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I actually read LW as a kid - not sure why, probably just because it was famous - but I retained practically nothing and certainly can't recall a thing now.

Kudos to jono on the theme and props to those who deciphered it.

Potentially revealing my true nature as a possible igoramus I have absolutely no idea how the answer to Jon's challenge has been reached. Help!

Paul, word ending contain the March sisters from Little Women in age order (Amy, Beth, Jo, Meg) so to complete the sequence we just needed a word ending in MEG… and there is only one such word in Chambers, NUTMEG.

Oh, and the clue in the Guardian Quiptic on Monday was a clue for BANJO…

Stop little woman getting musical instrument (5)

Ok. Having never read it I feel relieved!

Please ignore my entry, jono. I've only just noticed Mattrom's earlier Cuban sauce clue.

Thanks to all who entered this week’s Clueless challenge. With so many original ideas it has been very hard to pick a winner.

Buddy@5 nice try but flattery will get you nowhere.
I wasn’t aware of the Cuban sauce, the horse or the game, but I have come across the Himalayan yak in some of its many spelling variations.

Enjoyed Mattrom and Paul’s “lows” (something I saw again in a puzzle today), Tyke’s Muddy Waters (see below), Buddy’s Spanish eye, Darla’s Jim Morrison construction, PaulH’s “two little girls”, Dorrien’s timeless “moto”.

Also pleased to see the BoJo and Mojito/Vermouth clues from Buddy and Skyewalker as I had considered these ideas myself.

Congratulations also to Jimmy for cracking the bonus challenge. I wasn’t sure anyone would, but it seems Darla might also have got there. Your prize is the feeling of self-satisfaction at having beaten everyone else.

Back to business, the runners-up are…

PaulH@38 Magic influence of two little girls (4)
Buddy@48 Married, ex-PM has lost bachelor's swagger (4)
Skyewalker@55 Cuban cocktail with no vermouth? That's just Cuban sauce (4)

And the winner is Buddy@12 with his suave Frenchman and a clever use of “charm”.

Charm of Frenchman attracts eye of Spaniard (4)

Congratulations Buddy, here are your prizes…

Crikey! I’ve lost my “mojo!”…
https://youtu.be/pUJCNoLmRO4

Muddy Waters, who clearly hadn’t lost his…
https://youtu.be/8hEYwk0bypY

And if after all that you need a drink (and I know I do!), here’s one (vermouth optional)…
https://youtu.be/KWU9ZaWbeuQ

Cheers all,
Ttfn!

Well done Buddy! Jono ... thanks for all your hard work this week and enjoy your well deserved drink!

( `k` ... possibly cocktail? )

Well done, Buddy, and Cheers, 🍸 Jono! Thanks for an entertaining trilogy. I don't recall reading the book, but have seen a couple of the movies. Enjoyed the clips.
... and welcome back to Skyewalker.

Merci jono. For some reason Dr Evil's line "what the French call a certain I don't know what" cracks me up every time.

When I was a student at the University of Illinois (1977-81) Muddy Waters, who lived outside Chicago by then, would come down once a year and play at Panama Red's (you can look it up: https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/muddy-waters-a883d5c3-ad86-4a6e-8a85-d94f829529b6 ).
He would show up whenever he felt like it, play whatever wanted to, and it was the greatest thing in all of recorded history. These were among the last few concerts he ever did as he died in 1983.