2		78.8	Ed Coulson
69	single	Ed Coulson	17	6		76.33	Mark Brader
70	stop	Mark Brader	39	9		76.68	Jake Bergmann
71	onslaught	Jake Bergmann	22	8		77	John Hakemian
72	memorial	John Hakemian	18	4		74.21	Frank Heys
73	seventy-three	Roy Thearle	16	5		71.82	Greg Lawler
74	yeasty	Philip Rose	17	4	9	86.38	Roger Butler
75	generation	Brian Spollen	14	4	7	73.33	Keith Engers
76	include	Ed Coulson	18	4		72	Kevin Wald
77	yellow	Matthew Merzbacher	25	5		92.33	Keith Ivey
78	deranged	Keith Ivey	20	3		75.93	Christopher J. Burke
79	considerate	Ed Coulson	20	0		78.86	Evan Whitney
80	asinine	Evan Whitney	20	3		78	John Bryan
81	pastoral	John Bryan	24	8		73.24	William Johnston
82	number	William Johnston	21	16	7	81.53	Jake Bergmann
83	console	Jake Bergmann	24	5		76.63	Kurt Storm
84	Hector	Doug Peterson	26	6		75.57	Jules Lafrance
85	April showers	Philip Rose	23	0		77.61	Theresa Cunningham
86	flamingo	Doug Peterson	21	3	10	75.71	Marti Ford
87	bishop	Bob Newman	21	1		72.96	David McKeegan
88	finish	John Bryan	24	1		92.99	Bruce McKenzie
89	navigator	Keith Engers	19	10		75.79	David McKeegan
90	impeachment	Serge Elnitsky	16	1		78.72	Malcolm Hillsley
91	pastime	Ed Coulson	25	1		81.52	William Johnston
92	escort	William Johnston	22	1	11	81.69	Doug Peterson
93	predicament	Doug Peterson	24	1		79.14	Philip Rose
94	nineties	Philip Rose	17	2		74.62	Doug Peterson
95	inferno	Doug Peterson	23	3		84.57	Serge Elnitsky
96	slate	Serge Elnitsky	25	5		80.99	Doug Peterson
97	Cinderella	Doug Peterson	23	4	12	94.24	Mel Hochster
98	anagram	David McKeegan	23	4	10	91.15	Jake Bergmann
99	function	Jake Bergmann	19	4		77.67	Dirk Laurie
100	cricket	Dirk Laurie	19	6		66.32	Paul Bringloe
101	mark	Mark Brader	15	15	11	79.38	Doug Peterson
102	souvenir	Doug Peterson	24	7	12	77.85	Luciano Ward
103	inertia	Serge Elnitsky	18	8		83.78	Bruce McKenzie
104	graft	Bruce McKenzie	16	14		81.44	Doug Peterson
105	rifle	Doug Peterson	23	13		76.88	Ed Coulson
106	estimate	Ed Coulson	18	15		74.61	Nancy Klee
107	alive	Theresa Cunningham	19	5		89.61	Jake Bergmann
108	celebrated	Doug Peterson	23	9	18	79.06	Mel Hochster
109	placebo	Mel Hochster	21	6	12	77.49	Jeremy Hicks
110	carrot	David McKeegan	17	8		97.76	Don Monson
111	marathon	Don Monson	15	4		94.91	Jeremy Hicks
112	stymie	Jeremy Hicks	11	1		75.73	David McKeegan
113	ante	David McKeegan	15	4		85.07	Bruce McKenzie
114	capital assets	Bruce McKenzie	7	6		91.67	Luciano Ward
115	baloney	Luciano Ward	9	1		100	Bruce McKenzie
116	well	Bruce McKenzie	11	1		83.75	Luciano Ward
117	handsome	Luciano Ward	12	0		82.5	Jake Bergmann
118	swallow	Jake Bergmann	10	3		65.21	Luciano Ward
119	manifest	Luciano Ward	16	5		85.02	Jeremy Hicks
120	yawn	Jeremy Hicks	12	0		74.58	Bruce McKenzie
121	Rosetta stone	Bruce McKenzie	10	1		68.29	Philip Rose
122	timorous	Philip Rose	14	0		74.05	Doug Peterson
123	dismay	Doug Peterson	16	1		78.64	Paul Coulter
124	flash	Paul Coulter	8	6		72.14	Luciano Ward
125	moth-eaten	Luciano Ward	12	2		85.57	Bruce McKenzie
126	lamentable	Bruce McKenzie	11	5		83.45	Ben Zimmer
127	tethered	Ben Zimmer	10	1		84.58	Jeremy Hicks
128	incoherent	Chris Johnson	8	0		85.46	Keith Engers
129	cheapskate	Luciano Ward	13	0	10	85.27	Paul Why
130	bewitched	Paul Why	15	1		82.36	Luciano Ward
131	Mickey Mouse	Luciano Ward	7	3		81.35	Derek Jolly
132	humbug	Paul Why	6	3		90.74	Luciano Ward
133	dishonest	Luciano Ward	11	3		78.88	Ed Coulson
134	clandestine	Ed Coulson	12	0		80.52	Doug Peterson
135	cavalier	Doug Peterson	17	9		75.89	Luciano Ward
136	police	Luciano Ward	18	3		73.29	Paddy Grove
137	complaint	Mel Hochster	14	6		73.9	Paddy Grove
138	pitch	Paddy Grove
138a	fiasco	Paddy Grove	8	6	6	76.67	Paul Coulter
139	dessert	Vicky Larmour	14	3		85.54	Paddy Grove
140	chestnut	Paddy Grove	11	2		79.44	Paul Why
141	earthquake	Paul Why	6	1		91.43	Mark Iredell
142	potter	Mark Iredell	9	5		75.43	Mel Hochster
143	nostalgia	Mel Hochster	12	2	3	82.3	Paul Coulter
144	charisma	Paul Coulter	15	5		84.2	Luciano Ward
145	assassinate	Luciano Ward	13	2		77.43	Chris Redmond
146	strabismus	Kurt Storm	12	1		76.11	Doug Peterson
147	balderdash	Doug Peterson	16	5		81.15	Chris Redmond
148	homer	Mark Iredell	14	2		61.35	Mark Brader
148a	impeach	Mark Iredell
149	above	Mark Brader	15	9	5	67.5	Jim Sherman
150	lucifer	Jim Sherman	18	2	14	71.84	Paddy Grove
151	nightingale	Paddy Grove	19	8	10	84.57	Doug Peterson
152	scorned	Doug Peterson	19	9	10	77.69	Paul Why
153	platforms	Jonathan May	12	0	7	73.83	Paddy Grove
154	appreciate	Paddy Grove	11	0	7	87.38	Mark Iredell
155	flight	Mark Iredell	12	6	12	76.43	Luciano Ward
156	sweetheart	Luciano Ward	16	6	13	78.49	Paddy Grove
157	figure	Paddy Grove	12	9	9	79.38	Mark Iredell
158	catch-22	Mark Iredell	10	3	8	59.27	Dominic Davis
159	sleeper	Paddy Grove	11	2	8	69.29	Jim Sherman
160	collaborate	Jim Sherman	11	2	11	85.96	Mark Iredell
161	defenestration	Mark Iredell	11	6	10	73.08	Mark Brader
162	must-read	Ben Zimmer	7	2	5	95	Dominic Davis
163	radius	Robert Galejs	6	1	7	89.2	Jim Sherman
164	margin	Jim Sherman	7	1	4	69.65	Andrew Bull
165	predate	Paddy Grove	8	0	8	77.66	David Stickley
166	letter	Mark Brader	13	1	12	76.92	Roy McLeese
167	tackle	Roy McLeese	9	0	11	69.21	James Squires
168	meter	Mark Brader	9	5	3	90	Luciano Ward