Only Connect has earned a reputation as one of television’s most fiendish quiz shows, asking contestants to identify the connections hiding between apparently unrelated clues.
The puzzles featured in the latest issue of Radio Times are every bit as challenging, spanning subjects including film, literature, football, food and politics. Spotting the correct answer is only part of the fun – understanding exactly how each clue fits together is often just as satisfying.
Shortened versions of the solutions appeared in Radio Times magazine. Below, you can find the complete answers and detailed explanations for all 10 questions.
Spoiler warning: The full answers to the quiz follow.
ROUND 1: CONNECTIONS
What connects these four apparently random clues?
1.
Strawberry
East Riding of Yorkshire
Ship
Emu
Answer
They are things that have, or had, a “Hull” of some sort.
Strawberry: the green leafy bit is the hull. East Riding of Yorkshire: the city of (Kingston upon) Hull is part of the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The hull is the frame or body of a ship or boat, excluding the masts. The puppet Emu was operated by Rod Hull.
2.
Louise: Reality Bites
Older Allie Calhoun: The Notebook
Tommy’s mother: GoodFellas
Older woman in café: When Harry Met Sally
Answer
These are all film roles played by the director’s mother in the film mentioned.
Louise in Reality Bites was played by Anne Meara, mother of Ben Stiller. Older Allie Calhoun in The Notebook was played by Gena Rowlands, mother of Nick Cassavetes. Tommy’s mother in GoodFellas was played by Catherine Scorsese, mother of Martin. Older woman in café in When Harry Met Sally was played by Estelle Reiner, mother of Rob – and it was she who said the famous line “I’ll have what she’s having”.
3.
Danum Vagi
Pons Aelius Concors
Mancunium Urbs
Mancunium Concors
Answer
English football teams if they had Latin/Roman names.
Danum Vagi: Doncaster Rovers
Pons Aelius Concors: Newcastle United
Mancunium Urbs: Manchester City
Mancunium Concors: Manchester United
4.
The game between Harvard and Yale every year
The movement of Larkin et al in the 50s
The restaurant run by Marco Pierre White in the 90s
The band which backed Bob Dylan in the 60s
Answer
All the clues describe entities with a name meaning exactly what it is.
The game between Harvard and Yale every year is known as “The Game”.
The movement of Larkin et al in the 50s is known as “The Movement”.
The restaurant run by Marco Pierre White in the 90s was named “The Restaurant”.
The band that backed Bob Dylan in the 60s would become “The Band”.
ROUND 2: SEQUENCES
What comes fourth in these sequences?
5.
Tie bin
Dismiss fir
Fleeting brie
?
Answer
The first word is a synonym for the second word, but the second word has had its last letter removed, moving through the alphabet from “d” to “g”.
Accept any word, followed by a synonym with the letter “g” removed.
- Tie bin: add a “d” so “bin” becomes “bind” to mean “tie”.
- Dismiss fir: add an “e” so “fir” becomes “fire” to mean “dismiss”.
- Fleeting brie: add an “f” so “brie” becomes “brief” to mean “fleeting”.
- (e.g.) Boast bra: add a “g” so “bra” becomes “brag” to mean “boasting”.
6.
Sumo
Tuwe
Thfr
?
Answer
These are consecutive pairs of days of the week, using only their first two letters, starting on Sunday and moving forwards, according to the Gregorian calendar.
- Sumo: SUnday, MOnday
- Tuwe: TUesday, WEdnesday
- Thfr: THursday, FRiday
- Sasu: SAturday, SUnday
7.
Green salad
Smørrebrød
Standard sandwich
?
Answer
These are food items by the number of pieces of bread needed to make them, from 0 up to 3.
Accept any food item that uses three pieces of bread, for example a Big Mac.
- Green salad: doesn’t include any bread.
- Smørrebrød: classic Danish open sandwich, with one piece of bread.
- Standard sandwich: two pieces of bread.
- Club sandwich: typically has three pieces of bread with filling in each layer.
8.
Bunny
Gloucester
Nutkin
?
Answer
These are the last words in the titles of the first four books in the Peter Rabbit series, going backwards to the first.
- Book 4: The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, first published in 1904.
- Book 3: The Tailor of Gloucester, published by Frederick Warne & Co (the famous public edition) in October 1903.
- Book 2: The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, published in 1903 a little before The Tailor of Gloucester.
- Book 1: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, first published privately in 1901 and then by Frederick Warne & Co in 1902.
MISSING VOWELS
Fill in the vowels, and re-space the consonants to find the answer that fits the given connection.
9. Novels wholly or partly set in Edinburgh
a) TR NSP TT NG
b) THP RMFM SSJ NB RD
c) THH RTFM D LTHN
d) ND Y
Answers
a) Trainspotting
b) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
c) The Heart of Midlothian
d) One Day
10. A politician and a sport they like
a) JH NMJ RNDC RCKT
b) DN LDT RMPN DGLF
c) KRS TR MRN DF TBLL
d) VTLK LTSCH KNDB XNG
Answers
a) John Major and cricket
b) Donald Trump and golf
c) Keir Starmer and football
d) Vitali Klitschko and boxing
Only Connect returns on Monday 13 July at 8pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
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