Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[ByaNose]

What did the middle man answer? Apparently, it was wrong but I couldn’t read what he wrote.

[ECM1231]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

How many times has Megan won by $2, now? Three?

Crazy! I felt badly for the male competitor ( I'm so bad at remembering names), especially since he was in the lead after working his way back from  negative two thousand + dollars. Could anyone make out what he scribbled for FJ?  I got the  FJ of archipelago; seemed logical to me as it's a chain of islands.

In the 3 letters following each other, I was confused why no one answered " cousin", which is what I shouted out. Obviously I would have been wrong, since I neglected to say "first."

[GreekGeek]

I thought they might require the first name of Ravel also, given the category, but I guess they couldn't without announcing in advance that the contestant must give both the M and the R words/names. There was some controversy about this during at least one of Matt's games, but they've generally been pretty lax about demanding full names, unless the person happened to be Kit Carson of course.

Is Megan the luckiest champ ever? I was sure either Jenny or Rob or both would know archipelago. I was rooting for Rob because he had such an impressive comeback after that bad first round.

Two FJ Greek derivatives in a row, woohoo!

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm tired of Megan. I SO wanted Rob to win. He has a good voice.

[IdEatThat]

Between Mayim and Megan the show has become borderline unwatchable for me.  I don’t believe I’ve ever felt that way before.  I sincerely hope that Ken is back soon.   And Megan has to be the luckiest contestant in the history of the show.   I will grudgingly give her a good for you for her wagering prowess though.  

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

What did the middle man answer? Apparently, it was wrong but I couldn’t read what he wrote.

The J! Archive has it as "What is [illegible]?" so I guess no one knows.

1 hour ago, ECM1231 said:

In the 3 letters following each other, I was confused why no one answered " cousin", which is what I shouted out. Obviously I would have been wrong, since I neglected to say "first."

I said cousin. I'm too tired to have gotten beyond that, but at least I know what my mom's brother's kids are to me. 

[Driad]

7 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

What did the middle man answer? Apparently, it was wrong but I couldn’t read what he wrote.

The J! Archive has it as "What is [illegible]?" so I guess no one knows.

[insert doctor joke here]

[SomeTameGazelle]

28 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

The J! Archive has it as "What is [illegible]?" so I guess no one knows.

It looks more like Newhart to me than anything else which surely it can't be. 

Shocked they accepted Kai-shek and did not ask for Chiang.

Edited June 22, 2022 by SomeTameGazelle

[Leeds]

Would it have killed the writers to have used "Geographical Terms" rather than the babyish "Geography Words"?

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

And I call banana poop on Ravel.  The category was MR.  He  needed the first name.  AARGH.

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Did he, though? Unless it was specified when the category was introduced, I would think the standard rules would apply. 

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

"M. R." was in quotes in the category title, though. I thought he should have had to give the full name, too.

J! Archive shows:

Quote

"M.R.", AYE!
(Mayim: Each response is two words starting with those two letters.)

[NOTE: Rob did not say the first name and Mayim did not give it either to complete the 2-word "M.R." requirement of the category.]

Oy.
Have the judges ever intervened after FJ? (Like if he'd won by less than $4K?)

**************************

Meanwhile, I finally broke my nearly 2-week FJ losing streak in part thanks to:

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

2 Greek roots in a row. 

Monday I managed the heretofore unheard-of-for-me run of 2 categories (HORSE IDIOMS and CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, COMMONLY) as well as instagetting the first 3½ of MASHED UP TV SHOWS.
But I still flunked FJ.
I guessed "celibacy" because that clue included: From the Greek for "alone"
--and I assumed I knew no Greek, and what could be more alone?
But then when the correct response was revealed to be Monarchy, I thought: Oh! Like "mono," as opposed to, say, "duo," and told myself next time there was a "From the Greek" FJ, I would try to sus it out (with confidence! that necessary ingredient to do well in Jeopardy!).
TL;DR☝️?
The point:
For today's (Tuesday), I focused on "many island groups" and thought of the Aleutian Islands, which is an archipelago, and then looked back at the beginning of the clue: "From Greek for "chief," and confidently thought: Yes! "Arch" is like "Chief"!

However, I should note that I also mustered a fair amount of confidence over my previous day's wrong guess of "celibacy."
I mean, I could imagine a ruling body in 1649 declaring it to be "unnecessary, burdensome & dangerous." Right?

Edited June 22, 2022 by shapeshifter

[ams1001]

32 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Have the judges ever intervened after FJ? (Like if he'd won?)

Their only option at that point would be to offer to let someone come back to play at a later time, if the incorrect ruling was the reason they lost. I don't know if that's ever happened.

Also, why is it Mayim seems to feel the need to give the full name at every opportunity, except when it would actually be needed or at least useful information?

Edited June 22, 2022 by ams1001

[853fisher]

I wondered why not just ask Rob what he (tried to) write.  OK, it was obviously wrong, but I don't seem to have been the only one curious about what he had thought of.  Maybe there was no time left after all the updates on who had taken the lead?

3 times winning by $2 is something else.  Apropos of nothing, I wonder if Megan would like to lend me $6? ;)   She's definitely been lucky but that's OK by me - I think she's also been good.  I've said more than once recently that I'm a bit tired of streaks, but apparently I feel differently when the game comes with suspense.

Edited June 22, 2022 by 853fisher

[Bastet]

Wow, this is really something with all the slim victories.

I curled up with a sick kitty (she should be fine; it's a chronic condition and we're just in the midst of a flare-up) and, of course, fell asleep, so I just checked the archive.

I was a little surprised by the cardinal sin TS, because I figure if I can get a religious clue right at least one of any given three J! contestants can.  If just asked about the gravest transgression in Catholic ideology, I'd have guessed mortal sin, but since it had to have a color of red in its name, I correctly guessed cardinal.

First cousin also surprised me as a TS.

And obviously none of the contestants watch football, as I didn't even need to be able to see the picture to get Tony Romo; he's annoying as all get out, but, yes, he's excellent at predicting plays.

I joined the contestants in being stumped by BlackBerry, and didn't know two in kids books and one in TV, but got everything else in the first round (giving myself credit for Tamron Hall, as I'd have recognized her had I been able to see the photo).

But in DJ, I only ran medical.  I wasn't terrible in anything, though; I got all but one in transplants and history and missed two each in the rest.

FJ took me a few moments, but then archipelago popped into my mind and I figured that had to be right.

[30 Helens]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

How many times has Megan won by $2, now? Three?

Yes. Three very lucky times. 

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

2 Greek roots in a row.  Apparently not my thing. 

What is up with that? Is someone in the writers’ room studying Greek? Are they repurposing an unused DJ category? If tomorrow’s FJ answer is “eureka”, I cry foul.

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

"M. R." was in quotes in the category title, though. I thought he should have had to give the full name, too.

I yelled at my screen after that one. “Where’s the M?! That’s Maurice Ravel to you.”

3 hours ago, ByaNose said:

What did the middle man answer? Apparently, it was wrong but I couldn’t read what he wrote.

I was confused when Mayim didn’t ask. Alex always asked, followed by a “sorry, no” or “unfortunately, we couldn’t quite make that out”. We want to know, Mayim! Don’t leave us hanging!

3 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

In the 3 letters following each other, I was confused why no one answered " cousin", which is what I shouted out. Obviously I would have been wrong, since I neglected to say "first."

I said cousin, too, and then got confused because there weren’t 3 sequential letters. Never thought to say “first”. But at least I don’t think my uncle’s kid is my nephew. Or my avuncular…?

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Their only option at that point would be to offer to let someone come back to play at a later time, if the incorrect ruling was the reason they lost. I don't know if that's ever happened.

I remember times when they brought someone back “in the interest of fairness”, because a ruling “may have affected the outcome of the game”. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that happen, though. Maybe they prefer to just sweep things under the rug now?

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

3 times winning by $2 is something else.  Apropos of nothing, I wonder if Megan would like to lend me $6? ;)   She's definitely been lucky but that's OK by me - I think she's also been good.  I've said more than once recently that I'm a bit tired of streaks, but apparently I feel differently when the game comes with suspense.

Suspense is good, but I’m not enjoying Megan’s run. I hate to call her undeserving, because anyone who wins is by definition deserving, but she just doesn’t seem to be in the same class with other multi-day champs. I want to be happy for her, but instead I just keep asking, why are you still here??

[ProudMary]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Also, why is it Mayim seems to feel the need to give the full name at every opportunity, except when it would actually be needed or at least useful information?

^^^This!!! 🙄

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Did he, though? Unless it was specified when the category was introduced, I would think the standard rules would apply. 

It was specified. Mayim said it was two words beginning with each of those letters.

[SomeTameGazelle]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

And obviously none of the contestants watch football, as I didn't even need to be able to see the picture to get Tony Romo; he's annoying as all get out, but, yes, he's excellent at predicting plays.

My confused thoughts as I read the clue:

• surely there can't be any money in guessing in Act I what is going to happen at the end of a play, that can't be his job?
• Perhaps it's not the plot he predicts, maybe it's just box-office success so he can advise producers where to invest?
• Oh, it's sports, isn't it. (Should the category have tipped me off?)

7 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I remember times when they brought someone back “in the interest of fairness”, because a ruling “may have affected the outcome of the game”. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that happen, though. Maybe they prefer to just sweep things under the rug now?

The Jeopardy Fan website has a list of cases where this happened. The most recent they have is from 2018.

https://thejeopardyfan.com/statistics/returning-to-the-show

[30 Helens]

1 hour ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

https://thejeopardyfan.com/statistics/returning-to-the-show

This begs the question: What bumbling monkeys were doing the judging in 2006?? (2018 wasn’t so great, either.)

[M. Darcy]

No one knew Chris Meloni??!!!  So wrong.  

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

In the 3 letters following each other, I was confused why no one answered " cousin", which is what I shouted out. Obviously I would have been wrong, since I neglected to say "first."

I think that would have been a BMS - since there are first, second, and third cousins (etc.) But maybe not, given the category. I said cousin too - I mean, if you spot me that Bob's my uncle, it's not that hard. But then I have a complicated family tree, so I'm used to dealing with the various gradations.

13 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Shocked they accepted Kai-shek and did not ask for Chiang.

Especially since Chaing is the family name. This is like saying Kit instead of Carson, without more details.

It was an okay game, wait, no. After checking out J! Archive, I guess it was a crappy game - but the fact that I got FJ even though I'm terrible at geography made the game seem better. 😊

Edited June 22, 2022 by Clanstarling

[ams1001]

47 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I think that would have been a BMS - since there are first, second, and third cousins (etc.) But maybe not, given the category. I said cousin too - I mean, if you spot me that Bob's my uncle, it's not that hard. But then I have a complicated family tree, so I'm used to dealing with the various gradations.

My parents have friends who my brother and I called "auntie" and "uncle" when we were younger (switched to just first names as adults); they lived across the street from our first house (we moved when I was 2) and they're still friends with "uncle" ("auntie" passed away about 12 years ago). But I have never thought of their kids as my cousins. Meanwhile, my uncle's four stepsons (he married their mom before I was born) are not blood relatives but I do think of them as cousins.

Edited June 22, 2022 by ams1001

[Clanstarling]

Nevermind.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Clanstarling

[MrAtoz]

5 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

My confused thoughts as I read the clue:

• surely there can't be any money in guessing in Act I what is going to happen at the end of a play, that can't be his job?
• Perhaps it's not the plot he predicts, maybe it's just box-office success so he can advise producers where to invest?
• Oh, it's sports, isn't it. (Should the category have tipped me off?)

Here's the text of the clue, from Jeopardy Archive:  "With a knack for predicting plays, he's been a success in the broadcast booth like he was behind center."

The category was TV Factoids, so no hint there.  On the other hand there a couple of sports hints in the clue itself:  "broadcast booth" tells you that he's a sportscaster, and "behind center" tells you that he used to be a quarterback.

As far as the "first cousin" response, the clue specifically said it was a "2-word family relationship."  The word "first" is the one that includes the 3 letters in a row (r-s-t), so it was necessary, and "cousin" alone would not, and should not, have been accepted.

[Mindthinkr]

   Monday I started out well. I ran chemical compounds, TV Shows, and of course Horses (shout out to @saber5055). I got Eustachian tube, honey hams, Smithfield, electron microscope, but no FJ as mono didn’t enter my mind. 
   Yesterday MB annoyed me to the point where I shouted at the Telly twice for her to shut up. She was wasting valuable time repeating answers. I got Christopher Meloni, Tameron Hall, estuary, the missed DD of Stem Cells, concerto and finally a FJ. I am more than ready for an appearance from Ken Jennings. I am also getting tired of all of the winners last for a week or so. 

[853fisher]

5 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

No one knew Chris Meloni??!!!  So wrong.  

That surprised me too!  I thought the new series was pretty well publicized.  And his SVU episodes are frequently rerun too.  I'm very into the L&O shows - maybe I'm just not a good judge of what the general public knows.

The family lore is that he dropped by a First Communion or Confirmation at our childhood parish.  None of us saw him, but Ma's friend's cousin's hairdresser's landscaper, or whoever, did.  I read he does have family in the area, so I'd like to believe it.

[SHD]

6 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

No one knew Chris Meloni??!!!  So wrong.  

Would they have accepted me screaming "That Elliot Stabler guy!"?

[ams1001]

Pretty good first round…ran Word Origins, Senator's First Name, and Face/Palm. Missed one Book Title, and two Ad Slogans and Songs (83%...I consider anything over 80% to be good). In DJ I ran Double Double E and Rocks & Plants (what we got of it, at least), missed one Planet Pop Culture and Chef, and three each in the others.

TSes were One of Us is Lying, Rob Peter to Pay Paul, Thursday's Child (I'm a Wednesday's Child, we're "full of woe"** so I figured Thursday's "far to go" would rhyme with that, since I know the poem starts with Monday), Luxembourg, sneezeweed (total guess, never heard of it), and malaria and slate (DDs).

FJ was an almost-instaget. Had to reread to make sure they wanted the author and not the bird.

I liked Jeff. A little slow at picking the next clue a few times but he can stay for now.

**Fittingly, my name means "alone"...thanks, Mom. 😞

[Montreal Meany]

7 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Nevermind.

...Quoth the starling?

[Katy M]

I got FJ.  After panicking that I don't know who wrote Dr. Doolittle.

I got the missed clues of Lying, malaria, Thursday's Child (after the wrong answer), Luxembourg, sneezeweed, and slate.

I had a not good first round and a downright terrible second round.

[dgpolo]

14 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I got FJ.  After panicking that I don't know who wrote Dr. Doolittle.

I got the missed clues of Lying, malaria, Thursday's Child (after the wrong answer), Luxembourg, sneezeweed, and slate.

I also went to Doolittle first before realizing that was a parrot also, then Nevermore just popped in my brain so said Poe, yay!

[DrSpaceman73]

Quoth the parrot. 

The Baltimore parrots. 

Not quite the same. 

[dgpolo]

11 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Quoth the parrot. 

The Baltimore parrots. 

Not quite the same. 

I did spend a moment thinking the poem wouldn't be at all the same with a parrot.

[ByaNose]

Easy for me to say but woulda, shoulda and coulda but Megan should have bet it all. The other two were tied and were fighting it out with their answers and wager. Granted, she had lived a lot of lives during her 6 appearance but this one would have been the real time to be it all. I don’t see her lasting long in the Tournament of Champions. She’s just not as fast enough and isn’t a board bouncer. Time will tell. I’m looking forward to it this season. 

[Prevailing Wind]

I didn't not like Megan, but I'm surprised at how glad I am she's gone (for now).

[ECM1231]

5 hours ago, SHD said:

Would they have accepted me screaming "That Elliot Stabler guy!"?

My recall just sucks. I need to start taking Prevagen, or something. I knew it was Meloni, even picturing his face in my mind, but could not think of his name. I've even seen his new Law & Order show a few times, too.

I missed most of Double Jeopardy round, as the station got all fuzzy. There wasn't a weather issue, and all the other stations were fine. I was so annoyed. I find ABC to be a station with a weak signal. At our mountain home, getting only antenna TV, we cannot get ABC, no matter how many different types of antennae we try. CBS and NBC are fine.

Megan, as a 6 day champion, didn't rack up much money.

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I got FJ.  After panicking that I don't know who wrote Dr. Doolittle.

I got the missed clues of Lying, malaria, Thursday's Child (after the wrong answer), Luxembourg, sneezeweed, and slate.

I had a not good first round and a downright terrible second round.

I did know Hugh Lofting for some reason (he wrote the Dr. Doolittle books) but figured he was a) too obscure and b) too late for 19th century literature. But I managed to think of Poe in time.

I didn't get Luxembourg and never heard of sneezeweed (I had heard of sneezewort, which apparently isn't the same thing), but I knew the same TS's plus Escoffier.

Mayim''s "Ah-uh Ur!" reading didn't do the "Got milk?" line justice.

I was glad the judges reversed the ruling on "Tweedledum and Tweedledee." The question specified the one with four e's, and Megan's additional info made it wrong. For a moment in FJ, I thought she would pull off another miracle win. I was uncharitably pleased when it didn't happen.

[ams1001]

Anyone else catch the typo in FJ? (I didn't, either.)

[PBnJay]

33 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

My recall just sucks. I need to start taking Prevagen, or something.

How about some Neuriva? "Yes, please!"

[30 Helens]

FJ: My mind first went to Dr. Doolittle, too, but I didn’t know the author, and no birds from that story stuck out. (I’m all about the pushmi-pullyu.) So I started thinking of bird-centric stories, which led me immediately to Poe.

13 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

No one knew Chris Meloni??!!!  So wrong.  

I know nothing of Law &Order, other than it’s one of those procedurals with way too many clones. To me, Christopher Meloni will always be Toby’s scary boyfriend from Oz.

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I'm a Wednesday's Child, we're "full of woe"** so I figured Thursday's "far to go" would rhyme with that

Hey, Twinnie! I’m also a Wednesday’s child, and used the same reasoning. I always hated that rhyme, because while other kids were “full of grace” or “fair of face”, I got to be full of woe? Phhht.

Why did Mayim think “psyllium” deserved a giggle? Because it’s psylly?

[Prevailing Wind]

28 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

Hey, Twinnie! I’m also a Wednesday’s child, and used the same reasoning. I always hated that rhyme, because while other kids were “full of grace” or “fair of face”, I got to be full of woe? Phhht.

I'm a Thursday, so I got it right. Being full of woe is just a little bit worse than having far to go. I'm 73. Have I gotten there yet?

[Montreal Meany]

3 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Easy for me to say but woulda, shoulda and coulda but Megan should have bet it all. The other two were tied and were fighting it out with their answers and wager. Granted, she had lived a lot of lives during her 6 appearance but this one would have been the real time to be it all. 

This was one of the few bets of Megan's that I approved of. With her opponents tied for the lead, there was a great chance that both would bet it all, while Megan's 1401 also gave her the chance to pass them if they stood pat.

[South]

On 6/21/2022 at 10:35 PM, Leeds said:

Would it have killed the writers to have used "Geographical Terms" rather than the babyish "Geography Words"?

Them werds about places.

[South]

4 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I did spend a moment thinking the poem wouldn't be at all the same with a parrot.

I’ve snickered a few times this evening thinking about a parrot in the role of the raven.  Most especially if it happened to be a foul-mouthed parrot.  “NEVERMORE MOTHER FUCKERRRRS!!!!”.  

[Mystery Author]

Quote

 “Where’s the M?! That’s Maurice Ravel to you.”

I said Kit Ravel, until I realized Kit doesn't start with an M.

Jeopardy! loves Poe! If you don't know the answer, just say--or write--EA Poe (or Louisa May Alcott).

Yes, I caught the typo: "equallly"---but that's my day job (editor for a major publisher). 

[Mindthinkr]

I had dinner company come over at 5. By 9:30 I was still serving (espresso and after dinner drinks) and knew I wouldn’t get to seeing the show. So I brought up the archive at the table and put the FJ question out to everyone.  My neighbor got it quickly (he doesn’t play Jeopardy). So let’s just say I had a good night, but didn’t get anything except a sink full of dirty dishes to wash 😂

[Trey]

10 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I didn't not like Megan, but I'm surprised at how glad I am she's gone (for now).

Exactly!

A decent game for me.  I got the missed answers of lying, Thursday's Child, rob Peter to pay Paul, sneezeweed, Tecumseh, and slate.

Not an instaget FJ; I thought of RL Stevenson first but quickly realized it was Poe and his raven.

Then I started giggling, remembering The Simpsons doing The Raven in a Treehouse of Horror episode.

[M. Darcy]

9 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I know nothing of Law &Order, other than it’s one of those procedurals with way too many clones. To me, Christopher Meloni will always be Toby’s scary boyfriend from Oz.

Ah, Chris Keller.  Beecher and Keller 4Ever! 

[853fisher]

The way Jeff said "that's right, Mayim" in response to the interview prompt reminded me of the way contestants used to answer Alex.  I don't think we've heard Mayim or Ken addressed by name in that way too much.  I must have been feeling soft yesterday, but it gave me the warm and fuzzies!  Just one of those things that sticks with you, I guess.

Unfortunately I was also thinking of Robert Louis Stevenson for FJ.  Even more unfortunately, I couldn't flesh him out beyond "the author with three names who wrote Treasure Island."  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?  Sally Jessy Raphael?  I knew nothing I was thinking of was right but I didn't know what was.  And of course, none of it was right anyway because it was about the raven!  I really had no idea they could talk.

Edited June 23, 2022 by 853fisher

[South]

Thus quoth the mockingbird….all freakin day.

[dcalley]

14 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Anyone else catch the typo in FJ? (I didn't, either.)

It can be harder to spot typos in ALLL CAPS. All the more reason for Jeopardy to use some basic spellcheck software, even though they are far from perfect.

4 hours ago, Trey said:

Then I started giggling, remembering The Simpsons doing The Raven in a Treehouse of Horror episode.

It's so good and exposed millions to the poem. https://lithub.com/lets-remember-when-the-simpsons-did-the-raven/