Jeopardy! Season 40 (2023-2024)

[Prevailing Wind]

8 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I knew it was some length of time but that's as far as I got...

I tried watching it, but it was too intense for me. I've gotten wussy in my old age.

[Shrek]

10 hours ago, Driad said:

The "Small" category reminded me of this:
Q: How can you get out of the commodities market [or the cryptocurrency market] with a small fortune?
A:  

  Reveal spoiler

Go in with a large fortune.

 

That depends when you sell, just like with shares they go up & down and at the moment most are around their highest.  Anyone who bought Bitcoin when all the jokes like that started is now laughing all the way to the bank.  

Most of us (including me) couldn't play that game even if we wanted to.

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, possibilities said:

The Bible, specifically, is what I'm talking about, not everything. King James is the version preferred by a specific population, which is also a fairly imperialistic group. Many people know the Bible verse but in a different translation. My people, for instance, do not read King James. I could have known the verse but not the KJ verbiage. Why does J! think it's important to know KJ specifically? It's bad enough that the show is so heavily weighted to the Bible in the first place. If they are going to have so many Bible clues, at least they could not limit it to the KJ version.

You clearly disagree with me, but that is my reason.

That's too bad for anyone who isn't familiar with King James version, but there's no reason for them to not specify it for one particular Bible clue, especially when, as you say, they tend to have a lot of them.  The vast majority of Bible clues have not required familiarity with the KJ version.

Honestly, it's no more unfair of Jeopardy to use that clue than it is for them to use clues requiring knowledge of literature in various translations, as with the Beowulf FJ.

22 hours ago, chessiegal said:

From Wikipedia.

And yet I've only heard it maybe a dozen times in my entire life, which is why I know the choruses but little else.  We all have our weaknesses when it comes to pop culture.

21 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Anyway, I did not appreciate Beowulf, and nothing in that clue would have brought it to mind: 
“Preserved in a single manuscript called Cotton MS Vitellius A XV, this epic begins with the word ‘Hwaet’, often translated as listen”

I think one either recognized "Hwaet" as Old English and thought of Beowulf since it's the most famous work in that vernacular or didn't get it at all.  I'd say a lot of people haven't seen any of Beowulf in Old English but only in modern translations and therefore probably struggled with that FJ.

And now to fess up to my own very weak areas: I had no clue for last night's FJ.  I said Darwin but knew that wasn't correct.  I've heard of Mendel and am vaguely aware of what he did, but usually confuse him with Mendeleev anyway.

22 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I appreciate Rembrandt too, and thought maybe that was a lesser known work, but "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" sounded like Christian scriptures, so it had to be the Sea of Galilee. 

On 5/28/2024 at 11:44 AM, proserpina65 said:

On 5/24/2024 at 12:05 PM, Driad said:

“Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee," the Rembrandt painting from Thursday's FJ. 

The lighting in that painting is incredible.

Chiaroscuro outdoors!

Yep, truly amazing.  I really hope they find it so that I can see it in person someday rather than just in photographs.

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I knew it was some length of time but that's as far as I got...

I was close, I said 126 Hours.

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I knew it was some length of time but that's as far as I got...

I went with, of all things, 127 Days.  Just a touch longer....

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I'd say a lot of people haven't seen any of Beowulf in Old English but only in modern translations and therefore probably struggled with that FJ.

Interesting. I think that the only way I have ever read Beowulf has been in Old English. I studied it a few times in different college classes: once in Medieval English Literature, once in the History of English Language, once in The Hero in Literature. We always studied it in Old English. We had translations to work with, of course, but the primary thing we were studying was the poem itself, which is in Old English.

So I got that clue easily. The opening word "Hwaet!" is fairly famous (as famous as Old English poetry gets, I should say). It's the origin of our modern word "what," of course, but it doesn't really mean "what." A lot of older translations will give it as "Lo!" or "Hark!" "Listen!" is a pretty decent modern translation. If I were trying to be really modern, I might use "Yo!"

If you're not careful, I'll call my friend Jon in here. He did his masters thesis on Beowulf. That man can natter on about Beowulf like you wouldn't believe! 😀

[Bastet]

16 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I knew it was some length of time but that's as far as I got...

You got farther than I did -- a slideshow of scenes from the movie went through my head, but I had absolutely nothing on the title.

[ams1001]

May 29:

67% / 63% / 64%

In J I ran, of all things, Classic Rap Lyrics (though I only guessed Ice Cube after Ice T was wrong), missed one in Don't Stop Retrievin' and Change the S to an N, two in This & That, and three in Louisiana Parish Names and Novels.

In DJ I ran Cookbooks, missed one in Science, two in Alliterative TV and This is Fine, and three in White House Weddings and "M"usic.

Did not get FJ.

TSes: (J had 4; DJ had 6 + 1 DD) I got Ramses the Great, base/bane, Bada Bing, and meh (fitting, since my game was meh).

[Katy M]

I got FJ even though I thought that happened in the 1400s.  Good thing I couldn't think of any other old timey murder victims.

I got the missed clues of Rameses, Beauregarde, Mambo, and Dolly Madison.

 

[Browncoat]

I had a terrible night.  I have no idea why I was so distracted, but I got nothing tonight -- no FJ, no TS.  

 

[Bastet]

I'm jumping in the shallow end again -- I want Adriana's dress with a lower neckline and minus the belt.

I had no idea "meh" was in a dictionary back in 1928!

The mambo TS surprised me.  What stunned me was Brian immediately and confidently answering Martha Washington for that DD.  You seriously thought they were going to give you the last name in the clue??

I missed three in This & That, but other than that I had a great first round; I ran S to N, retrieving, and rap, and got all but the Beauregard TS in Louisiana and all but Martin Chuzzlewit in novels.

The same cannot be said of DJ, in which I did not run a damn thing.  I got all but the Rutherford TS in science and all but Yellowstone in cookbooks, but missed three in TV and two each in the rest.

To cap it off, I did not even have a guess for FJ.

[laredhead]

43 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'm jumping in the shallow end again -- I want Adriana's dress with a lower neckline and minus the belt.

I'll jump in with you because I thought Ken looked great in a dark suit with that blue tie.  I think those are colors that compliment him.

I was excited to see Louisiana Parishes as a topic since I live in Louisiana.  Yes, I got all of them.

[Clanstarling]

I got FJ by taking a spin around the world - and finally decided it had to do with Thomas More, and said Canterbury even though I wasn't entirely sure. Yay!

 

[Shrek]

Maybe they should just do away with the bible questions altogether regardless of what version they specify because religious zealots will always find something to complain about and clues about other make believe characters like the easter bunny, mickey mouse and the cat in a hat are always more fun. 

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm jumping in the shallow end again -- I want Adriana's dress with a lower neckline and minus the belt.

I loved the pattern.  It was kind of paisley but not exactly, and the colors were very flattering.

Last night I learned that apparently I know very few classic rap lyrics.  I did get "mo problems" but that's it.

22 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

nteresting. I think that the only way I have ever read Beowulf has been in Old English. I studied it a few times in different college classes: once in Medieval English Literature, once in the History of English Language, once in The Hero in Literature. We always studied it in Old English. We had translations to work with, of course, but the primary thing we were studying was the poem itself, which is in Old English.

In one of my classes, we read it in Old English but had a translation for reference.  Unlike the high school French class where we were supposed to read L'Etranger in the original language but we were passing around a clandestine English translation amongst ourselves because it was hard.  Didn't like it in either language.

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

You seriously thought they were going to give you the last name in the clue??

Well, they did with Chuzzlewhit, but still,  Washington was Martha's married name, so why would her sister have that last name?  Oy vey.

29 minutes ago, Shrek said:

Maybe they should just do away with the bible questions altogether regardless of what version they specify because religious zealots will always find something to complain about and clues about other make believe characters like the easter bunny, mickey mouse and the cat in a hat are always more fun. 

I wouldn't vote no on this proposal. 😁

FJ was an instaget.  I've been to Canterbury, it's a lovely city.  The cathedral is beautiful and making a visit to the Black Prince's effigy was an absolute must for me.

[SomeTameGazelle]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

What stunned me was Brian immediately and confidently answering Martha Washington for that DD.  You seriously thought they were going to give you the last name in the clue??

Not only that, but it is fairly rare (although not impossible) for a woman's married name to be the same as her sister's maiden name. That said I did not know Martha Washington's maiden name (Dandridge) or Dolley Madison's (Payne; her sister's maiden name was also Payne but her first husband was a Washington).

[possibilities]

I read Les Liaisons Dangereuses in college 40 years ago (in French) and when that clue came up, I knew it was something from the course where I read it, but I wasn't sure if it was that terrible book or one of the others from that course which I also didn't like. So, my studies clearly didn't do me much good over time.

The one thing I retain from that course the most strongly is that books like that, during that time period, were only allowed to be published if they either marched everybody off to jail at the end, or they died of a sexually transmitted disease. 

It makes me laugh, now. There are many things about the world that have not changed over time, but other things definitely have.

[Driad]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

The one thing I retain from that course the most strongly is that books like that, during that time period, were only allowed to be published if they either marched everybody off to jail at the end, or they died of a sexually transmitted disease. 

This reminds me of a quotation:

   A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.'
   That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli, 'whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.'

[ams1001]

May 30:

77% / 47% / 61%

Did pretty well in the first round…missed one in everything except Canon where I missed two. Did terribly in the second round; missed one in Glass, four in Coats of Arms, five in Cannon, and two each in the rest.

No clue for FJ.

TSes: (J had 2 + the DD; DJ had 8) I got Iowa (DD), charisma, and Colon Powell.
 

[Katy M]

I said Harlem. I know nothing about NY.

I got the missed clues of Iowa, charisma, Colin Powell, jaguar, and Romania.

I got the entire category of coats of arms right of all things.

[Browncoat]

I said Skid Row for FJ.  

Despite that, I had a better night than last night, getting the TS of cucumber, Iowa, and millefleur.

[Slade347]

The erasure of Tom Cochrane is unfortunate.

I too said Skid Row for FJ, but I knew it was probably wrong.

Adriana is impressive. I think she could have a decent size run as champion.

 

[ABay]

A missed chance re: Aa-on buh

[SoMuchTV]

10 minutes ago, ABay said:

A missed chance re: Aa-on buh

, sir!

[GreekGeek]

I did not expect to know FJ last night, since I know next to nothing about the world of finance. But as a New Yorker, I got Bowery right away. Joe DiMaggio did ads for the bank in the 70's and 80's.

[MrAtoz]

We'll never know if I would have gotten FJ last night. Jeopardy was pre-empted in my area due to coverage of the Donald Trump verdict, so I watched the episode on YouTube. The video cut directly from Ken introducing the FJ clue to revealing the contestants' answers. It never showed the clue itself, so I had no idea what it was. I'd like to think that I would have gotten it, but I can't be sure.

It is proof that I am not TOTALLY obsessed that I did not immediately pause the video and call up TheJeopardyFan to see the FJ clue, so that I could try to solve it before I watched the results.

[zapper]

On 5/30/2024 at 9:49 AM, proserpina65 said:

I loved the pattern.  It was kind of paisley but not exactly, and the colors were very flattering.

William Morris. I kept thinking William Morris. Big WM fan here.

from the same show, I can't stop building lyrics to my new earworm "don't stop retrieving"

 

Just a small town dog,
living in a world of throw the ball,
...
Don't stop stop retrievin'
Hold that ball with feelin'
....

and so on.

[proserpina65]

Last night wasn't a great game for me, but I was dead chuffed that I ran the Cannons category.

I said Hell's Kitchen for FJ.  The Bowery makes sense, though, since it wasn't much better than a slum when I stayed there in the early 2000s.  (I didn't pick the "hotel" which was more like what you see on episodes of Law & Order than anyplace I'd want to stay.)

On 5/30/2024 at 2:10 PM, possibilities said:

I read Les Liaisons Dangereuses in college 40 years ago

I've never read it but am familiar with the play since Alan Rickman was Valmont in the RSC version years ago.  I, of course, used the title in French, in Alex's honor.

17 hours ago, Slade347 said:

The erasure of Tom Cochrane is unfortunate.

I absolutely hate when that happens.  Credit the song to the person who first made it a hit, damn it.  Tom Cochrane's Life is a Highway, Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, Eric Carmen's All By Myself, etc., unless the clue requires a particular version, which this one did not.

8 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I did not expect to know FJ last night, since I know next to nothing about the world of finance. But as a New Yorker, I got Bowery right away. Joe DiMaggio did ads for the bank in the 70's and 80's.

I jokingly said Brighton Beach, as in the Peoples' Bank of Brighton Beach where all the Russian mobsters launder their money on Law & Order before changing it to my real (wrong) answer.

1 hour ago, zapper said:

William Morris. I kept thinking William Morris. Big WM fan here.

YES!  That's what I was trying to come up with, William Morris.

[GreekGeek]

13 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

 

I jokingly said Brighton Beach, as in the Peoples' Bank of Brighton Beach where all the Russian mobsters launder their money on Law & Order before changing it to my real (wrong) answer.

 

Do they use the money to pay their children's tuition to Hudson University before flying off somewhere on Oceanic Airlines?

[stonehaven]

I had my Jeopardy got pre-empted because of news. I did catch the YT video and I about died laughing when someone guess Third Day as a response to "Semi-Charmed Life".

I loved Third Day. In the 90's ,they were a hot Christian Rock Band who meshed a sound of Black Crowes with Hootie and The Blowfish. They turned more to Hard Rock woworship music in the 2000's and called it quits a few years ago. Now, I need to hear Mac Powell's overly earnest voice attempt Semi Charmed Life. Sigh....

[Bastet]

19 hours ago, Slade347 said:

The erasure of Tom Cochrane is unfortunate.

I yelled at the TV over that one.

I watched with friends, so didn't keep track, but had a fairly good game.  None of us got FJ, although I said and rejected Bowery -- the Bowery came to mind as a NYC slum, but I said that couldn't be it because I'd never heard of a Bowery Bank (nor had anyone else), so none of us had any guesses.

[Katy M]

I said Cook. Which I still think was a better answer than Atilla the Hun.

I got th emissed clues of hue and cry and Alienist.

I got the entire category of hill wrong.

[Browncoat]

I said Cook, also, even though I knew it was wrong.

But I did get the TS of grapes, hue & cry, Midsummer Night's Dream, Clara, Boot Hill, and Buffalo Soldiers.

[ams1001]

May 31:

70% / 57% / 64%

I watched at my parents' house but I felt like I did pretty well in the first round, at least, so I just checked the archive. Not as well as I thought, maybe. In J I ran Fair & Square and Fruit, missed one in Ballet, two in The 60s, and three in Role with the Punches and __&__. In DJ I ran Starts with a Color, missed one in Science-y Books, two in "J" Archive and Black Americans, three in Producer Tags, and five in Hill.

TSes: (J had 4 + the DD; DJ had 5 + 1 DD) I got Clara, A Midsummer Night's Dream, grapes, and hue & cry.

For FJ, my dad pre-guessed Attila the Hun, and then said, "well, it's not Atilla" when the clue was read, so it was pretty funny when the first contestant's response was revealed.

I jokingly said Christopher Columbus, which I knew was wrong, but then Magellan came to me right before the music ended. Yay, me.

[Bastet]

Ken, reading Amy's FJ answer:  What is "Attila the Hun?"  No, that's not correct.
Me:  That's also not "Attila the Hun". 

It's a moot point, because that wasn't the correct response even if properly written, but I value precision, so if I were hosting I'd have said she was presumably attempting to write "Attila the Hun" and didn't quite get there, but it doesn't matter because that's incorrect.  Because if that had been the correct response, she wouldn't have received credit due to how she wrote it.

I missed three in ballet (no surprise), but otherwise had a good first round; I ran '60s, fair & square, and __&__, got all but figs in fruit, and missed two in roles.

In DJ, I missed three each in tags and books, but ran Black Americans, hills, and color, and got all but Jericho in "J".

I had no idea for FJ, though.  I know Cebu is in the Philippines, but I don't know enough about Magellan for that to have helped.

Edited June 1 by Bastet

[Quickbeam]

18 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I did not expect to know FJ last night, since I know next to nothing about the world of finance. But as a New Yorker, I got Bowery right away. Joe DiMaggio did ads for the bank in the 70's and 80's.

I grew up on those ads! 
 

I only got Magellan because my childhood best friend was an exchange student in the Philippines. Otherwise my knowledge of history in that area is sketchy.

Edited June 1 by Quickbeam
More to say!

[ams1001]

11 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I only got Magellan because my childhood best friend was an exchange student in the Philippines. Otherwise my knowledge of history in that area is sketchy.

I read a book about him years ago so his manner of death was floating in my brain somewhere. It took the length of the think music for it to connect to an island and being killed by a native.

Was trying to think of the title; after a brief google, it had to be Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen.

[MrAtoz]

So am I the only one who remembers The Ballad of Magellan, from Animaniacs?

 

[ams1001]

13 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

So am I the only one who remembers The Ballad of Magellan, from Animaniacs?

 

Someone else posted it in the contest thread. I watched Animaniacs in college but I didn't remember this until I saw the video again.

[Prevailing Wind]

I do. I'm the one who posted it in the FJ Contest thread.

[Grizzly]

Will Matthew's arm survive the episode? He looks so stiff. But so far, it's working for him.

[ams1001]

June 3:

77% / 57% / 66%

Did pretty well in the first round…ran Books by Decades and Classic Song Numbers, missed one in Historical Documents and 2+2=1, two in You Had One Job, and three in New York.

Did not well in DJ. Missed one in Animal, Vegetable or Mineral, two in Humanitarians, Celebrity Brands, and Aviation History, and three in Bodies of Water and Starts with J.

No clue for FJ.

TSes: (J had 0; DJ had 5 + 1 DD) I got Skims.

"Following in the footsteps of Jeopardy great Cliff Clavin." 😄

[Katy M]

I said Amherst. I would be hard pressed to name 4 of the 7 sister colleges (before FJ).  Now I also know Bryn Mawr, so I guess i got it up to 7.  And I know not Princeton.

I got the missed clue of Gulf of Aqaba.

I got the entire category of song number right.

[Browncoat]

The only one of the Seven Sisters I could think of in the time allotted was Wellesley, and I knew that was wrong.  I know about Bryn Mawr, but I don't think I knew it was one of the seven.

I didn't get any of the TS, either.  

[Bastet]

Adriana sure likes that belt, doesn't she?  I hated it with her first dress, but liked it with her red one and today's.  I loved today's dress, and would hunt it down and buy it if it had a lower neckline (at least I wouldn't feel strangled by this one, so if I came across it I might buy it anyway; I'll have to check those "worn on TV" sites).  Crawling out of the shallow end, I enjoy her and hope she picks up at least one more win to guarantee a spot in the ToC.  I really liked Carol, too, and was bummed when she got that last DD wrong and just kept going downhill after.

I let out a highly undignified cackle when Kim Kardashian's brand was a TS.  (I knew that one because I'd just seen a [very annoying, go figure] commercial for Skims earlier today; I don't think I'd have remembered otherwise [the only other celebrity brand I knew was Goop, and I wish I didn't!])

I came within one of joining the contestants in getting everything in the first round, but I missed alewife.  Made perfect sense once Ken said it, but I'd never heard it before.

It was a tale of two rounds, though; in DJ, I only ran aviation.  I got all but the Schweitzer TS in humanitarians and all but halite in Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral, but missed three each in the rest.

To end on a high note, I did get FJ; I know all the schools, so ran through them quickly in my head and the only two I thought (correctly, as it turns out; I wasn't sure about Mount Holyoke) have the same name as the city they're in are Wellesley and Bryn Mawr.  I wasn't sure what state the latter is in (I mostly just know Katharine Hepburn went there), but know the former is in MA, so there was no way that was the farthest south -- Bryn Mawr it is.

[Driad]

19 minutes ago, Bastet said:

but I missed alewife

Guessing you don't live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where an alewife is a species of fish, a female tavern owner, a brook, a road, and a subway station.

[Cotypubby]

The guess of Princeton as a women’s only college amused me. 
 

I didn’t get FJ (could only think of Barnard, Wellesley, Smith and Vassar) but at least I know it’s not Princeton! 😆

[Scott]

My four sisters were Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Radcliffe, and, thankfully, Bryn Mawr, although I really wanted to spell it "Brwn".  Didn't know over-Welshing was a thing.  

[kathyk2]

I really liked Carol and I hope if there is a Second Chance tournament she gets invited back. It was great to have a prefect Jeopardy round.

[Bliss]

Confident Carol was a pleasure to watch... and her Princeton response was hilarious.

Adriana is on a roll... hope she makes the ToC.

[PaulaO]

I said Sweet Briar simply because it’s in Virginia.  But I knew deep down it wasn’t a  Seven Sisters school.  Does Radcliffe count even though it no longer exists?