Hopefully I ll have good enough judgment to know what to do next round. Mark, you didn t point out that it would be an awful double, too. Try and make your future answers as complete as possible. Double lies about the club 2 being the heart 2. 2C is a one-dimensional bid for a hand that can play in spades and even hearts if partner has length, but a poor hand that precludes him from bidding them over the overcall.
All plausible alternatives have drawbacks.
I d really bid 1S, but I doubt it would score well here. Those spades are ugly, but at least you re misleading partner at a lower level. I normally don t object to a lightish 2C over 1D, but this suit is just too ugly, my hand is too good, and it may take spades out of the auction. I like 1NT because it describes the general shape and value of your hand, and most partnerships have pretty well defined auctions over a 1NT overcall. Same answer as problem 3.