Final Jeopardy: Word History (10-5-15)

The Final Jeopardy question (10/5/2015) in the category “Word History” was:

From the Latin for “buy back”, it once referred to buying a slave’s freedom & today can refer to being saved from sin.

6x champ Matt Jackson returns today, $166,401 richer than he was on September 24th. His first opponents this week are: Amanda Brock, from Champaign, IL; and Ben Rudd, from Minneola, FL. Will they be his last? Let’s find out:

Round 1: Matt found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Medical AKAs” under the $1,000 clue before the first break. He was in the lead with $2,800, $800 more than Ben in second place. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.

Tetanus is also called this, typically the first sign of the disease. show

WHAT IS LOCKJAW?

Matt finished in the lead with $11,400. Ben was second with $4,600 and Amanda was last with $2,000.

Round 2: Matt found the first Daily Double in “Women Artists” under the $1,200 clue, the first pick in that category. He was in the lead with $21,400, $14,800 ahead of Ben in second place. He bet $6,000 and came up with “Still Alice.” That was WRONG.

Seen with one of her paintings, that’s the real Margaret Keane, whose story was told in this 2014 film. show

WHAT IS “BIG EYES”?

Matt found the last Daily Double in “Don’t Drink the Water” under the $2,000 clue. With $18,200, he now had an $11,600 lead over Ben in second place. He bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.

In 1969 Time said “Chocolate-brown, oily… it oozes rather than flows” after this Ohio River caught fire. show

WHAT IS THE CUYAHOGA?

Matt scored another runaway, finishing with $24,200. Ben was next with $10,200 and Amanda was in third place with $7,600.

TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS TO REDEEM or REDEMPTION?

Arlev.co.uk has an informative article on the word “redemption” that explains “Like a lot of words within today’s Church, Redemption has come to be used as a specifically religious term, but in ancient times it was primarily secular – a word that was in everyday usage – and, then, secondarily, it was used to describe God’s dealings with mankind….” It summarizes the concept of redemption with this sentence: “the action of the redeemer by paying the ransom effected freedom from bondage, a release.”

There is also an 1883 book about Henry Ward Beecher that you can check out on Google Books that has letters from the 1840s mentioning the “ransom” and “redemption” of slaves in connection with his famous auctions. Because he was a preacher, there are ample examples of the spiritual sense of the word as well.

Amanda got it right with redeem. She bet $2,000 and finished with $9,600.

Ben thought it was repent. He lost half his $10,200, finishing with $5,100.

Matt also got it right with redemption. He didn’t bet anything but then again, he didn’t have to. His winning total for this match remained $24,200. His 7-day total rose to $190,601 and that puts him at the top of the TOC list with $10,200 more than Greg Seroka’s 7-day total, but we’re not putting Matt on our list till his streak is over. Who knows — at this rate, he might still be playing when they begin taping the Tournament of Champions.

During the chat, Matt told Alex how his grandfather, Barnett Berman, was a great influence in inspiring his love of learning. Although a physician, his grandfather studied widely and valued learning for its own sake. He instilled that love in Matt, who also got his middle name from his grandpa.

2 years ago:: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Toys”

A caveman-themed game in which “rocks” were thrown at other players led to the creation of this product in 1969. show

WHAT IS A NERF BALL?

We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made from Amazon.com links at no cost to our visitors. Learn more: Affiliate Disclosure.