Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[nokat]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'm a little bummed no one knew twee; I love that word.  The Long Island TS was surprising.  I'm also a bit surprised Mayim didn't know a bias cut is a 45 degree angle, but I suppose there's no reason I should be. 

I did far worse in the first round than I typically do.  I just stared blankly at the TV for the entire Bible category (I really should have come up with Exodus), and words was the only category I ran.  I missed six among the other  categories, including joining the contestants in being stumped by darts (I've played, but not since I was a kid).

I did much better in DJ; I ran Grammys, cold, and colleges.  I was stumped by the same two planetary words they were (I've never heard either one), and also missed two in writers and one in peninsulas.

But I had no idea for FJ.  I could have sat here for an hour and had no idea.  So I feel better it was a TS.  And now I want lobster thermidor.

Ha!  Actually, though, she went back to using Barr years ago.

I knew twee and Long Island.

[Bastet]

53 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

RE bias, I think she might have known it, but if the voice in her earpiece says “no,” it says “no.”

From her reaction when he said it and, especially, how she described the correction during the interviews, it didn't play that way to me.  But, no matter; it was indeed corrected (and didn't make a lick of difference in the end).

Edited October 7, 2021 by Bastet

[nokat]

It was pretty much I didn't do as well as I'd have liked.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

RE bias, I think she might have known it, but if the voice in her earpiece says “no,” it says “no.” Eh, maybe I’m just in an uncommonly generous mood again. ;) 

From her reaction when he said it and, especially, how she described the correction during the interviews, it didn't play that way to me. 

I just looked up the picture of the game board that Alex had on his lectern and zoomed in on it. It shows the clues with the correct question below. Some of them also list other acceptable responses (e.g., one says "WHAT IS JEALOUSY?" and below that it says "ACC JEALOUSNESS"). Not sure if she has a screen or a paper copy like Alex did but I assume the answers and questions are written the same way. The writers probably didn't anticipate bias as a response so it wasn't there, so even if she did think it might fit, that wasn't among the responses listed so she would have said no. (And FWIW, I just googled bias cut flowers and the top results were all about making fabric flowers, not keeping cut flowers fresh. I wouldn't have thought of it, but it makes sense after the correction.)

Edited October 7, 2021 by ams1001

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

And FWIW, I just googled bias cut flowers and the top results were all about making fabric flowers, not keeping cut flowers fresh. I wouldn't have thought of it, but it makes sense after the correction

The cut isn't specific to flowers - in sewing, woodworking, cooking, keeping cut flowers/herbs fresh, anything, cut on the bias means a 45-degree angle.  No big deal, I just thought that was more well known than it apparently is.  (My response was 45 degrees, because "this angle" makes degree pop first into my mind, but as soon as he said "bias", I knew that was correct because that means a 45-degree angle - like saying "right" the angle sought in a clue about 90 degrees - and figured they'd fix it later.)

Edited October 7, 2021 by Bastet

[possibilities]

I need to learn the difference between chapati and naan.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I just googled bias cut flowers and the top results were all about making fabric flowers, not keeping cut flowers fresh.

If the judges Googled:
      bias cut flower stem
--the first result is oldhousegardens.com/BulbsAsCutFlowers with:

Quote

What Linda calls “the single most important factor in flower longevity” is also one of the easiest: cutting stems at an angle. As she explains, “This bias cut exposes more of the stem’s vascular system to water than a flat or blunt cut does. Also, should a flat-cut stem rest on the flat bottom of a vase, it cannot take up water. It is simply sucking on the bottom of the vase. If the same stem is cut at an angle, only the point rests on the bottom, and the rest of the cut surface is able to draw water.”

However, the rest of the results are related to sewing.🤷‍♀️

 

9 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I need to learn the difference between chapati and naan.

Chapatis are cooked in a pan; naan is cooked in an oven.

Edited October 7, 2021 by shapeshifter

[30 Helens]

4 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I continue to think that Mayim has improved well. Now I would like her to work on / someone to work with her on pronunciations of foreign words and names. They are not awful, and it might be unfair to expect Alex’s sort of flair, but they could use more precision.

Has she run up against “genre” yet? I haven’t noticed.

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

The writers probably didn't anticipate bias as a response so it wasn't there, so even if she did think it might fit, that wasn't among the responses listed so she would have said no.

I expect this is correct. It’s not her place to second-guess the writers or judges.

I like Matt, and I have no problem with him beginning every response with “what’s”. It’s efficient, and it clearly works for him. (And let’s be honest, who among us hasn’t wondered “What is Michael Bolton?” at one time or another?) But to mix it up, I would like to request that the next long-running champion use “who is” for everything instead:

“Who’s a jackhammer?”
“Who’s a water buffalo?” 
“Who’s the Great Wall of China?”

It makes as much sense, but it sounds more fun.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Chapatis are cooked in a pan; naan is cooked in an oven.

Thanks! I now wish I was eating both of them right this minute.

[Clanstarling]

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

No FJ here. The only "thermidor" I know is the one that involves lobster.

Worst game of the week so far.

Me too, I would never have gotten FJ. It was a bad game for me too.

12 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I felt really smart getting tonight's FJ after missing what should have been an easy question last night. I knew it from cooking: Lobster Thermidor was a trendy party dish in the 1960s. The connection with the French Revolution is explained here.

Well, now that I know the connection, I can give myself...no points.

11 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Its better than my guess.   I just made up 'calor francais'.  

Also in my head it had a pepe la pew style french accent. 

Not an Alex accent?

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm a little bummed no one knew twee; I love that word. 

I know and love the word too - it just didn't come out of my mouth, no matter how hard I strained.

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I need to learn the difference between chapati and naan.

Felt like research this morning. Everything you'd want to know about naan, chapati, and roti

[sd dude]

No excuse but a confession:

Lived the first 4 years of my life in Queens and the next 20 or so in Suffolk County, and I did not get Long Island, despite knowing that the island is approximately 120 miles long.  The disconnect in my mind is knowing that the land mass is actually AN ISLAND!  Just couldn't fathom it being referred to as a peninsula.  I have to assume Matt was stumped for exactly the same reason.  Given that he lives just across the Sound and has an uncanny knowledge  of all sorts of obscure geography, it is hard to conceive that he blanked on the name.  It's just as strange to me as referring to Manhattan or Staten Island as peninsulas.  Indeed his wild guess (the Bronx) was the only logical one for the category, even though he knew it was wrong even as he was saying it.

[ABay]

I got FJ because therm=heat and the only word with that I could think of was thermador. And then thought gift=pandora and was pretty sure thermador was correct.

[illdoc]

15 minutes ago, ABay said:

I got FJ because therm=heat and the only word with that I could think of was thermador. And then thought gift=pandora and was pretty sure thermador was correct.

I think the problem at our house (and possibly for the contestants) is that we kept trying to think of something that sounded "French". Your reasoning is good (I do believe I have heard that "pandora"="all gifts").

[SnideAsides]

6 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

But to mix it up, I would like to request that the next long-running champion use “who is” for everything instead:

“Who’s a jackhammer?”
“Who’s a water buffalo?” 
“Who’s the Great Wall of China?”

It makes as much sense, but it sounds more fun.

Better yet, "why is"?

"Why is garlic bread?"

"Why is Donkey Kong Country?"

"Why is Belgium?"

[853fisher]

1 hour ago, sd dude said:

Lived the first 4 years of my life in Queens and the next 20 or so in Suffolk County, and I did not get Long Island, despite knowing that the island is approximately 120 miles long.  The disconnect in my mind is knowing that the land mass is actually AN ISLAND!  Just couldn't fathom it being referred to as a peninsula.

That would've confused me too.  Apparently the legal fiction that it is a peninsula was arranged in order to retain state control of waterways, since the federal government otherwise claimed they fulfilled conditions to fall to them.

[shapeshifter]

30 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

That would've confused me too.  Apparently the legal fiction that it is a peninsula was arranged in order to retain state control of waterways, since the federal government otherwise claimed they fulfilled conditions to fall to them.

...and--without Googling--I'm guessing Long Island was able to be legally designated a peninsula after a road from the mainland to the island was established?

I guess Long Island because the clue conveyed to me that the peninsula status was hinky.

[ABay]

I got it because what other huge chunk of land appended to NYS could it be?

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, ABay said:

I got it because what other huge chunk of land appended to NYS could it be?

That too

[DrSpaceman73]

Yeah I got long island as an answer but look at a map, looks like an island to me. 

[saber5055]

I made my own clothes for many years so would never think of cutting flowers on a bias. Material, yes. Flowers, no. I did answer 45 degrees though, having cut many bouquets in my life.

I also guessed Long Island because I've never been there and don't know if it is a real island or not. If I did live there, or nearby as Matt does, I never would have said that as my answer. So me getting that TS correct is because of my lack of knowledge. More commonly known as stupidity.

[ProudMary]

2 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Better yet, "why is"?

"Why is garlic bread?"

"Why is Donkey Kong Country?"

"Why is Belgium?"

Drax, Is that you?

[M. Darcy]

It’s ridiculous they keep letting him get away with this stuff - just saying Adams should never have been accepted.  And not that long ago, it never would have been. 
 

 

[ABay]

I didn't know who Jackson was until I read here that is was Samuel L.

[saber5055]

22 minutes ago, ABay said:

I didn't know who Jackson was until I read here that is was Samuel L.

Whereas I don't know a lot of answers until I look them up online afterward. I do know movie actors and movies though so Jackson was a no brainer for me. IEIYKI.

[Clanstarling]

7 hours ago, sd dude said:

No excuse but a confession:

Lived the first 4 years of my life in Queens and the next 20 or so in Suffolk County, and I did not get Long Island, despite knowing that the island is approximately 120 miles long.  The disconnect in my mind is knowing that the land mass is actually AN ISLAND!  Just couldn't fathom it being referred to as a peninsula.  I have to assume Matt was stumped for exactly the same reason.  Given that he lives just across the Sound and has an uncanny knowledge  of all sorts of obscure geography, it is hard to conceive that he blanked on the name.  It's just as strange to me as referring to Manhattan or Staten Island as peninsulas.  Indeed his wild guess (the Bronx) was the only logical one for the category, even though he knew it was wrong even as he was saying it.

I got it mostly because it said "118-mile-long piece of land forming part of NYC." Long Island was what I thought of, and the writing was cagey. But yes, it is strange.

6 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Better yet, "why is"?

"Why is garlic bread?"

"Why is Donkey Kong Country?"

"Why is Belgium?"

Better than the one I'd like to hear:

"Is it Long Island?"

"Is it Banksy?

"Is it springtime?"

 

[HyeChaps]

Recently Matt said he was visiting his grandpa in Bethpage on Long Island.

[Prevailing Wind]

How's Proust?

How's Troilus and Cressida?

Where's IM Pei?

Where's December?

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Better than the one I'd like to hear:

"Is it Long Island?"

"Is it Banksy?

"Is it springtime?"

 

People Puzzler!

[illdoc]

Could it be green?

Could it be Bond?

Could it be an elephant?

And, of course:

Could it be Satan?

[Prevailing Wind]

Why not 1918?

Why not Carson?

Why not Minot?

[Bastet]

I'm going to be watching football tonight, so I just checked the archive.  I had to decide whether to give myself credit for quite a few, based on whether I believe I'd have known something I couldn't answer just based on the text if I'd been able to see the picture.  (Obviously the Seen Here category posed a bit of a challenge.)

I didn't run a single category in the first round, missing seven total.  Not as bad as last night, but another off first-round performance for me.

I was consistent, at least - I didn't run anything in DJ, either.  I only missed seven there too, though, which is good for me in DJ.

I got FJ after some thought.

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I also guessed Long Island because I've never been there and don't know if it is a real island or not. If I did live there, or nearby as Matt does, I never would have said that as my answer.

I live ~two hours away and I didn't get it.

[ams1001]

Wow, this was a bad game. Only ran SNL. Got no Presidents. One each in Geography and Latin. Two each in Seen Here and Scene Here. 

My TSes were New Jersey (at least I got that; the flag flies in front of my workplace, along with the US flag and a company logo flag), underdogs, funeral pyres. Only one DD and no FJ.

53% / 43% / 48%

[853fisher]

Today I thought it was odd that the contestant was "originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts."  Cape Cod is a region, not a city, and I can't think when they've ever introduced anyone as "from Upstate New York" or "from the Bay Area" or whatever.  It doesn't harm anyone, I just wondered what it was about.

It's a good thing to enforce the given rules, of course, but "biathalete" was one of those real groan moments.  Fortunately it wouldn't have affected the outcome either way.  Similarly, not like she wouldn't have left with $1,000 for 3rd place regardless, but I was sorry Maddie wasn't able to dig herself out at the end there.

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

...and--without Googling--I'm guessing Long Island was able to be legally designated a peninsula after a road from the mainland to the island was established?

You know, that's pretty clever!  But I don't know.  One source I found suggested that New York argued it should be considered part of their mainland in part because of its large size.  I thought that seemed a bit weak.

[HyeChaps]

How did those writers even think to make that Presi-dental category?

[Prevailing Wind]

Well, we got another Rabbit question!

Oddly enough, I was searching online for images of cornucopias when that clue was revealed. LOL.

Yayyy!! I got Natchez!

[blueray]

I think they should have gave him the final answer, so he basically spelled it wrong. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I was surprised that he bet 6,000 I would have just bet zero as it doesn't matter.

For FJ I was thinking the sport where they ski and shoot. So right answer but didn't know the name lol.

Edited October 8, 2021 by blueray

[saber5055]

4 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Oddly enough, I was searching online for images of cornucopias when that clue was revealed. LOL.

So did you know it was New Jersey then? I wondered why the horse head at the top of the crest. Maybe The Godfather was filmed there?

I agree a bazillion percent with Andy at TJF about the biath-a-lete ruling. And hope, as does he, these cr*p clue writing/answer rulings stop after Friday.

As for FJ, being a cross-country and downhill skier, and a fan of rifle target shooting, I got this one. Plus I'm a huge winter Olympics watcher. Summer ... not so much. Taking my cross-country ski story to Small Talk.

[GreekGeek]

It didn't affect the outcome, of course, but I was sorry Tyler was penalized for misspelling "biathlon." Still, according to the rules. the written responses do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must not "add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables." 

[HyeChaps]

Did the judges speak into Mayim's earpiece when his response was revealed, or are they able to read his screen in advance and have a little more time to make a ruling?

[SHD]

17 minutes ago, blueray said:

I was surprised that he bet 6,000 I would have just bet zero as it doesn't matter.

Bragging point, maybe? Since he was going to be second no matter what, it would’ve been much cooler to tell people “I scored $12,000 against Matt”.

That middle guy was such a showoff, him with his giving first AND last names for answers. LOL

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

So did you know it was New Jersey then? I wondered why the horse head at the top of the crest. Maybe The Godfather was filmed there?

😂

There's a lotta horse racing here; there's a racetrack about a mile and a half from my house, and another bigger one about half an hour away, and lots of horse farms in the next town over (which is named for that fact).

[SHD]

5 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

It’s ridiculous they keep letting him get away with this stuff - just saying Adams should never have been accepted.  And not that long ago, it never would have been. 

I agree on that particular question. But I don’t think they’re letting HIM get away with stuff. The judging got lax before Matt came on board - contestants not answering in question form, for example, started to be allowed to slide by. Matt’s answering probably 60% of the questions (just a guess) so general lax judging is going to seem to benefit him more. 

[Bastet]

40 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Still, according to the rules. the written responses do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must not "add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables." 

Yeah, they've been frustratingly inconsistent with some things, but it seems to me like the syllable rule for misspelling FJ answers has always (or almost always?) been adhered to.

23 minutes ago, SHD said:

I agree on that particular question. But I don’t think they’re letting HIM get away with stuff. The judging got lax before Matt came on board - contestants not answering in question form, for example, started to be allowed to slide by. Matt’s answering probably 60% of the questions (just a guess) so general lax judging is going to seem to benefit him more. 

I agree that if lax enforcement of the rules is happening to Matt more often than other contestants, it's just based on how many of the clues he's able to ring in on. 

And I also agree on that particular question, because as illogical as they've sometimes been with requiring or not requiring a lax name, it seems like needing to specify which President Adams was consistent, so that one sliding by surprised me.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Bastet

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

So did you know it was New Jersey then?

Nope. I had no idea. Had the mentioned Trenton was the capital, I would have gotten it.

[Tunia]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

Today I thought it was odd that the contestant was "originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts."  Cape Cod is a region, not a city, and I can't think when they've ever introduced anyone as "from Upstate New York" or "from the Bay Area" or whatever.  It doesn't harm anyone, I just wondered what it was about.

 

That's not unusual when it comes to the Cape.  Rarely do people who know and love the Cape distinguish which specific town is in mention.  We'll always say "We're headed to the Cape for the weekend.", not "We're headed to Eastham..."  Or in answer to "Where are you vacationing?", we'd say "the Cape", not specifically Eastham, Orleans, etc.

[secnarf]

19 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

It didn't affect the outcome, of course, but I was sorry Tyler was penalized for misspelling "biathlon." Still, according to the rules. the written responses do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must not "add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables." 

And yet, if it was a question that was answered verbally, it would have been accepted even if it sounded a bit more like four syllables than three when the contestant said it.

It's the Barry/Berry thing all over again.

[possibilities]

I got a big laugh out of everyone missing the 1984 clue and thinking it was a Harry Potter reference. 

Biathlon is my favorite Winter Olympic sport, so I got FJ right away. I didn't actually know its origin. but when I saw the clue I thought it made total sense. 

[Browncoat]

Archive night for me, but FJ was an instaget.  Whew!  Saved from being skunked this week.

I also got the TS of pyre and fumarole (even without being able to see the picture).  I kind of gave up on trying to answer any in the "Seen Here" category -- I was just guessing blindly.  

[possibilities]

I knew fumarole from a trip to Yellowstone when I was a kid. I have not had any encounters with the word since then, but it stuck with me for some reason.