Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[saber5055]

"I have somehow never heard "milk of human kindness" in my life"

It might be a Before Your Time thing since it was common knowledge to my common (and old) brain.

[marypat57]

I knew that I had heard the phrase “the milk of human kindness” somewhere else besides Shakespeare.

In My Fair Lady, in the song, I’m An Ordinary Man, Professor Higgins is complaining to Col. Pickering about what happens when you “let a woman in your life”.  :

......I’m a very gentle man

Even tempered and good natured, who you never hear complain

Who has the milk of human kindness by the quart in every vein...

I’m looking forward to Anderson Cooper’s second week as host.

 

[Bastet]

10 hours ago, dcalley said:

The only place I've heard it is in an Indigo Girls song: https://genius.com/Indigo-girls-love-will-come-to-you-lyrics

A-ha!  Then I have heard it, it just didn't ring a bell with me.  I thought it odd I could have lived this many decades without ever hearing it.  Still weird that it was so foreign to me, but we all have odd gaps.

[SeanC]

I knew at least one contestant would misinterpret the question in Final Jeopardy.

[Katy M]

I spent most of the time trying to talk myself out of it, but I did get Istanbul.

only missed clues I got were Spruce and war.

[saber5055]

19 minutes ago, SeanC said:

I knew at least one contestant would misinterpret the question in Final Jeopardy.

And at least one viewer.

[kathyk24]

I got Conneticut Education and Maya Angelou. 

[SoMuchTV]

So, not Constantinople?

[Browncoat]

I got FJ!  It was not an instaget — I thought of Constantinople, but knew that was an old name.  It took me a second to remember Istanbul.

The only TS I got was spruce.

Genre!

[HyeChaps]

I shouted Constantinople, but realize now that would not have been correct.

[DrScottie]

24 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

So, not Constantinople?

Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks. 

Istanbul. 

I first heard it the version by They Might Be Giants that was played in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. I had no idea until my parents told me it was a cover of the Four Lads song from the 50s. To be fair, I was ten at the time. 

Got Spruce and Maya Angelou.  

This was the version I grew up with: 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by DrScottie
Added link to Tiny Toons video.

[secnarf]

21 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

So, not Constantinople?

As someone who initially said Constantinople and then switched to Istanbul...

Hey, if I've got it stuck in my head, might as well share!

[SoMuchTV]

Just now, secnarf said:

As someone who initially said Constantinople and then switched to Istanbul...

Hey, if I've got it stuck in my head, might as well share!

Oh yeah, I think that’s gonna be stuck in a lot of heads tonight...

[ams1001]

The only category I ran was Hard Science, got TS of spruce and Maya Angelou, and both DDs in the second round. Missed one Q, one Instrument, and one Beast.

Thanks for the earworm, folks!

 

[saber5055]

32 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Oh yeah, I think that’s gonna be stuck in a lot of heads tonight...

It's so stuck in my head, it made me remember we had this exact same conversation a couple seasons ago. The Tiny Tunes video brought it all back, Constantinople vs. Istanbul. That was some weird dejá vu!

[GreekGeek]

I did not realize "Istanbul not Constantinople" went back to the doo-wop era. I thought it was a 90's song. It was on my mind as I thought "Byzantium...Constantinople...no, Istanbul! 

I got Water Music, stealing my thunder, Maya Angelou, Colette, the missed DD of War, and Qom. I was most surprised that Angelou was a TS, since she seems to be one of those clue-writers' faves.

I wondered if there would be some mention that "gypsy" is no longer an acceptable word.

[zoey1996]

I came up with Angelou and Colette. I cringed at the use of gypsies. When my grandma was a little girl in Iowa, around 1895 or so, she and her brothers and sister were warned against being kidnapped by gypsies, but that was then, this is now. No idea for FJ, but I guessed Memphis. Looked it up later and saw how wrong a guess that was.

[Bastet]

The contestants were slow to answer the Roma clue, and I was hoping it was going to be a TS, because I just knew that if someone did ring in they were going to use the slur.  Which I knew would be accepted, since the writers themselves used "gypsies" in a clue recently.  Infuriating.

It was a rough first round for me.  I apparently do not know state songs; I only knew one (TN) and only correctly guessed one more (CT).  I missed another three in 18th century.  The only category I ran was abbreviations, and I missed two each in the remaining three.

In DJ, I was off to a similarly bad start, missing three authors.  But then I ran Cabinet and science, and got all but one in Radio on TV and Q.  I missed two instruments.

For FJ, I had no particular clue, was just thinking of cities whose names had changed, and that stupid song popped in my head, so I went with Istanbul as a joke guess.  So at least I ended on a high note, albeit inadvertently.

[shapeshifter]

Category: STARTS WITH 3 CONSONANTS

Clue: This conifer is widely grown for timber, pulp & holiday decoration   
[with unnecessary picture — I mean, it’s a “conifer”/evergreen]

Spruce? SPRuce??? 
Anybody?

Beuller?

 

************
 

I did okay with Hard Science and a few more.

When I saw the FJ Category of CITY ORIGIN STORIES, I figured the only city origin story I knew was Weed, California, where I lived for 15+ years, and didn’t really focus on the clue. 

There were spruce trees in Weed. 

[853fisher]

I had no idea on FJ.  Maybe if I'd thought a little harder, but that wasn't on the cards for me tonight.  I didn't think of the song either, so aren't I glad I popped in here?  I never saw the Tiny Toon but love the Four Lads version.  Here, just for fun, is "the other" song about Constantinople, a big hit in 1928.  Who needs a spelling primer with those lyrics?

I would've tried "ripping him off" for the clue about copying stage effects, imagining that perhaps the instructions had been ripped out of a script or something.  I loved the peek behind Robin Quivers at the "sushi bar" set, which is the earliest one I can remember.

And I got "Yankee Doodle" for Connecticut because the last "I Love Lucy" episode, after they moved to Connecticut, saw her damage and stand in for a statue being installed on Yankee Doodle Day.  Actually I think the holiday was made up for the show, but I guess a connection between the song and the state stuck in my mind.  Lucille Ball died 32 years ago today, so I guess it's fitting that she would've made me $800 on this show.

I too was surprised they put the contestants in a position to utter the slur discussed above.  Nobody in the writer's room thought, "what if they don't say Roma"?

[Bastet]

24 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

Nobody in the writer's room thought, "what if they don't say Roma"?

The writers used it in a clue just a few months ago, so they obviously either don't know or don't care that it's a slur, and thus didn't worry about the contestants saying it this time since they had no problem with Ken (who, IIRC, was guest hosting then) saying it.  Which is inexcusable in this the year 2021 (I don't remember when I learned "gypsy" was a slur, but it was a long time ago), but also suggests they didn't receive any significant feedback when they aired that odious clue earlier this year, and tells me I should have contacted the show, too, rather than just complaining about it here.  So I'm going to email them right now (via the Contact Us form on the show's website).  If I used social media, I would post there, too, which is probably more effective these days.

[shapeshifter]

On 4/24/2021 at 8:40 AM, shapeshifter said:

had noticed since I started watching regularly after Alex died (shortly after my Mom passed) that the scores for the losers change to $2K and $1K, but I just thought: That’s odd. I was also confused about the totals for charity seeming off. 
My excuse is that when I used to watch with Mom and Dad, it was never about the money to them; it was about knowing the answers/questions.

And now that I’ve discovered that the “final scores” for the 2 losers didn’t get knocked down to $2K and $1K until Show #4089 - Thursday, May 16, 2002, I can forgive myself for thinking it wasn’t so, and that the appearance of “$2,000” and “$1,000” as the show credits rolled was just some sort of placeholder reset that didn’t quite make sense. 
 

Anyway, kudos to Anderson Cooper for rising to the occasion with the Roma correction this evening. 
And, IMO, his charity choices have been the most worthy. 

[Driad]

Just now, shapeshifter said:

And, IMO, [Anderson Cooper's] charity choices have been the most worthy. 

One possible effect of the donations to charity: some viewers might hear about a charity that they hadn't heard of before, look into it, and donate.

[Prevailing Wind]

As soon as the FJ  clue was read, I started singing "Istanbul, not Constantinople."  I always seem to get Monday's FJ reliably, but the rest of the days are hit-or-miss.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

As soon as the FJ  clue was read, I started singing "Istanbul, not Constantinople."  I always seem to get Monday's FJ reliably, but the rest of the days are hit-or-miss.

Are you saying that’s a known thing? Like NY Times Monday crossword puzzles being easier?

[Mindthinkr]

I came up with Connecticut, Water Music, and the wrong answer Constantinople. I wasn’t around (or playing this) when that catchy little tune and memory trick was mentioned here a few years ago. I’m also another person who said evergreen. If it was in the 3 constant category then I should have know better if I’d remembered that. Oh my on the Gypsy clue. I said that as my answer knowing it was politically incorrect. If it is such a slur then how is it they have a tv show on with it in its title? (My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding? I’ve never watched it.) 

[Clanstarling]

 

9 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I had no idea on FJ.  Maybe if I'd thought a little harder, but that wasn't on the cards for me tonight.  I didn't think of the song either, so aren't I glad I popped in here?  I never saw the Tiny Toon but love the Four Lads version.  Here, just for fun, is "the other" song about Constantinople, a big hit in 1928.  Who needs a spelling primer with those lyrics?

Well, at least it isn't an earworm. 😉

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

As soon as the FJ  clue was read, I started singing "Istanbul, not Constantinople."  I always seem to get Monday's FJ reliably, but the rest of the days are hit-or-miss.

Me too. I had no idea of the origins of the song - I knew it was old (and may have confused its age with the one @853fisher mentioned).

13 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I came up with Connecticut, Water Music, and the wrong answer Constantinople. I wasn’t around (or playing this) when that catchy little tune and memory trick was mentioned here a few years ago. I’m also another person who said evergreen. If it was in the 3 constant category then I should have know better if I’d remembered that. Oh my on the Gypsy clue. I said that as my answer knowing it was politically incorrect. If it is such a slur then how is it they have a tv show on with it in its title? (My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding? I’ve never watched it.) 

My guess, and only a guess, is that the people in that show are Roma, and they may feel it's okay for them to use for themselves. I was able to drag out Roma (there was another name that I was trying to remember - it may have preceded Roma as the acceptable name - or I was just having a brain fart, either way.)

[GreekGeek]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

The writers used it in a clue just a few months ago, so they obviously either don't know or don't care that it's a slur, and thus didn't worry about the contestants saying it this time since they had no problem with Ken (who, IIRC, was guest hosting then) saying it.  Which is inexcusable in this the year 2021 (I don't remember when I learned "gypsy" was a slur, but it was a long time ago), but also suggests they didn't receive any significant feedback when they aired that odious clue earlier this year, and tells me I should have contacted the show, too, rather than just complaining about it here.  So I'm going to email them right now (via the Contact Us form on the show's website).  If I used social media, I would post there, too, which is probably more effective these days.

IIRC, the word was used in connection with the opera Carmen. Synopses of the opera still refer to her using the offensive term, so the writers (and the contestants and Ken) might have been thinking in terms of the way Carmen has always been historically identified.

[zoey1996]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

 I was able to drag out Roma (there was another name that I was trying to remember - it may have preceded Roma as the acceptable name - or I was just having a brain fart, either way.)

I seem to remember "travellers" as a term, also used for other itinerant people, such as Irish travellers.

 

[saber5055]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Category: STARTS WITH 3 CONSONANTS

Clue: This conifer is widely grown for timber, pulp & holiday decoration   
[with unnecessary picture — I mean, it’s a “conifer”/evergreen]

Spruce? SPRuce??? 
Anybody?

Beuller?

Harsh toward viewers like me who kept thinking "That has more than three consonants" when every answer was given. So no, I did not get SPRuce ... it has FOUR consonants.

As always, it pays to know exactly what the category is and its phrasing. Doesn't mean I always do, and obviously some players don't either, which allows them to buzz in with answers to be made fun of here.

There hasn't been a band of gypsys traveling through here in their horse-drawn caravans for decades. Not since Larry Talbot went to get his fortune told.

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

My guess, and only a guess, is that the people in that show are Roma, and they may feel it's okay for them to use for themselves.

to me that is ridiculous.  If you don't want someone to refer to you by a certain term, you should lead by example and not use the word yourself.  Otherwise you are implicitly and explicitly endorsing the word.

[shapeshifter]

36 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Harsh toward viewers like me who kept thinking "That has more than three consonants" when every answer was given. So no, I did not get SPRuce ... it has FOUR consonants.

Sorry (not really😉), but I kind of earned the right to be an a$$hole about anything that can be used for firewood, having not only heated my house with it for 15+ years, but having been married to a mostly unemployed logger for 8. 
And, the first year after we separated I went out while the kids were in school with a $5 permit and a hand saw to cut a Christmas tree that rivaled Charlie Brown's for pitifulness and happened to be a spruce. 😉

@saber5055, I'm sure we could go through many cups of tea swapping stories of our youthful adventures. 😊

Edited April 27, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Browncoat]

Dammit.  I just got that stupid tune out of my head, then I just *had* to come back to this thread and be reminded of it all over again!  Will my brain never stop singing "Istanbul, not Constantinople" again?  Quick -- dial up Gordon Lightfoot!

[illdoc]

I said "Romany" instead of "Gypsy", so yeah me?

[853fisher]

5 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

If it is such a slur then how is it they have a tv show on with it in its title? (My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding? I’ve never watched it.) 

I have assumed the name was chosen for shock value.  I don't associate TLC's stable of prurient freak shows with good taste, social responsibility, etc.  I know members of Roma communities have taken issue with the way the show depicts their supposed customs, but I haven't seen it myself.

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

to me that is ridiculous.  If you don't want someone to refer to you by a certain term, you should lead by example and not use the word yourself.  Otherwise you are implicitly and explicitly endorsing the word.

I wonder whether not everyone in that community agrees that the word in question is a slur in the first place, at least not serious enough to prevent them from cashing in / "getting famous" with a TV show.  However, to your point, while I understand it, I don't entirely agree.  I also understand the school of thought that terms can be "reclaimed" by members of a group for internal use, while remaining inappropriate for others.

Take "queer."  It is now often used as a neutral umbrella adjective, as in "queer theory," "queer media," etc.  Some members of, well, queer communities also use it as a term of affection among themselves.  I prefer not to, in part because I know that for various reasons not everyone likes that usage, but I understand why some find power in defusing the word by using it a different way.  And I think none of the people who have ever yelled "you queer!" at a stranger from a passing vehicle have done so because they, I don't know, heard someone join a table of friends with a friendly "hey, you queers, how are you?" and understood their use of the term in a different way to be endorsed.

Gee, that all sounds more dramatic than I intended.  I guess my point in short is that, while I get where you're coming from, I see the other side too.  The idea that doing or saying something may hit different with or without a certain personal relationship or shared group membership is familiar to me, even though I do understand arguments against some things in any context.  And all that aside, I really do believe TLC chose the title exactly so we'd talk about it.  I hate that I've given them a win there, but so be it.

Edited April 27, 2021 by 853fisher

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

to me that is ridiculous.  If you don't want someone to refer to you by a certain term, you should lead by example and not use the word yourself.  Otherwise you are implicitly and explicitly endorsing the word.

Within every community there is a variance on what offends each individual. Though one would imagine that most hate the slurs, some embrace them to make them lose their power  (but for use only within the community), others to make a buck, and others don't want to rock the boat. 

But, I think, most are happy to hear the respectful term from outsiders.

[Bastet]

When a word has been used to disparage a community, there always exists a movement within that community to reclaim the word as their own, diffusing its power.  I need not cite the most obvious example in America.  That in no way signifies it remains okay for oppressors or any outsider to use it.

If some among the Roma, or a member of any other community of Travelers, choose to use the term "gypsies" among themselves, fine, but it shouldn't be appearing in a J! clue.

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

I said "Romany" instead of "Gypsy", so yeah me?

Romani/Romany usually refers to a specific subgroup of the Roma, but I think it would have been accepted. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

When a word has been used to disparage a community, there always exists a movement within that community to reclaim the word as their own, diffusing its power.  I need not cite the most obvious example in America.  That in no way signifies it remains okay for oppressors or any outsider to use it.

Exactly.

[ams1001]

lol...there were only two TS in the first round - Pitbull and Cat. 🙀 (And I didn't get either of them.)

Didn't run a single category; only TS I got were Bird Box and enzyme, and only one DD (The Devil Wears Prada).

But I did get FJ pretty quickly.

Felt a little bad for Kelly but I like the new champ.

6 hours ago, illdoc said:

I said "Romany" instead of "Gypsy", so yeah me?

I said Romani and then Roma but I suspect either one would be acceptable.

Sez wikipedia: "Romani was sometimes spelled Rommany, but more often Romany, while today Romani is the most popular spelling. ... The term Roma is increasingly encountered, as a generic term for the Romani people. Because all Romanis use the word Romani as an adjective, the term became a noun for the entire ethnic group."

[Katy M]

I totally tanked DJ.

I got FJ, but thought I was wrong.

I got the missed clues of Bird Box, enzyme and turquoise.

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me tonight.  I almost felt bad for Kelly, but then he just kept ringing in with boneheaded responses, so he lost any sympathy I might have had.  

The only TS I got were enzyme and turquoise.  I was a little surprised that no one got turquoise.  Garnet was an interesting response for that one.  I tend to think of garnets as reddish.

[M. Darcy]

I said the Everglades but was positive I was wrong. 
 

I’m actually reading Hamnet right now! It’s really really good. 

[Mindthinkr]

I had a blasé night, but did come up with FJ. 

[shapeshifter]

Easiest FJ ever, am I right? Even I got it. 

11 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I almost felt bad for Kelly, but then he just kept ringing in with boneheaded responses, so he lost any sympathy I might have had.  

To be fair, Kelly's response was just as correct as the one the judges gave for SCIENCY STUFF: "This genus of bacteria causes not only the sore throat named for it but the skin condition impetigo," because strep is the throat bacteria but staph (Kelly's response) is what causes impetigo. 
What happens when a mistake isn't caught during the game?

Also about Kelly: What is the significance of the hand gesture he made to the camera at the start? 

 

I was surprised nobody knew "enzyme."

 

 

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

The only TS I got were enzyme and turquoise.  I was a little surprised that no one got turquoise.  Garnet was an interesting response for that one.  I tend to think of garnets as reddish.

I thought aquamarine because of the color but that's March (my brother's birthstone); I was blanking on other blue-green birthstones. 

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

What happens when a mistake isn't caught during the game?

If they determine that a mistake made a material difference to the outcome of the game, they will usually bring the person back at a later date.

[853fisher]

It sure felt like Kelly's opponents brought 90% of the value tonight.  Too soon?  Hey, until today, his results were nothing to sneeze at.

I really liked the new champ and was glad for her.  I don't want a tattoo for myself, but I'd rather have an infinity than Schultz's tiger. ;)  I wonder how many politicians really do have them that we'd never know about.

I thought FJ was fairly easy once I knew it, but it certainly didn't come to me instantly.  I'd really like to visit there sometime and see the wildlife.  

I liked the Kesha mention.  I seldom see pop concerts, but she was very good, much deeper than the image she at one time cultivated would suggest.  She was unable to record music for several years due to a dispute with a producer who had abused her, but I'm glad she's back to what she loves.

Edited April 28, 2021 by 853fisher

[dcalley]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Also about Kelly: What is the significance of the hand gesture he made to the camera at the start?

I am disappointed the show didn't catch it and make him refilm or just edit it out in post.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, dcalley said:

I am disappointed the show didn't catch it and make him refilm or just edit it out in post.

So, do you know what it means? I'm torn between it being a white power sign and being ASL for love. 

[853fisher]

58 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So, do you know what it means? I'm torn between it being a white power sign and being ASL for love. 

Once you mentioned it, I watched it back and it did look an awful lot to me like "thumb and index in a circle, other fingers flat," which I understand to mean "white power."  I don't know "love" on its own, but I think "I love you" in ASL is "thumb extended, middle and ring fingers down, shake a little."

I noticed a similar gesture on earlier shows but thought he was just holding his hand to his heart innocuously.  His Facebook cover photo shows Sinatra making the similar "OK" gesture, but if that's what you're doing, you hold it up, not to your chest.

A friend suggested he might have been signaling "three," as in "three wins," but I don't know, why not just hold up three fingers?  I've never seen "three" indicated that way.  If it is the supremacist symbol, how vile.

Edited April 28, 2021 by 853fisher
being judicious

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

A friend suggested he might have been signaling "three," as in "three wins,"

I'm going to hold onto this meaning until I hear otherwise.
 🤞<--crossed fingers for good luck, heh.