Final Jeopardy: Poetic Objects (11-17-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (11/17/2025) in the category “Poetic Objects” was:
In a British poem, this is “raddled with Napoleon’s paint. Nose eaten by a less clear conqueror”
4x champ Harrison Whitaker, a researcher orig. from Terre Haute, IN, racked up $116,600 last week. In Game 5, he’s up against: Lawrence Suba, a technical software trainer from Verona, WI; and Rachel Bernstein, a teacher from Los Angeles, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Never Have I Ever – Second Novels – No Time to Say the Whole Word – Their Main Instrument – That’s Bull! – Happy 250th Anniversary, USPS
Rachel found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “That’s Bull” under the $1,000 clue on the 19th pick of the round. She was in last place with $200, $8,600 less than Harrison’s lead. Rachel bet the $1,000 allowance and she was RIGHT.
From a 1521 Papal Bull excommunicating Martin Luther: “He has been declared a” this, something you never want the Pope to call you show
Harrison finished in the lead with $11,200. Rachel was second with $2,200 and Lawrence was last with $1,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Weirdly Named Conflicts – 4-Syllable Words – This is Not a Safe Space – Movie Monologues – The South Pacific – Tenacious, Thee
Harrison found the first Daily Double in “Weirdly Named Conflict” under the $1,600 clue on the 4th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $15,200 now, $13,000 more than Rachel in second place. Harrison bet $4,800 and he was RIGHT.
Part of this numerical clash, the 1760s Fantastic War had no major battles – just troop movements when Spain invaded Portugal show
Harrison got the last Daily Double in “The South Pacific” under the $2,000 clue on the 16th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $28,800 now, $19,800 more than Rachel in second place. Harrison bet $1,200 and he was RIGHT.
James Cook’s dad was a migrant from Scotland, so it’s little surprise he named an island ‘New’ this, for dad’s homeland show
Harrison finished in the lead with a runaway $35,200. Rachel was in second place with $13,000 and Lawrence was last with $600. All clues were shown.
ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS THE SPHINX”?
“Four Legs, Two Legs, Three Legs” is a poem by Sir William Empson (1906–1984), an English literary critic and poet. It’s about the Egyptian Sphinx and the mythical Sphinx that posed the 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 legs at night riddle to Oedipus. Empsom starts off with a reference to the Greek crossroads where Oedipus killed his father. Then he switches to Egypt and “The wrecked girl, still raddled with Napoleon’s paint. Nose eaten by a less clear conqueror.” In explanatory notes, Empsom says he thought the Sphinx in Egypt had a pathetic look that didn’t match up with ideas of sinister mystery. He also thought that solving the mythical Sphinx’s riddle brought Oedipus bad luck. You can read the poem (pg 55) and his notes (pg 105) at the Internet Archive if you want to figure all that out.
Empsom also acknowledged in the notes that “it is denied” that a cannon-shot of Napoleon’s broke the Sphinx’s nose. For more about that, watch Napoleon and the Sphinx on YouTube.
Lawrence $500 and finished with $1,100.
Rachel bet $11,799 and finished with $24,799.
Harrison bet $9,199 and won the game with $44,399, the highest one-day Season 42 total so far, but who knows? Harrison may top that himself this very week. Harrison’s 5-day total is $160,999.
A triple stumper from each round:
4-SYLLABLE WORDS ($2000) MRIs are part of this science that specifically studies the absorption of light & radiation by matter
THIS IS NOT A SAFE SPACE ($800) A type of star in a binary system that sucks the gas & plasma from its companion star is appropriately named after this creature
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “U.S. PRESIDENTS”
7 U.S. Presidents were born in the state of Ohio, beginning with this man who entered West Point in 1839 show
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Not my night. I was repeatedly stumped. I did know where the 2024 surfing took place.
This game was over early, but props to Rachel for a strong finish after that early Jack Benny gaffe. Harrison’s daily average win is getting to close to Ken’s, which I believe was in the $33K range.
Wow, what a runaway for Harrison, and he sure cashed in. Well, I started out slow during the regular Jeopardy, but picked up speed in DJ. As for the FJ, I had no idea at all, and was actually surprised that all three contestants came up with the correct response.
The last time someone won that much money in 5 games is Troy Meyer in 2023. Harrison Whitaker is now qualified for the TOC but he will be competing in Season 43’s TOC in 2027 because today they revealed the field for the 2025-26 postseason for Second Chance, Champions Wildcard, and the Tournament of Champions.
I was 1/3 on DD and got FJ.
So, I wonder how long Harrison has lived in northern England, or if he does still live there.
Just seems a bit odd that he’s “originally from Terre Haute.” As I recall, when you go on a show you can be identified by your current residence or an “original” one. His swaying is a bit off-putting.
It’s not as bad as Ray, but I know what you mean. When I see the camera moving, that tells me it’s the contestant. Who was that poor sport from 4-5 years ago, who was all over the place, like leaning on the podium with his chin in his palm. He was the guy who put his head down on the podium when he lost, and wouldn’t engage after the game. That might have been in a tournament.