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Workings

Hints
The first letters of the words are: C, N, D, M, S, S, Y, P, P, H, C, A, P, B.

Answers
-----rue = construe -----jar = nightjar -----dil = daffodil -----any = mahogany or epiphany -----pox = smallpox -----gth = strength -----elf = yourself -----oia = paranoia -----ige = prestige -----hog = hedgehog -----too = cockatoo -----dix = appendix -----fin = paraffin -----upt = bankrupt

Workings

Hint
How old could Glen be?

Answer
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale    15     3      1
Emery   16     1      4
Frankie 18     2      2
Glen    19     4      3

Reasoning
The possible ages are: 15, 16, 18, 19.

Breaking the clues down, and numbering them:
Frankie beat Glen in chess. Dale came third (chess). The 16-year-old won (chess). Frankie came second in croquet. The 15-year-old won (croquet). Dale beat the 18-year-old (croquet). The 19-year-old came third (croquet). Emery is 3 years younger than Glen. The person who came last in chess came third in croquet. Only one person got the same position in both games.
By (4), Frankie came 2^nd in croquet.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale
Emery
Frankie               2
Glen

By (2), Dale came 3^rd in chess.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale           3
Emery
Frankie               2
Glen

By (8), Emery is 15 or 16, and Glen is 18 or 19.

By (9), the person who came 4^th in chess, came 3^rd in croquet, and by (7), they are 19. This can't be Dale (3^rd in chess), or Frankie (2^nd in croquet), or Emery (aged 15 or 16), so it must be Glen.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale           3
Emery
Frankie               2
Glen    19     4      3

By (6), Dale can't have been 4^th in croquet, so must be 1^st. Leaving Emery in 4^th.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale           3      1
Emery                 4
Frankie               2
Glen    19     4      3

By (10), only one person got the same position in both games, this can't be Emery 4^th in both (as Glen is already 4^th in chess), so must be Frank, 2^nd in both. Leaving Emery 1^st in chess.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale           3      1
Emery          1      4
Frankie        2      2
Glen    19     4      3

By (3) and (5) we know the ages of the winners in each competition, and Frankie is therefore 18.
Name    Age    Chess  Croquet
Dale    15     3      1
Emery   16     1      4
Frankie 18     2      2
Glen    19     4      3

Workings

Hints
taper = p… (10 letters) heals = s… (9 letters) brows = b… (7 letters) often = f… (8 letters) farce = c… (8 letters) yowls = s… (6 letters) satin = a… (10 letters) awful = l… (6 letters) iotas = t… (10 letters) quiet = e… (9 letters) foils = f… (7 letters) score = s… (11 letters)

Answers
taper = perpetrate (10 letters) heals = seashells (9 letters) brows = borrows (7 letters) often = footnote (8 letters) farce = carefree (8 letters) yowls = slowly (6 letters) satin = assistants (10 letters) awful = lawful (6 letters) iotas = tattooists (10 letters) quiet = etiquette (9 letters) foils = fossils (7 letters) score = sorceresses (11 letters)

Workings

Hint
This is a very common sequence.

Answer
5.

The numbers represent the number of letters of the words ONE, TWO, THREE, etc. Therefore the answer is the number of letters in the word EIGHT.