Connected Clues

All the answers to the questions below share a common link. The answers are in order (not alphabetical), which might help you once the link is established. Plenty to go around, so feel free to grab two or three

-1. Africa mammal aardvark
-2. Board game Scrabble
-3. Woodwind instrument piccolo
-4. Music festival eistedfodd
-5. Refined genteel
-6. Food flavouring saffron
-7. Slow-moving sluggish
-8. Arthur? hitchhiker
-9. Member of a particular branch of Islam shiite
-10. Pilgrimage to Mecca hajj
-11. Narrowly-focussed sci-fi fanatic trekikie
12. Item of office equipment
-13. Arousing anger inflammatory
14. Make survey questionnaire or reconnoitre
-15. Moe? stooge
-16. Cistercian monk trappist
-17. Blacksmith farrier
-18. Holding a gloomy outlook pessimistic
-19. Fulsome or insincere praise flattery
-20. Devoid of air vacuum
-21. Old car flivver
-22. Sit-down discussion powwow
-23. American multinational ExxonMobile
-24. Persian Mathematician and poet Khayyam
-25. Bird of prey buzzard

24. Khayyam (Omar )

21. jalopy??

Hi Rog.

16. Trappist

25. buzzard

michele, Sondi - nice ones!

Remi - it fits the clue, but not the connection :think>

7. sluggish
15. stooge

Two good ones, Joan!

2. Sorry

1. Giraffe

Bernie

Two good answers that almost fit the connection, but not quite...

Pandora, Bernie, Remi - try again?

I'll take another go at #2 with Scrabble.

Yes Ma'am!

8. aardvark
10.Hajj
20.vacuum

Two good ones, young Sondi! - do you want to change your first answer?

3. piccolo

Guess I'd better let that one go, UW. Arthur the Aardvark was the only one I could think of .

Yes, LadyK!

Sondi - this Arthur had a friend called Ford...

5. genteel

1 aardvark
4 eisteddfod
18 pessimistic

6. saffron

17. farrier

Hi Rog.

11. Trekkie

9. Shiite

Wow - turn your back for a few minutes and the floodgates open! Excellent solves, everyone

Sorry about the picture folks, but it's always a risk with that sort of question...

19. flattery
21. flivver

22. powwow

14. questionnaire

23. ExxonMobile

13. inflammatory

8. hitchhiker

Rog, I think you might be in trouble for not spelling trekkie correctly!

Good point, Lex - maybe the noodles have a secondary purpose...

All spot-on, ladies and gentlemen - just the one left

Would it help if I said it could also be a means of execution

12. guillotine (nice hint)

.. and nice finish!