Nostalgic quiz show: 3-2-1 featuring Ted Rogers & Dusty Bin

WILL they go home with a prize to be proud of, or will they hang their head in shame and disbelief when they walk away with a dustbin? The game was all about solving the ~~cryptic~~ impossible clues and eliminating the one that leads to Dusty Bin. As a quick memory jog, a quick rundown on Ted and Dusty…

Ted Rogers: our well-dressed, witty host from London. The swift and seamless way he did that 3-2-1 thingy with his fingers could prompt you to check your pockets! No need to worry, Ted was a gent not a pickpocket.

Dusty Bin: There’s mixed feelings about Dusty: doesn’t say a word, always smiling, and goes through more costume changes than Beyoncé. Dusty had no emotional integrity… if a contestant fell flat on their face, Dusty would smile, if they won the booby-prize of a brand new dustbin, Dusty would still smile!

Now it’s your turn…

Ever thought the contestants had their heads in the clouds and missed the most obvious clues? Here’s your chance to find out if you can do better. Here are your items and clues:

Item number one: A piece of wood. Clue: Take a stab, lend an ear. What’s in there, is in here.

Item number two: An old boot. Clue: Not so dusty if you win – You’ll see it shining like a pin.

Item number three: A stone. Clue: Not green, though so called without fail. Don’t throw it in the army gaol.

Item number four: An icepick. Clue: Cure the fever, stop the rot. No justice here, if this you’ve got.

Item number five: A fly. Clue: If the king and the castle be one night, this is a hit with you on sight.

So there’s your clues – good luck. Remember that what seems the most obvious is usually a red herring about to slap you across the face and make you look silly. Answers at the end of this post.

Whistle-stop history

The quiz show ran from 1978 – 1988 and was shown on ITV. The show was based on the spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres … responda, otra vez. 3-2-1 would regularly pull-in 17 million viewers on Saturday evenings and was devised to rival the BBC’s Generation Game.

Almost the end but hold your horses … here’s the answers to the cryptic clues …

The piece of wood. Take a stab, lend an ear. What’s in there, is in here. Clue unravelled – take away the ‘s’ from stab and ‘nd’ from lend and we have table – the prize is a pine table and chairs set with a dresser!

The old boot. Not so dusty if you win. You’ll see it shining like a pin. Clue unravelled – realise this fact that’s often overlooked – if you end up with the booby prize of Dusty Bin you don’t take him home … instead you’ll take home a shiny new galvanised bin! There’s only one place for an old boot and a new dustbin is heading your way!

The stone. Not green, though so called without fail. Don’t throw it in the army gaol. Clue unravelled – we are looking for something that’s not green. There’s the saying ‘people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’ – gaols are army jails often referred to as greenhouses – gardeners with glass greenhouses wouldn’t throw stones … your prize is a greenhouse with garden furniture!

The icepick. Cure the fever, stop the rot. No justice here, if this you’ve got. Clue unravelled – you need to lower temperature to cure a fever. Lowering the temperature also stops things rotting and justice broken down makes ‘just ice’ – a very cool fridge freezer!

The fly. If the king and the castle be one night, this is a hit with you on sight. Clue unravelled – put a k in front of night and we get knight. King, castle and knight are pieces on a Chess board. There was a popular show at the theatre called Chess and one of the songs it featured was ‘One night in Bangkok‘ – an amazing trip to Bangkok!

No cryptic clues, just full-on nostalgia in the fun and factual retro book with enough clout to send you flying back through the 80s and 70s: Section N Underpass. Order your copy by clicking the image below…