Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[bythelake]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

Still you got the correct answer which was quite a feat! 

I got plumbago as well and was surprised that Claire didn’t make the lead (Pb) connection. 

I like Claire because of her love of Latin which I also love, but am impressed with Larry’s diverse knowledge.

[DXD526]

That was the most ridiculous FJ I've ever seen. I thought I was being dim for not coming up with it, but when I heard the answer, I knew I could have sat there for hours and not gotten it.

Also rooting for Claire. Remember, Buzzy was in third place after the first day of the ToC and came back to win, so it can be done! Larry is a bit of a steamroller, but so was Austin...

[peeayebee]

12 hours ago, SHD said:

Well, now I know why lead is Pb in the Periodic Table. I should've paid more (any) attention in my high school chemistry class.

PB are my initials. Maybe I should adopt plumbum as a nickname.

I just googled plumbago the plant. I was surprised to see that it's what we had in our backyard when I was little. Sticky blue flowers.

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I just googled plumbago the plant. I was surprised to see that it's what we had in our backyard when I was little. Sticky blue flowers.

If only you had googled that flower when you were little ...

[PaulaO]

According to MW, plumbago is an archaic word for lead or graphite.  Why would the writers do such a thing? 

[ChromaKelly]

I actually was thinking of PB/plumb=lead, but I could not think of a synonym for graphite or lead pencil, let alone anything that had to do with back conditions. I even paused the show to think, which I rarely do because it feels like cheating, but I gave up.

[SHD]

I was especially thrown by FJ because the clue didn't specify that the "P" was added to the front of the word.  So my mind was racing through back issues and trying to figure out where a "P" could be inserted in each.

[ClareWalks]

Trebek can fuck right off with his braggy "wow, I can't believe you guys thought that was tough" shit. The only time I have even heard the word "lumbago" is in the movie Grumpy Old Men, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it joke. Never in a trillion years heard the term "plumbago." 

[proserpina65]

That was a really tough FJ.  I did like Claire's answer of pscoliosis, though.

[Driad]

Is it possible that the writers are aware of viewer complaints that teachers' tournament questions are too easy, so they decided to throw in a monkey wrench?  

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

Oh my gods, I laughed so hard at Alex correcting the TS/wrong answers in the Hip Hop category as if he knew the answers.  As if, Alex.

Well, to be fair, he does, but only because they're on the card in front of him.

 

16 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

I've actually heard the term, somewhere in the back of my brain!  Read it in some book sometime in my life.  BTW, Plumbago is also a plant, possibly named for its lead-colored flowers.

I knew the word sounded familiar.

[Kathira]

46 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Trebek can fuck right off with his braggy "wow, I can't believe you guys thought that was tough" shit. The only time I have even heard the word "lumbago" is in the movie Grumpy Old Men, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it joke. Never in a trillion years heard the term "plumbago." 

Alex got a case of "easy if you know it" disease. I teach a class where I talk to the students about what constitues plagiarism and the idea of what's "common knowledge" is a tough one. I always tell them that just because you know something doesn't mean it's common knowledge and doesn't have to be cited. I'm going to have to start giving examples from Jeopardy.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Kathira

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, PaulaO said:

According to MW, plumbago is an archaic word for lead or graphite.

Then I suppose we should be thankful Alex didn't tell the contestants it was before their time.

[Mindthinkr]

47 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Then I suppose we should be thankful Alex didn't tell the contestants it was before their time.

Drink!! 

[Prevailing Wind]

Once the correct response was revealed, I started thinking about Lum's. Remember that restaurant, with its hot dogs steamed in beer? I could go for a Lum's dinner tonight...

[ABay]

I got as far as "Lumbar? Plumbar?" and gave up.

I would say that I love mythology as a category but the writers and I have read completely different versions of Greek myths. There are multiple versions, and I've read a lot, but I still end up thinking WTF? Is that some twist on the story that's only told in one of the writer's ya ya's home village?

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Then I suppose we should be thankful Alex didn't tell the contestants it was before their time.

Then he would have to acknowledge that he is ancient.

[GrannySmith]

Today at the garden store, I came across Plumbago, aka Leadwort. Who knew?

[Browncoat]

Well, from one FJ that I never would have gotten, to one that I got right away -- it came to me so quickly and easily that it seemed wrong and I tried my hardest to think of any other possibility.  I stuck with my original impulse in the end, though.

I don't think I've ever heard a kitchen like that called a Pullman kitchen.  Galley kitchen, yes, but not Pullman. 

The only TS I got were de Winter and France.  Rebecca is one of my favorite books, and it made me kind of sad that none of them knew de Winter.

Boo hiss that Claire didn't win.

[CarpeDiem54]

Salve, praetor!  I'm sorry Claire didn't win.  Boo hiss at Larry and his stupid story where he wouldn't tell who he was talking about.  Prat.

The only TS I got was den.

FJ was an instaget.

[Kathira]

Yeesh, from a virtually impossible FJ to a too easy one. Claire made a smart bet, aiming for 2nd place. I'm glad she got that anyway. I got Gettysburg College, but the literary last names stumped me, too.

 

Yay, back to the regular game next week and board favorite Josh (not to jinx him, of course.)

Edited May 19, 2018 by Kathira

[YoureSoUrban]

Yaaaay Larry! I called from his first game that he'd go all the way. It was nice how they all hugged at the end of a very competitive final.

10 minutes ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Boo hiss at Larry and his stupid story where he wouldn't tell who he was talking about.  Prat.

I'm glad I don't listen to the stories and missed this ;-)

[GrannySmith]

When there was one clue left in the Vice President category, Mr. Granny and I both called out Agnew before the clue was read. 

[saber5055]

For some reason, I thought FJ was asking for a river so I was thinking of rivers in the U.S. and Europe. So I said the Shannon. In my defense, it's 230 miles long and there are Catholics in Ireland.

Obviously, I'm old and pixellated, bordering on amnesia. Although I guess that's called Alzheimer's these days. I hope that makes you feel guilty if you pointed and laughed.

Nice happy ending to the tournament. I thought all players did well, and congrats to the champ. How do you say that in Latin?

44 minutes ago, Kathira said:

Yay, back to the regular game next week and board favorite Josh (not to jinx him, of course.)

None of us here liked Josh, remember? He is clearly an UN-favorite. (cough)

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Rebecca is one of my favorite books, and it made me kind of sad that none of them knew de Winter.

Mine too, and me too.

47 minutes ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

The only TS I got was den.

I'd never heard of a bachelor den. Until today.

Edited May 19, 2018 by saber5055

[lb60]

27 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

For some reason, I thought FJ was asking for a river so I was thinking of rivers in the U.S. and Europe. So I said the Shannon. In my defense, it's 230 miles long and there are Catholics in Ireland.

I was also thinking river, so I came up with Delaware.  Quakers = Pennsylvania, but I couldn't quite figure out the Catholic part. Then I just gave up, much like last night.  lol

My only TS last night was low emission vehicle.  Tonight, I only got den.

36 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

None of us here liked Josh, remember? He is clearly an UN-favorite. (cough)

Yup!  Can't stand the guy.  <wink, wink>

[DrScottie]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I don't think I've ever heard a kitchen like that called a Pullman kitchen.  Galley kitchen, yes, but not Pullman. 

The only TS I got were de Winter and France.  Rebecca is one of my favorite books, and it made me kind of sad that none of them knew de Winter.

Boo hiss that Claire didn't win.

I got the Pullman kitchen because my mother watches home improvement / renovation shows all day and it's always on when I go see her. It was probably too big of a lead to overcome, but I would have liked to have seen Claire wager more on the DDs. You could tell she wished she bet more on the Hispaniola clue. 

I did get Rebecca de Winter as I had watched the Masterpiece Theatre version of it. 

I also got Lolita's last name of Haze too. 

[Brookside]

I'm sorry, but Larry/Mr. Rogers/Tully looked so uninterested throughout I can't imagine how he engaged his students. 

[Bastet]

Larry has an impressive range of knowledge, so I am not surprised he won.  He bugged me in today's interview segment, though. 

This was the best Teacher’s Tournament in a while; the dumbed-down clues in recent years were offensive as hell (and then sometimes the contestants still embarrassed themselves!).

BUT:  Identify this highlighted country the map, as a DD, in DJ, of a tournament championship game?!  The mother sauces clue was over-valued, too, but that one was ridiculous. 

I don’t know how anyone says Aaron Burr normally rather than as if they had a mouth full of peanut butter.

Didn’t the Dutch Elm Disease clue ask for “this tree,” not the disease?  If so, that’s another one that fits my imprecision peeve.  (Any other Designing Women fans laugh every time there's a reference to Dutch Elm Disease?  I always hear it in Julia's voice.)

[GreekGeek]

Quote

congrats to the champ. How do you say that in Latin?

Gratulationes victori.

I missed the game tonight, but looked up FJ on thejeopardyfan.com. What story did Larry tell that annoyed you all?

[Brookside]

11 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Gratulationes victori.

I missed the game tonight, but looked up FJ on thejeopardyfan.com. What story did Larry tell that annoyed you all?

The kind of story you tell when you're trying to get your grandchild to sleep.

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I don't think I've ever heard a kitchen like that called a Pullman kitchen.  Galley kitchen, yes, but not Pullman. 

I'd never heard of a Pullman kitchen either, though it was easy to figure out from the clue. Is it the same thing as a galley kitchen?

The only TS I got was de Winter.

Hey, whaddya know! Alex did NOT do an impression Groucho when he read that clue. What's the opposite of taking a drink?

[LilWharveyGal]

52 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I don’t know how anyone says Aaron Burr normally rather than as if they had a mouth full of peanut butter.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who will forever think of him as Aawaa Buhh.

[bythelake]

The clue about the college in Pa.that was a field hospital during the Civil War should have been an instaget. Although there were several battles in Pa., the one that most people know is Gettysburg.The college was right in the thick of things and troops from both sides marched on its grounds on the way to battle. I was surprised that Claire missed that one. 

I’m happy Larry won, he was the most well rounded, but I do agree he’s either extremely laid back, or seriously anemic.He showed little emotion or enthusiasm.

[ChicagoCita]

I'm so proud of me! My life went a little nuts in mid-February, and didn't get back to a routine until the beginning of May. Of course my DVR kept on steadily chugging along, recording Jeopardy every day. I had something like 48 episodes unwatched.

And as much as I wanted to check in here, I didn't want to be spoiled.

Last night I caught up! I didn't watch the tournaments, and that helped. As of Monday, I can play with the cool kids on this forum again.

Edited May 19, 2018 by ChicagoCita

[Mystery Author]

I like Larry. He was calm, knew his shit, and didn't make too many off-the-wall guesses---and I think he'll do okay in the TOC. But I don't like Josh <wink-wink>

Quote

For some reason, I thought FJ was asking for a river

So did Mr. Author. I said M&D line. I think it was because of the "history" part of the clue since I suck at geography.

Nevertheless, Mr. Author was impressed. I have to correct something. Last week (I think it was last week) I said the winner buys dinner. I meant the loser, of course.

But even when I lose, I win!

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, bythelake said:

The clue about the college in Pa.that was a field hospital during the Civil War should have been an instaget. Although there were several battles in Pa., the one that most people know is Gettysburg.The college was right in the thick of things and troops from both sides marched on its grounds on the way to battle. I was surprised that Claire missed that one. 

I suspect it was more that people may not know there's a college in Gettysburg, and concentrate on the "college in PA" part of the clue more than the "Civil War field hospital" part.  Because you're right -- I don't know off the top of my head of any other battles in PA besides Gettysburg.

[GreekGeek]

8 hours ago, peeayebee said:

 

Hey, whaddya know! Alex did NOT do an impression Groucho when he read that clue. What's the opposite of taking a drink?

Doing a spit take? 

[teebax]

8 hours ago, bythelake said:

The clue about the college in Pa.that was a field hospital during the Civil War should have been an instaget. Although there were several battles in Pa., the one that most people know is Gettysburg.The college was right in the thick of things and troops from both sides marched on its grounds on the way to battle. I was surprised that Claire missed that one. 

I’m happy Larry won, he was the most well rounded, but I do agree he’s either extremely laid back, or seriously anemic.He showed little emotion or enthusiasm.

I agree. The year in the clue should have led her to the Civil War. I was stunned when she missed ir. 

[Trey]

I thought that was a pretty good tournament.  I was rooting for Claire but didn't really have high hopes that she would win, so I'm glad she at least got second.

My only ts was den.

Did not get FJ.  I thought the answer would be a river and the only river I know of  in Pennsylvania is the Allegheny so  I went with that.  If the Mason-Dixon line had entered my head I would have gone with that.

[Roaster]

14 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Boo hiss at Larry and his stupid story where he wouldn't tell who he was talking about.  Prat.

I'm guessing LeBron James.

Larry said he was one of the most famous men on the planet.  He spoke to the girl on the phone, so he is probably a native English speaker.  That rules out the most famous soccer players.  Larry said he did not finish high school because he "had to go play" - play implies something other than track so that rules out Usain Bolt.  Tiger Woods went to college, so not him.  Probably someone who plays one of the major US pro sports.  NFL players all went to college.  Could be a baseball player, I suppose.  But I guess LeBron.

[saber5055]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I suspect it was more that people may not know there's a college in Gettysburg, and concentrate on the "college in PA" part of the clue more than the "Civil War field hospital" part.

I've even been there and didn't know there was a Gettysburg College. I do know where Jack In The Boxes are though. (Or is that Jacks In The Box?)

10 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

I like Larry. He was calm, knew his shit, and didn't make too many off-the-wall guesses---and I think he'll do okay in the TOC. But I don't like Josh <wink-wink>

This. I'll take calm Larry over Dancing Jennifer and Look At Me Austin every day of the week. I never pay too much attention to the stories, although I remember Larry's was longer than normal. What it was about? Who knows. I did catch that Claire only got a "That's good" from Alex, so no drink. *bummer*

10 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

But even when I lose, I win!

This cracked me up. Congrats on your newest book!

12 hours ago, ChicagoCita said:

Last night I caught up! I didn't watch the tournaments, and that helped. As of Monday, I can play with the cool kids on this forum again.

I wondered where you've been. Welcome back! Cubs play today on teevee!

13 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'd never heard of a Pullman kitchen either, though it was easy to figure out from the clue.

Add me to that Never Heard Of It list, although the clue gave the answer away, thank you very much writers.

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Gratulationes victori.

Now how do you say "thank you" in Latin?

Edited May 19, 2018 by saber5055

[zoey1996]

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Gratulationes victori.

I missed the game tonight, but looked up FJ on thejeopardyfan.com. What story did Larry tell that annoyed you all?

It didn't annoy me at all.  Glad Larry won; liked Claire and Steve too, so I would have been happy if any of them had won.  But since I'm a Kansas native, and his school is in Kansas, I had to cheer for Larry the most!

I also thought the FJ was asking for a river.  I'll have to look it up; I already deleted my recording.

[Trey]

Here is the wording of the FJ clue:

GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY

230 miles long, it defined a boundary between a colony founded by Quakers & one founded by Catholics.

It didn't really indicate a river but that is where your mind is likely to go when something is 230 miles long.

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Now how do you say "thank you" in Latin?

Gratias ago.

[DXD526]

The fact that the FJ clue said "it" and not "this river" led me to think it wasn't a river, which led me to Mason-Dixon Line. I was far from certain I was right, though. 

It didn't bother me that Larry wouldn't name the athlete, I can see why he wouldn't want to tell the world somebody can't spell. But why tell the story at all? It only leads everybody to speculate on what famous athlete can't spell. 

[opus]

52 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

But why tell the story at all? It only leads everybody to speculate on what famous athlete can't spell. 

You may have answered your own question :)

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, DXD526 said:

It only leads everybody to speculate on what famous athlete can't spell. 

But it's better than leaving a puppy to die at the top of a pyramid.

[Pallida]

I was a bit annoyed by Larry’s interview for a different reason than those stated earlier. I’ve taught Division I athletes as a graduate student, and they were consistently thoughtful students, but they weren’t always grammatically correct. Some of them come from under-resourced homes AND communities, and training at that high of a caliber takes a lot of time. Yes, grammar is part of communicating effectively, but I don’t find it cute to belittle an athlete, especially one who took the time to be interviewed and was thoughtful enough to respond more thoroughly by email. 

[DXD526]

Quote

You may have answered your own question

But what's the point of that? It seems kind of mean.

[Clanstarling]

On 5/17/2018 at 1:21 PM, saber5055 said:

I believe Big Boy is known more as a sit-down place, like a Village Inn or IHOP type. They do have different names though. It was Frisch's Big Boy in Ohio where I went to college, then Bob's Big Boy other places which confused me as I was used to calling it just Frisch's. All have the iconic red-checkered-pants-wearing Big Boy statue though, which is really cool. And there's a great history behind The Boy statue as well. Too much to put here! Big Boy is only in four or five states I think.

My last bag of White Castle sliders was rather disappointing, so I'm over it. However, I believe WC was the inventor of The Slider, so there's that! Every place has them now. (Copy cats.)

My husband knew it as Frisch's (Ohio too), I knew it as Bob's Big Boy in California  (at the time, the hamburger was so big - to me - that I'd squash it down and everyone would laugh at me). You know, back when the quarter pounder was a big burger.

I do not get the fascination with White Castle. The one time I ate them, I thought "oh, school lunch hamburgers" <ducks>

Someone upthread was talking about Carls Jr/Hardee's, speculating that the name Hardee's would go away now that they're advertising both. Out here they're Carl's Jr, and I'd only recently heard the Hardee's name attached. Last night I saw the first commercial with just one name - Hardee's.

 

On 5/17/2018 at 3:15 PM, saber5055 said:

I WANT THIS!

I've been  to Shoney's in the south. Another BB connection!

Great link, PW. I liked this sentence from that page: "I told my wife, years ago, what I really wanted more than anything else was a huge, fiberglass dinosaur. I want to put one down at the pond." It reminded me of the big green brontosaurus "Dino" that the old Sinclair stations had. One was on I80 in Iowa; I always looked for it, and it remained after the station closed and became something else. Then I went past last month and Dino was gone. I hope he's in West Virginia!

I had a blow-up doll version of Dino from a Sinclair station that was taller than I was (to be fair, I've always been a shrimp). I was so sad when he developed a leak - possibly from my using him as a punching bag.
 

On 5/17/2018 at 7:36 PM, Bastet said:

The LEV clue (in the auto abbreviations category) being a TS surprised me a bit, given the wording of the clue.  I got O2S, too, but that no one could come up with what the S stood for didn’t give me pause because I felt like you kind of had to know what it does (which is what the clue described) to know that was the S in question.  Low-emission vehicle seemed like something one of them would have reasoned their way to, though, based on V=vehicle being a pretty quick deduction, and then low-emission somewhat easy to come up with as something LE that would be environmentally friendly.

I had no idea for FJ, got a kick out of "pache" as an answer, and then laughed out loud at "scoliosis with a p in front."

I only figured out LEV recently, when I realized I could actually park my car in the reserved spot at the medical clinic. I also came up with pscoliosis - but dismissed it.

23 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'd never heard of a Pullman kitchen either, though it was easy to figure out from the clue. Is it the same thing as a galley kitchen?

I heard "long and narrow" and said galley. Then when they mentioned railroads, I still said galley, thinking maybe there was someone named Galley associated. Then, just before the buzzer, said Pullman - but did not believe it was right.

20 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

So did Mr. Author. I said M&D line. I think it was because of the "history" part of the clue since I suck at geography.

This was the first time Mr. Starling was all "HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THAT" and then noticed I was completely blank (same with geography). He lead me along the path, I came up with a river (the Schuylkill)  and finally said M&D line. Never would have gotten there without the mister.

10 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I've even been there and didn't know there was a Gettysburg College. I do know where Jack In The Boxes are though. (Or is that Jacks In The Box?)

 

Eh, just say JITBs, and avoid the question altogether.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Clanstarling