So, having actually looked into this a bit, it seems like it's an interjection, and gives people a moment to compose their thoughts. It functions similarly to "Well...." or "Um....", but with a slightly different connotation of introducing a new topic or providing new information unknown to the listener.

It possibly got a boost in Silicon Valley in the 1990s, especially among software engineers for whom English wasn't their first language. But it's been used by everyone from Chaucer to John Donne to Seamus Heaney. The latter said of it, when using it to start his translation of Beowulf, "'So' operates as an expression that obliterates all previous discourse and narrative, and at the same time functions as an exclamation calling for immediate attention."

Fair play to the contestant though, that is how questions should be answered. Start vague and then work towards a more specific guess if asked. Plenty of morons on this show over the years who start with a quite specific guess and get themselves in unneccessary trouble because it's too difficult to work backwards from there.

It's been around for years saying 'So', it replaced saying 'OK' to start a reply. It is merely a verbal place marker that people do almost unconsciously to indicate they are starting the explanation. It's also probably a nerves thing; being on live radio or on radio can make people nervous and the 'So' thing is something that seems to happen.

Quite possibly, there is no reason why they would not 'stop recording' for a few seconds to get an adjudication then 're record' Victoria being 'spontaneous' in her saying yes or no.

MMmmm, Elvis wore a white onesie, a jumpsuit more like.

I'll let them off with that one.

who was the second clue bloke? Never heard of him.

I don't get the do, re, mi, fa question- Rhenium would be 'rh' wouldn't it? Or is it 'any two letters in this word'?

I didn't get the DO from Ditto either.

I missed the explanation for "do" in ditto - what was the one given?

The symbol for rhenium is Re.

ditto is sometimes abbreviated to "do". though I had to google that, I dont think the answer was given.

I'm normally the first to criticise poor questions on this show - which are sadly all too common - but I thought the Beatles/First Ladies question tonight was excellent and a perfect fit for Only Connect.

The stand-up comedians connection in the wall was poor though, far too wide a category, you could barely consider it a connection.


Also, I found it strange that that team won so comfortably given that they made a bit of a mess of two easy questions - the bible one and the phonetic alphabet one.

Thanks, I've never heard of that before.


Yes, I thought that was a bit vague as well. Laura Solon was a strange name to choose, as she doesn't appear frequently on TV like the others -- I thought it would be something more specific, like Edinburgh Comedy Award winners.

He's Paul Sinha, one of the Chasers on The Chase. He's also a stand up comedian,


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhenium



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditto_mark

The Beatles songs - First Lady connection was a classic, must have took some research.

With only a few dozen first ladies and a handful of female titled fab four songs, give that setter top marks.

Yes they did well with that. The only other I can think of that fits (given the name can't be later
in the title such as Lovely Rita) would be...

Harrison
(1963)

This is a cover though but does have the obvious Beatle connection

I have no idea who Solon is but I got the connection fairly quickly except i assumed Bishop was the 4th.
So I didn't think it was vague at all.

The Beatles one was very clever. I did get it but also not until the final clue.

That's just different spheres of knowledge. I had no idea that Solon was a greek lawmaker, but instantly recognised the stand ups as a group and knew Laura Solon was one.
Much the same way I knew who Paul Sinha is, but had no idea he wears a white suit.

The only other Beatle song that maybe fits is Julia .

[ wives of President John Tyler and President Ulysses Grant ] .

The Fool on the Hill-ary?

Lady(bird) Madonna.

It's not necessarily vague it's just far too wide a category. You'd need something that linked them such as 'Scottish comedians' or 'Mock The Week regulars.' Stand-up comedians is too wide a category to be considered a connection.

Its not too wide at all.
They got it, I got it and I'm certain others did too.
"Stand-up" is a catagory of comedian. I don't know if Comic or Comedian would have sufficed.

I got it too, we all got it, that's not the issue.

It's like, singers or bands, or films or footballers wouldn't suffice as a category because they're too wide a subject. There would need to be a specific criteria such as X Factor winning singers or bands with numbers in the name or films directed by so and so or Football World Cup winning captains. Similarly 'stand-up comedians' is far too wide and therefore too easy, there needs to be another criteria which links the four answers within that category. It was like watching one of the easy walls they used to do for Comic Relief/Sport Relief/Children In Need.

I'll try again

STAND-UP comics....


"The stand-up comedians connection in the wall was poor though, far too wide a category, you could barely consider it a connection. "

If you don't consider the names of 5 comedians to be a connection then there's not much more to be said.


They've always done this. Frequently in the past there has been a straightforward connection. Not always, of course.