Cabin Fever - Episode 21: Fitton

[@lozenger8]

Arthur, I'm going to miss you so much. Please tell your friend John Finnemore that I appreciate whatever he may have done to help you make this series.

[@SereneClaws]

This intro will forever be the theme song of Quarantine 2020

[@HKLydia]

And it will go faster and faster and faster......

[@racheinderbys]

It was on Radio 3 yesterday and I actually briefly wondered why it was in an orchestral arrangement!

[@Jablicek]

Aha! Part 2 I can fill, really and properly. Theodore was my lovvely babycat. Julian is my ex-husband. Barbara is his ex. (E)laine is a mutual friend of J and myself. David and I shared a house many years ago. Edward(s) is the surname of someone on this list. Therefore, the missing person is me, because I've met them all. This is all true, by the way. Corroborating evidence can be supplied.

[@kirstymca]

Everyone keeps threatening to come and tune your piano. I want to clean the keys. A damp cloth might do it - if not, some Pledge on a duster.

[@TheChiefSmeg69]

Kirsty McAllister they are pretty grubby

[@pd4wine334]

Put cat food on them and a cat will lick them clean

[@nandib.1102]

As predicted by Douglas in Episode 11, these puzzles have indeed wiped the smile off my face :| Good job to those who have figured them out!!

[@benwillis5840]

Part 2: George Red: Jerry, Margot, Barbara and Tom (the Good Life) Pink: Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George (Seinfeld) Green: George, Dick, Julian and Ann (humans of the Famous Five) Blue: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington (Mount Rushmore) Orange: Anne, Charles, Edward, Andrew (Queen's Children) Yellow: George, David, Patrick, Andrew (patron Saints of Britain)

[@VonBlade]

Oh well played.

[@pintpot]

Excellent, but 'UK', not 'Britain - Mr Pedantic

[@sngbrd]

LEMON! Brilliant work on the piano progress, Arthur. 👍🏻

[@kjbugzy]

Epic, thank you so much for these. It's making lockdown bearable!! I really miss Cabin Pressure - maybe you could do a 0-9 2nd series??! Xx

[@educatedinyellow8189]

Thank you so much for all these wonderful episodes, Arthur (and John!) You have been so lovely to share them with us all this time.

[@Exayevie]

Surely I’m not the only one who got just a little emotional about going to 26 right?

[@lostfan29]

I’m so angry I missed the party and I’m only playing ketchup now

[@frankowalker4662]

@@lostfan29 I only found it last night. 22/03/21 :(

[@ptonpc]

@@frankowalker4662 I only found out last week (late November 2022)

[@edwardtaylor8971]

Hooray. The brilliant new episode

[@RandomNexus]

Your piano playing has developed SO Well! *applause* Egad, Douglas, not only are those - yes - impossible, but I'm not even British = I'm screwed! Oh, and I see the lemon is in play... (not talking about the shirt, though I am coveting it mightily.)

[@darrenparnell2456]

Possible answers to date (18/6/2020 21:00 GMT!), collated from this thread and Twitter, where people seem less engaged! Solution 1: Consensus on Paul, no alternative suggested Solution 2: Consensus George, no alternative suggested Solutions 3 & 4: Multiple guesses at solution 3, only 2 pointing at a 4th solution. I think they are as follows; chime in if I'm missing any: The solution to part 3 is either John or Ringo, with the other being solution 4 by implication. Suggested the hinted-at 9 word could be Finnemore indicating John as part 3 and Ringo as part 4. No strong deduction other than inference from solutions 1 & 2. The solution to part 3 is Aristotle, with the 4th solution being a name that fits the group Paul, George, Aristotle and X. The clue in part 3 gives Tennessee Monkey Trial, which associates with the 9 letter word Evolution and gives us John, as in John Scopes. Part 4 is the answer to Who Is Missing? which in this case is definitively Ringo. The clue in part 3 leads to an anagram which gives the 3rd solution: BEATLES, FIRST LETTER'S Y. This implies solution 4 is Yesterday. This solution has been criticised for not directly answering the question "Who's Missing?" and an errant D if you believe that "sacked" can only lead you to "Fired" and not "Fire." I still feel the final guess at solutions 3 & 4 is correct. I address the criticisms as follows, and in reverse order: We know that the puzzle was set by Douglas. Cabin Pressure fans may recall that sometimes Douglas would bend the rules ever so slightly, especially if he thought doing so would make him look clever. I don't think he'd worry too much about thumbing his nose at "cryptic convention" and altering the tense of a verb to make his clue work. My theory is that although the puzzle was set by Douglas, it was named by Arthur. He saw that missing names were an element in the first two puzzles and named the whole puzzle "Who's Missing?" without realising that it would drive some of his viewers to the brink of madness! [Edited to re-insert paragraph spacing, without which it was a chore to read!]

[@bjiornbjiorn]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one playing the traveling Lemon game at home.

[@martinhotchkiss8374]

Perhaps the missing person from puzzle 3 is not actually the 9 letter answer to the cryptic clue but rather that they are missing from the clue itself. Maybe adding the missing name to the clue allows it to be solved and then the 9 letter answer to the clue gives the final 4th puzzle to be solved.

[@gappy3234]

I did think of that, but then my head started to melt.

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@gappy3234 If that is the case (it isn't) then the name to be added is probably related to Paul or George, which people seem to agree is the right answer. But I don't think adding an unknown quantity to the puzzle is going to make it easier to solve. Of course, I saw a possible solution on Twitter and am assuming it to be correct. I think you're correct that the answer to the third puzzle is the fourth clue.

[@gappy3234]

I agree. It's cute to think that here is a puzzle to a 9 letter word that would only work if you had, say, "John" in the clue, but it's a route to madness. I'd say a puzzle's only fair if, once you have the answer, it seems eminently solvable.

[@gappy3234]

I was just thinking of specific film studios with the first letter removed. Fox to give us OX, RKO to give us KO, etc. I've had to stop now, having started giggling like a schoolboy when I got to Studio Canal

[@darrenparnell2456]

Seeing as everyone's sharing wild ideas they had I thought I'd share my own wrong deduction I'm nonetheless proud of: Typists without number - If we take typists to be stenos then the number could be NO or NOS - Nitrous Oxide is laughing gas, which can be used as a numbing agent or "number," as in that which makes you numb! It is referred to as NOS by racers. Was pretty pleased with myself for thinking of this but it didn't get me anywhere! Any other part-baked theories out there?

[@darrenparnell2456]

So stupid that I'm sure it won't factor into the answer - has anyone considered that the number in typists could be the i, as in the roman numeral for one? Happy 4am, brain!

[@strangerthanstring4431]

Whose missing? Douglas, Martin, Carolyn & Herc are missing! From this brilliant show!!

[@Zwiezwerg92]

There is an easy mnemonic trick how you can memorize all the four Beatles!

[@michaelwilson457]

that was a good sketch

[@mkaiww]

I'm sad to hear these are ending your bounces happiness has really hellt me

[@Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist]

There seems to be Paul and George as two answers. Part three is Ringo Starr, so I bet John is the answer to the missing part 4 question... the 4 Beatles. Ringo Starr is 10 letters. Hmmm. But I bet Ringo, John and The Beatles are the answers SOMEHOW!

[@kittykat520]

I saw the lemon in the thumbnail but I wasn't sure if that was what I was seeing...I had no idea what else it could have been, but I still wasn't sure.

[@AliceAcronom]

I spy a lemon wedged in the banister

[@BudgieMinions]

The lemon is most certainly in play behind you Arthur.

[@dawnt2861]

Well, I still don't know 'who's missing' for part 3 but I certainly know what's missing - my sanity!

[@NinStardust]

Thank you lovely people in the comments who are as stumped on part three as I am! It's been driving me insane that I can't figure it out and it's so comforting that I'm not the only one stuck on it! Douglas is mean * sulk* Is this revenge for us solving the last lot of puzzles too quickly?

[@darrenparnell2456]

I think they cracked it over on Twitter - twitter.com/TankertonLatch/status/1272907847815303174 - though I seem to be something of a Cassandra for believing that!

[@davimurph]

Arthur, you are much too kind to do 26 of these vlogs. Thank you

[@chrisdempster8417]

after all these wholesome interactions I honestly care more about whether Richard and Dawn are going to grab a post lock-down drink together, than I do about the answer to the clue.

[@gappy3234]

You're a cheeky one, aren't you? I think we should all go for a drink; your round...

[@chrisdempster8417]

@@gappy3234 If you ever find yourself in Glasgow buddy :)

[@dawnt2861]

We should definitely all raise our drink of choice to each other when we finally find out the solution!

[@Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist]

Part 4 is missing! I bet it is the accumulation of parts one to three...

[@valeriepark9444]

No idea, except perhaps the second part has Barbara Steisand and Elaine Paige?

[@redscharlach4701]

I reckon the ? in Part II is George....

[@michelles4606]

Taking a shot at part 3: Line 1: BBC-B=BC Line 2: Steno-ten=SO Line 3: et al. Rearranged letters are co-Beatles. No idea where the 2nd E is. Don't be so picky. Edit: unless line 2 is stenoes-tens=SOE

[@derekczajka4336]

I was just wondering when we’d get more puzzles from Douglas, and was all excited at their return ... only to discover that they’re visual puzzles. Ah well, maybe next time. Sincerely, A disgruntled blind follower of this series

[@lozenger8]

Part one is four interlocking bubbles containing 8 names, which all converge in a missing part - a four oval Venn diagram. I will put a question mark where the missing name is, in case the order is somehow important (I cannot make heads nor tails of this puzzle myself.) In bubble 1 there are the names; Helen, Michael, Daniel, Marian, Tess, Carl, ? and Eric. In bubble 2 there are Penelope, Omar, Eric, Marian, Al, Raul, ? and Daniel. In bubble 3 there are Elia, Phil, Raul, Omar, Tess, Carl, ?, Eric. In bubble 4 there are Abigail, Phil, Carl, Michael, Al, Raul, ?, Daniel. I hope this helps!

[@lozenger8]

Part two is two interlocking triangles that overlap at one of their vertices. This is where the missing part Douglas wants to know resides. I will call it MP. There are many missing names down the sides of the triangles and each side is a set. Set one is ?, ?, Barbara, ?, set two is ? (as it overlaps with set 1), Elaine, ?, MP. set 3 is ? (overlapping with set 1 at the opposite vertex), ?, ?, Theodore, MP. With the second triangle, set four is ?, ?, Edward, ?, set five is ? (overlapping with set 4), Julian, ?, MP, set six is ? (overlapping with set 4 at the opposite vertex again), ?, David, MP. Good luck!

[@lozenger8]

Part three is the sentence: Head of studio sacked typists without number and three co-writers. (9)

[@ohmychuckster1352]

Part I is Paul: The Elia set are all 4 letters long, the Helen set can all be followed by an A to make a new name, the Abigail set all end in L and the Penelope set are all 50% consonants, 50% vowels

[@TheWizardMarnok]

brilliant! I missed the 50/50 rule and somehow concocted a flase and wrong one. I can stop thinking about it now, thanks!

[@NinStardust]

TheWizardMarnok Same here! The Penelope set totally stumped me!

[@lizzybennett1813]

Arthur's duvet & pillow cases are from IKEA!

[@WRNEastSussex]

Part 1 is Paul and Part 2 is George (already explained by others). I think part 3 is John but I can't quite work it out. I think that the 9 letter name is Finnemore but haven't got the elements worked out. I'm assuming that "Typists without number" means "infinite" (as in an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters eventually writing the works of Shakespeare). If 3 is John then 4 would be Ringo.

[@darrenparnell2456]

"Without number" already means "too many to count" so you still need to find a use for typists in your answer. I still think that TankertonLatch has got the right answer over on Twitter, and find his most of his other tweets to funny and his opinions to be right on - well worth a follow.

[@pintpot]

I think you could be right

[@WRNEastSussex]

I've just found out that Arthur's friend John has set a couple of Listener crosswords. I bet he's helped Douglas. No wonder this is so impossible!

[@JosephHaig]

I have no idea about parts 1 to 3 but is the answer to number 4 'Carolyn'? The last time you did Douglas' puzzles the 4th puzzle was 'Carolyn level' and this time the 4th puzzle is missing.

[@bookworm9155]

Part I: The names in the Penelope group all have equal numbers of vowels and consonants. The names in the Abigail group all end in L. The names in the Elia group are all four letters long. The names in the Helen group can all be turned into other names by adding an A to the end. Therefore, the middle name which is part of all four groups must have an equal number of vowels and consonants, end in L, be four letters long, and be another name when given an extra A on the end. The only name I can think of that fits is Paul. Part II: I am not British, but I think I solved the entire thing. The blue group is the faces on Mt. Rushmore: George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. The red group is characters from The Good Life: Thomas, Barbara, Margo (I think; my non-Britishness is showing here, but Wikipedia seemed to think so), and Jerry. The peach group is characters from Seinfeld: Jerry, Elaine, Cosmo, and George. The green group is characters from The Famous Five: George, Dick, Julian, and Anne. The orange group is composed of the Queen's children: Anne, Charles, Edward, and Andrew. And the yellow group is composed of the patron saints of bits of Britain: Andrew, Patrick, David, and George. The middle name, of course, is George. Part III: This was very difficult, and I haven't really solved it (I think Douglas will be proud of the strength of this puzzle). But someone else suggested a way of solving this part which I think may be partially correct. The head of studio is S, and sacked is another word for fired (but for the purposes of this puzzle the D is removed). The only number contained in typists is pi, so removing that gives TYSTS. Treble is another word for three, and et al means co-writers. The 9 suggests that the answer has nine letters. Taking all those bits together gives SFIRETYSTSTREBLEETAL, which can be rearranged to spell BEATLES, FIRST LETTER Y. The Beatles wrote a song called Yesterday, which has nine letters. But this isn't the end of the puzzle. The puzzle has four parts, and this is only the third. So there has to one more answer. Plus, the entire puzzle is called "Who's Missing?", and the answers to the first two parts were names. So I think that the answer to Part III must also be a name, probably of one of the Beatles. We know that Yesterday was co-written by Paul and John, but Paul is the answer to Part I. This leaves us with John as the answer to Part III. Part IV: If the other answers are correct, then there is only one missing Beatle. The answer to Part IV, and the entire riddle, is Ringo.

[@dobbytitch8653]

I spotted the Lemon straight away!!!!!

[@madeleineswann4310]

We’re going to miss you Arthur :(

[@simianimp]

Is one of the missing things meant to be part 4? That seemed to only be 3 puzzles. Or maybe I missed the point of one of them. I'm quite stumped on all of them, anyway

[@wrentiel]

Part 1 has to have 4 letters, the first and last of which are consonants, half of which are vowels, and the last of which is an L. So Paul, Joel, Noel, Neil, or Neal.

[@rcmayhem]

I think part 1 might be Paul from the bubbles I can work out - Aidan

[@herbivarsawus4359]

While we're not on the subject, I have three ways in which something can be bigger than the box it's in: 1) The human soul or spirit; love, hope etc. are bigger than a human body. 2) The TARDIS is theoretically possible in the sense that something may possess greater surface area within than without, or so says modern theoretical physics. 3) What if you order something inflatable, like a dingy or something?

[@VonBlade]

I won't discuss 1 and 2 for obvious reasons, but 3, an inflatable dingy only becomes larger than the box it's in due to air, which was already outside of the box, thus the dingy, when inflated, is still only as big as the box. *grin*

[@joshandrews5251]

I think Paul is the answer to the first part.

[@gappy3234]

Slightly embarrassed to admit I jumped up at breakfast this morning, having realised Paul and George are the forenames of the opening vocalists in Band Aid. Sadly, having checked, the next two are George and Simon.

[@dawnt2861]

I'm still expending far too much time and effort on this too. But it's so tantalising!

[@chrisdempster8417]

guys, what if we don't get the new video till we solve the puzzle? . what if Arthur is the one missing!

[@gappy3234]

Ha!

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@gappy3234 Hopefully his location wasn't hidden in the answer to the puzzle or he's stuffed... Somewhere in Liverpool? Abbey Road? An Octopus' garden?

[@lizteatherturtle4972]

Thank you Arthur for these lockdown sanitysavers. You are BRILLIANT! But you never said what happened to the mouse family? Do tell!

[@darrenparnell2456]

Does it count as a sanitysaver if you spend all day obsessing over the answer to a puzzle?

[@lizteatherturtle4972]

Definitely. There are worse things you can do with a lockeddown brain.

[@lynseychristie5140]

We believe part 1 is Paul, 2 is George, 3 is Ringo, and so John is missing. We are not completely sure why in all cases, but it feels right, and mostly we're just pleased we have an answer of some sort. So I reckon I'm allowed to go to bed now.... EDIT. Husband James would like more credit, about 80% maybe. His famous five knowledge, however, is shocking!

[@MartynRavensdale]

Don’t go Arthur!

[@dawnt2861]

I think the missing person in part 2 is George. The famous five got me started.

[@74bish]

That’s what I was thinking too.

[@davidcollins9512]

Who's Missing? Part 1. Penelope was the name of one of the Royal Navy ships involved in the Falklands War of 1982. AL was the two-letter code painted on the flight deck of HMS Alacrity - another ship involved in the Falklands War. Raul was the name of an Argentinian soldier in the war. OMAR was shorthand for Old Man At Rest - what we used to say when the skipper was asleep in his cabin on board Alacrity during the war. Eric was your projectionist drinking Kia Ora (which is on sale in the foyer) and that reminds me of one of my jobs on board ship was to show reel-to-reel films during the Falklands War. Marian was one of the nurses on the Hospital Ship Uganda in the war and Daniel reminds me of the school play 'Daniel and the Lion's Den' - which is what it was like in the Falklands War. That suggests the answer is War. Now if only I could get the other three circles to match.... Who's Missing? Part 2. That one is easy - Christopher Eccleston - The 9th Doctor (New Who). The whole puzzle is in the shape of a bow tie - and 'Bow Ties are Cool' was a saying used often by Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. (And Doctor Who is a British TV Show)... David - Tennant (played 10th Doctor). Edward - Bazalgette (Directed 4 episodes 2015/16) during Peter Capaldi -12th Doctor era. Julian - Bleach (played Davros against 10th/11th and 12th Doctors). Elaine - Tan (Played Nigata in 'Sleep No More' a storyline with Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. Barbara - Wright (one of the companions of the first Doctor and the first Doctor meets the 12th Doctor in 'Twice Upon a Time'). Theodore - Theo Hogben was a set dresser in 'The Haunting of Villa Diodata' starring Jodie Wittaker as the 13th Doctor. The only Doctor in New Who missing is the 9th Doctor. Who's Missing? Part 3 Head of studio sacked typists without number and three co-writers (9) So we know there were four co-writers - one of which is the head of studio. Given that there were nine in total then nine minus the four writers leaves five typists so we now have a number - five. So who's missing ? - Number Five from "Short Circuit" as voiced by Tim Blaney (Number 5 later nicknamed "Johnny 5")

[@davidcollins9512]

Oh - and I am really disappointed that the radio waves from BBC Radio 4 don't reach New Zealand so I have to listen to it on-line from my laptop.

[@dawnt2861]

Ok, going to throw some of my musings for part 3 out there to see if it helps in the slightest. I don't claim to have originated all the ideas but I think I've played around with combinations of all of them! Head of Studio The letter S An actual person (would potentially give a name?) Sacked Implies anagram or maybe getting rid of something Typists without number Typists minus pi Steno(s) minus ten or no Pool minus L or the o's Infinite monkeys? Three Tri, ter or tre iii (seems unlikely) (Three) Co-writers Et al Tri al Pens (commonish cryptic answer for writers but then why is the clue CO-writers?) I still feel like we're searching for a 9 letter name although it could potentially be someone's nickname which widens the potential answers a lot.

[@gappy3234]

All good stuff, Dawn. "Number" could just indicate "n" as well as "no". (Could furthermore indicate something like "song" or an anaesthetic, but that would be a shock in this instance) My additions would be that "without" is sometimes used in the archaic way to mean "outside of", but probably less likely. And "co-writers" might be "ghosts", I guess. And "head of studio scaked" might mean taking the first letter from a film studio or a studio synonym, (R)KO, or (a)telier. None of use are quite sure whether there is a definition, as with a normal clue, or whether the "who's missing?" title does this job. If so, perhaps "and three co-writers " could be the def, ie someone who is known to write with three other people (eg League of Gentlemen), or perhaps a group of 4 related writers (eg the Brontes) My final idea is that the wordplay we're doing should give two or three names, and then our job is to find the 9 letter name that completes the group. This would be unusual, but would bring this question in line with the techniques of the other 2, especially if the way it's laid out is important. dl;dr - I have thought about this for afar too long, but still can't solve it.

[@dawnt2861]

@@gappy3234 Maybe between us all we'll crack it. Or if not at least we can hold hands as we skip merrily down the path of obsession together. Do you think if we get truly desperate then the almighty Douglas (hallowed be thy plane) might give us a clue?

[@gappy3234]

@@dawnt2861 In which case, here's my final idea. If all three answers are forenames, maybe the reason we can't think of them as a group is that they have connected surnames. So, for example, if there were a famous Paul North, a George East and a Charlotte (random 9 letter name) South, we'd need to suggest that John (West) is missing. I don't think that's the answer, but it's a good answer to a quiz that has not yet been written ;)

[@dawnt2861]

@@gappy3234 I like that as an idea. It feels like the sort of way this puzzle should end.

[@gappy3234]

@@dawnt2861 I just want this puzzle to end *weep*

[@stuwii6288]

Please write some more Double Acts. Or rather should I say Arthur please can you ask that weird guy you know called John if hes got any plans to write some more Double Acts..

[@RG-Zeldaplayer]

Or in quarantine perhaps even... solo acts?

[@shazprior1134]

It was in the banister

[@VonBlade]

Pretty sure part two is sitcom stars. But that's because Barbara makes me think of The Good Life and I can recall other names in sitcoms, even if Julian makes me think of Round the Horne. Who am I kidding, this is all way out of my league. Curse you Emu for Q3.

[@davidgoffin4]

Yeah, me too. The Good life on the left with Jerry intersecting with Seinfeld, George at the centre, but that leads out to the four humans from the Famous Five - and not Julian, Sandy and Kenneth! Don't know about the others though - Ann on the Edward vertical for Royals?

[@Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist]

So Hester took the... lead

[@juliewinkless1128]

I'VE GOT IT! It's synoptics and John is missing

[@darrenparnell2456]

Intriguing... do you mind sharing why this is right?

[@juliewinkless1128]

@@darrenparnell2456 ok, calmed down now and had lunch, during which I thought "oh - damn..." Obviously it's not synoptics because there's no c unless the co is weirdly doing double duty. Synoptists fits the wordplay perfectly but has 10 letters, and synoptist doesn't have enough esses (how Ximenean is Douglas?) NEVERTHELESS I am convinced that I'm right. Somehow. The Synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke who are more narrative-based as opposed to John who is quite frankly away with the fairies (he's believed to have also written the Book of Revelation, which...) So puzzle 3 is John, which leaves us (methodology previously agreed by everyone) with Ringo for puzzle 4.

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@juliewinkless1128 Firstly, I don't understand how you got to either synoptics or synoptist, maybe talking it through would reveal the errant "C." It seems a little odd for the solution to be synoptics to point at John when his is the gospel that wasn't synoptic - surely Douglas could have made the answer "non-synoptic" or "not a synoptist" to point at John more clearly.

[@gappy3234]

@@juliewinkless1128 Funnily enough, my very first thought for a definition covered by "and 3 co-writers" was the gospels, but I tossed it away immediately. I confess I didn't know the term synoptics before now, so don't feel bad about not having got there with my own anagramania. I can certainly see how you solved the clue to be "synoptist". I think this is the best answer we've seen, without a doubt. There's an issue, in that "3 co-writers" is plural, so you'd expect the word it delivered to be plural too, but it has fewer flaws than anything else we've seen, and allows for a part 4 answer that works. Even if it's not right, you deserve applause.

[@gappy3234]

Actually, as you noted, "synoptist" doesn't quite parse, there's either one S too many or one too few, from my way of thinking. But also, "S+*TYPISTS (NO inserted)", which is the parsing I assume you've got, does indeed give "synoptists", which would be perfect, but is indeed one letter too long. I can't believe Douglas could have made a mistake in his clues two quizzes in a row...can I...?

[@lesleyfuller2637]

I need that t shirt!! Xxx

[@richardgaston1667]

i do

[@gemstone39]

I need to clean the piano!

[@dawnt2861]

Could number 3 be Aristotle? Typists = stenos If you 'sack' or remove s (studio head) and ten (number) you're left with the letters S O. To this add TRI (three) and ET AL (co-writers) to get SOTRIETAL which is an anagram of Aristotle. I'm not certain I'm correct especially as I really can't think who would make a fourth person to go with Aristotle, George and Paul!

[@gappy3234]

That's really great logic, but I'm afraid I think there's nothing in the clue to indicate an anagram ("sacked" would work, but not once it's been taken to mean "removed" for S).

[@dawnt2861]

@@gappy3234 Yeah, I'm not 100% happy with it. It is a nine letter name and almost holds together but doesn't feel quite satisfactory. (Immense apologies to Douglas on the exceedingly slim chance it's correct and I'm now just insulting his puzzle)

[@dawnt2861]

@@gappy3234 In a fit of desperation I revisited this. It does occur to me that if typists is STENO (not stenoS) then I'm no longer using sacked and it is free to indicate an anagram. The flaw is this then implies Aristotle = Head of Studio. If the clue was "Head of School..." I'd be jumping up and down with excitement but I don't think I've ever seen the Lyceum referred to as a studio. So sadly I think it's still a case of so near but yet so far...

[@gappy3234]

@@dawnt2861 Brilliant work. At the risk of being called pedantic - hey, if the shoe fits - my parsing would be that if "sacked" is being used as an anagrind, it can then only refer to the bits afterwards, meaning the final word would have to start with the S[tudio]. I'm also not convinced "typists" can be "steno"; "steno pool" or "stenos", but not "steno" singular.

[@dawnt2861]

@@gappy3234 I have no problem with a bit of good old fashioned pedantry! Although to be pedantic myself I am only using the words after sacked - S(ten)O + TRI + ETAL. 'Head of Studio' is then used as the definition (which as I said is rather a stretch...) But I do rather agree that steno feels problematic as a singular. Sigh, the hunt for a truly satisying answer continues...

[@gappy3234]

OK, I guess the answers will be revealed tomorrow, so I think I'm going to have to admit I am not going to solve parts 3 & 4. I shall now post my most interesting toyed-with answer, just to show willing, as I've not been shy about explaining why I suspect other people are wrong (just out of the love of the quiz, you understand, not because I'm a miserable joyless bastard; at least, not solely). Studio = ATELIER With head sacked (opening letters removed) = LIER Typists = POOL Without = around, in the a slightly archaic sense, which is sometimes used in cryptics to wrong-foot us Number = V (Roman numerals) So, put LIERPOOL around V and you get Liverpool. What has that to do with "3 co-writers"? It's the clue's definition because Henri, McGough and Patten are the 3 writers who constitute the Liverpool poets (or, at the very least, they're the three collected in The Mersey Sound, the famous anthology). So, still The Beatles, right? Nope, that's a red herring, it's to do with cathedrals, because Liverpool cathedral is the biggest in the UK, and St Paul's surely is up there too...and, there's a RC cathedral of St George the Martyr in London, I dare say that's pretty big. So, just find the other biggest one, and the saint after whom it is named. Taa-daa! And, now the reasons that's clearly wrong: 1) Why would the "head" of atelier be the first 3 letters? The first letter, sure, but why the first 3? "Ate-" is not even the first syllable. 2) The game, and each round, is called "Who's missing?" and Liverpool is not a person (unless we mean Lord Liverpool, the Prime Minister. Which we don't). 3) They;re called the Liverpool poets, not just Liverpool; and they aren't really "co-writers", anyway, just connected writers. 4) What the hell sort of puzzle expects people to know about the dimensions of UK cathedrals, outside to The Church Times puzzle page? Even if it's right, I don't know what the 4th is. How do you even define "largest" here - volume/height/number of punters who can comfortably kneel at one time? I'm amazed I managed to dredge up the fact that Liverpool is the largest (though I forget which sort of largest it is). Then I contacted my friend who's an academic in this area and he told me that there are 4 cathedrals in London which are, in ascending date order, St Paul's, St George's, Westminster and Southwark St Mary's (swap the last two around depending on whether it's date of completion or consecration). And, look, Southwark has 9 letters! And, "Head of studio sacked" gives you S + OUT! And you get HWARK by- oh, quick, look over there, a bishop dressed as John Lennon! *Scarpers*

[@darrenparnell2456]

I tip my hat to you for sharing despite knowing you've descended into madness... I don't think this puzzle has been good for your mental health!

[@dawnt2861]

I don't think I have ever anticipated a KZbin video as much as the next episode of Cabin Fever. I just want to know! There's some excellent logic going on in your workings. It's an entertaining answer and probably about as likely to be correct as anything else we've come up with!

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@dawnt2861 Confusingly, I think the only thing that makes sense at this point is to wait to hear Yesterday tomorrow!

[@gappy3234]

@@darrenparnell2456 Ha ha, how do you know I've "descended" and haven't been bobbing down here you a long time? Puzzles like this are good for the mind, I think, whether you solve them or not. It's been fun trading ideas with you 2.

[@chrisdempster8417]

@@gappy3234 love it! and I do think you're onto something about the beatles being a red herring. I've been working my way through a list of various other Georges that might make a list (kings, prime ministers, medals etc.) the Paul certainly kicks many of those into the long grass

[@TheChiefSmeg69]

But Arthur, there were 27 episodes in the documentary series Cabin Pressure, not 26!

[@darrenparnell2456]

Accepting bets up to the value of £500 on Yesterday being the ultimate solution.

[@gappy3234]

"Bets today: all my money seems to drain away..." ;)

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@gappy3234 I'm serious, I'll even offer odds! Stake £10 and I'll pay £50 if Yesterday isn't the answer.

[@gappy3234]

@@darrenparnell2456 I dare say that's against KZbin's T&C, but if you were sitting next to me now, I'd out on £20 at 5-1 (after asking how you got into my house).

[@thequietroom3991]

Head of studio was George Martin, so somehow the rest of the clue from sacked onwsrds must remove Martin to leave just George?

[@chrisdempster8417]

Calm down everyone I've got this Et Al means "and others" but we've got three other's don't we so it's Tri-al. the Infinite typist's a Monkey so we're looking for a Monkey Trial The Studio is ITN remove the I and we have TN - The postcode of Tennassee Never a Monkey Trail in Tennasseee you say? well en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial The defendant JOHN Scopes was accused of teaching.... EVOLUTION (9) Leaving Ringo as the missing 4th *bows* Thank you, *bows* Thank you. Please let me know how I can claim my drawing. . P.S. (obviously I don't think that's right but it was fun to piece together, and I throught I'd throw the Tri Al thing into the discussion as there might be something in that... Honestly I rather liked @Dawn T 's solution I just don't know how Aristotle fits into the 4 person line up)

[@dawnt2861]

Thanks! I love your answer too - it is indeed a lot of fun!

[@darrenparnell2456]

Tennessee Monkey Trial! Don't think it holds up quite as well as the answer over on Twitter, but I applaud the effort! I think it is, and I have a feeling Arthur would agree with me here, brilliant!

[@gappy3234]

Wonderful (and, believe it or not, "trial" had been on my giant list of things that haven't worked out, too)

[@gappy3234]

Good afternoon, Glastonbury, we are Tennessee Monkey Trial.

[@gappy3234]

And Evolution (9) is a track by The Beatles!!1!

[@lostfan29]

I see it! I found it!!! Haha!

[@TheWizardMarnok]

so "head of studio" is the letter 'S', so sack the letter "s" are you are left with "Tudio"; "typists without number" are 'monkeys'; and three co-writers are a sheet of triplicate carbon paper. Solves itself.

[@TheWizardMarnok]

1. Will (EDIT : Got carried away, posted too fast, this is wrong)

[@TheWizardMarnok]

2. George (probably)

[@TheWizardMarnok]

Someone else said "Paul" and that makes more sense given the overall thing

[@PeppaCat23]

Part 1 is Paul - OhMyChuckster worked out all the bubbles! Part 2 is George. The links are: Pink is Seinfield - Jerry - Elaine - Kramer - George Yellow is Saints - George - David - Patrick - Andrew Orange is Queens children - Andrew - Edward - Charles - Anne Green is Famous Five - Anne - Dick - Julian - George Blue is Mount Rushmore - George - Theodore - Abraham - Thomas Red is The Good Life - Thomas - Barbara - Margo - Jerry 😊😊😊 Still trying to work out part 3 lol

[@martinhotchkiss8374]

2. Fabulous foursomes. Spoilers ahead.... Left hand side: Jerry, Margo, Barbara and Tom - The Good Life Top left: Jerry, Elaine, Cosmo (Kramer) and George - Seinfeld Bottom left: Tom (Thomas Jefferson), Abraham (Lincoln), Theodore (Roosevelt), George (Washington) - Mount Rushmore faces Top right: George, Dick, Julian and Anne - Famous Five Right hand side: Anne, Charles, Edward, Andrew - The Queen's children Bottom right: George, David, Patrick and Andrew - UK patron saints

[@darrenparnell2456]

The answer to the third part has been solved on Twitter by some kind of handsome genius: twitter.com/TankertonLatch/status/1272907847815303174

[@gappy3234]

It's funny, but I'm sure it's not right, for at least three reasons. Though I have been working on TYPISTS minus PI myself, but I can't get an answer to work. I hadn't thought of ET AL so that's going in the mix.

[@dawnt2861]

I like pi as the number to remove, I hadn't thought of that. But as you said overall it's funny but doesn't feel right.

[@darrenparnell2456]

@@gappy3234 Looks like the answer was changed about two minutes before you wrote this - looks like the original poster forgot about the length of the answer and revised his solution accordingly! Seems to fit, if you could share one of your three or more reasons why it doesn't then it could be helpful.

[@gappy3234]

Ah, well, the answer length was definitely the most glaring one. But some other things that spring to mind are a) If we're expected to find a synonym for "sacked" it has to be "fired", not "fire", b) There's nothing in the clue to tell you it's an anagram of all these letters, c) "Beatles first letter's Y" is rather a loose clue to "Yesterday" - not saying it doesn't work, but I expect John - cough - sorry, *Douglas*, would give us a puzzle that tied up a little more neatly. As I say, I'm not taking anything away from the ingenuity of the answer, it'#s more than I've managed!

[@dawnt2861]

Plus the puzzles are all called "Who's Missing" so I've been working on the assumption it's a nine letter name that we're hunting for.

[@sianahjons9519]

I think it’s disgusting that the cabin pressure episodes have been removed from KZbin. KZbin must have, dramatically, increased your listenership, compared to radio 4 and 4xtra. I’m a long term fan, since your early days and saw you on tour last year, too

[@olwenpoulter2608]

The original Alan Bennett Talking Heads videos have also disappeared with the arrival of new versions on BBC TV. My suspicion is that the BBC hopes that rebroadcasing will persuade people to pay good money to purchase copies of the original.