Editing I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (section)

==Format==
===Introduction===
The [[chairman]] introduces the show by introducing the place where they are recording from and giving factoids which will lead to a punchline and introducing the teams and the scorer for the evening alternating between Samantha and Sven.

===Games===

Many games are played on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', some frequently and dozens less often. A few have been played only once, either because the joke works only once or because they were not particularly successful. Popular games include "One Song to the Tune of Another", "[[Mornington Crescent (game)|Mornington Crescent]]", "Sound Charades", "Late Arrivals", "Double Feature", "Cheddar Gorge" and "[[Uxbridge English Dictionary]]". "One Song to the Tune of Another" is always introduced using a complex analogy, despite its self-explanatory title, often ending with a joke at the expense of Colin Sell. 

[[File:Mornington_Crescent_3.jpg|thumb|right|]]
Most episodes follow a format, and the same games are played in sequence in most series. The first, third and fifth episodes of a series (recorded first of two shows in each location) usually includes "One Song to the Tune of Another" as its second round, and the alternate episodes feature "Pick-up Song" in the same slot. "Uxbridge English Dictionary" usually begins the second recording session, and the same session will usually include "Mornington Crescent". "Sound Charades" is typically featured in the odd-numbered episodes. This pattern is more consistent in later episodes. 

The panellists play as individuals or as two teams. "Celebrity [[What's My Line]]?" completely destroyed the intent of the original&nbsp;— for players to guess the occupation of a third party by asking yes/no questions. The ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' version once employed the famous actress (and fan of the show) [[Judi Dench|Dame Judi Dench]] in this role and the renowned television gardener [[Alan Titchmarsh]]. Each began by performing a mime illustrating their occupation, giving a [[cryptic clue]] to the panel (appearing to a radio listener as a short silence punctuated by exclamations from the panel and laughter from the studio audience), before fielding apparently serious questions from the teams (e.g. "Is that your own hair?" or "Do you kill people for money?"), who pretended not to know who they were.

Musical games often involve incongruities such as singing "One Song to the Tune of Another" or playing a song using only a [[Slide whistle|swanee whistle]] and a [[kazoo]]. In "Just a Minim" – a parody of Radio 4's ''[[Just a Minute]]'' – panellists must sing a specified song avoiding repetition, deviation, or hesitation: the chosen songs often have extremely repetitive lyrics.

Humour is derived from wordplay<ref name="history" /> such as puns or mockery of styles of speech. For example, in a round based on suggesting television programmes from biblical times:
*''[[They Think It's All Over (TV series)|They Think It's All Jehovah]]''
*''[[I Love Lucy|I Love Lucifer]]''
*''[[The X-Files|The Exodus Files]]''

In "Uxbridge English Dictionary" the panellists contribute humorous redefinitions of words; "Puny: the Roman Catholic equivalent of [[tennis elbow]]". More puns are found in the "Arrivals at the Ball" section, of the form "Mr and Mrs X and their son (or daughter)...." the child's name forming a pun, preferably laboured and feeble. This grew out of the "drama" section of later shows in the ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' series, for example, at the Criminals' Ball, "Mr and Mrs Knee, and their Swedish son, Lars Knee".

According to Tim Brooke-Taylor, twenty per cent of the show is ad-libbed. According to Willie Rushton, it is more like fifty per cent, but he didn't think that a bad thing.<ref name="ReferenceA">Views From The Boundary, Brian Johnston {{ISBN|0-563-36023-2}}</ref>

===Time, destiny, fate and eternity===
The show draws to a close with the chairman imparting some final words of wisdom intended to evoke time, destiny, fate and eternity, undercut with silliness. For example: "...And so, as the hunter of time blasts the moose of eternity, and the dairy counter worker of fate sighs and grabs her mop..." Lyttelton's final sign-off on the show, shortly before his death in April 2008, was: 
{{blockquote|And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show.|author=Humphrey Lyttelton |title=''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' |source=broadcast 17 December 2007<ref name="finalshow">{{Cite episode |title=Peterborough |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008h0jy |access-date=2008-09-15 |series=I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue |series-link=I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue |first=Humphrey |last=Lyttelton |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=17 Dec 2007 |series-no=50 |number=6 |time=26:40 |quote=And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show. }}</ref>}}