Final Jeopardy: Men at War (2-10-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (2/10/2025) in the category “Men of War” was:
Robert E. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville has been likened to this Greek’s victory at Asculum in 279 BC
Today is the 2nd final match in the 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. The finalists are: Adriana Harmeyer, an archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana; 9x champ Isaac Hirsch, a customer support team lead from Burbank, CA; and Neilesh Vinjamuri, a software engineer from Lionville, PA.
SCORES SO FAR: Adriana 1 Isaac 0 Neilesh 0
Round 1 Categories: Clinky Drinks – Literary Quotations – From “C” to “Y” – Colonial America – Internationally Schooling You – TV Show Change a Letter
Neilesh found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Colonial America” under the $800 clue on the 8th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,400, $200 less than Isaac’s lead. Neilesh bet it all and he was RIGHT.
The Jamestown colony was on land in the territory of this leader whose empire spanned more than a dozen tribes show
Neilesh finished in the lead with $7,000. Isaac was second with $4,800 and Adriana was last with $4,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Before, During & After – Life Science – Bach to the Future – South America – The Andys – The Not-a-Comma Desert
Adriana found the first Daily Double in “Before, During & After” under the $1,200 clue on the 4th pick of the round. She was in second place with $6,000, $4,200 less than Neilesh’s lead. Adriana bet $3,000 and led off with the play title so she was WRONG.
Timeless Tevye tune that mentions Superman’s nickname & his favorite type of abrasive scouring pad show
Neilesh found the last Daily Double in “South America” under the $1,200 clue on the 16th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $14,600, $3,400 more than Isaac in second place. Neilesh boldly bet all of it and he was RIGHT.
Located on the lower slopes of the volcano Pinchincha, this city is the South American capital closest to the equator show
Neilesh finished in the lead with $31,600. Isaac was second with $18,800 and Adriana was last with $5,400. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS PYRRHUS?
According to the Etymology Online, the phrase “Pyrrhic victory” came into use around 1885, meaning “success obtained at too great a cost.” That’s what happened to King Pyrrhus of Epirus at the Battle of Asculum in 279 B.C.E., and also to Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville. They both won their battles but the victories were hollow due to the amount of lives lost. Both of these battles made History.com’s list of 5 Famous Pyrrhic Victories.
Pyrrhic meaning “dance in armor” is also the name given to a Greek war dance, which started out as a means of military training.
Adriana thought it was Hannibal. She bet nothing so her score remained $5,400.
Isaac wrote down Pyrrhis, which was acceptable. He bet $18,600 and finished with $37,200.
Neilesh got it right, too. He bet $6,001 and won the game with $37,601. So this point goes to Neilesh and we can add another game to the finals.
FINISH LINE: Adriana 1 Isaac 0 Neilesh 1
2 triple stumpers from the first round:
CLINKY DRINKS ($800) In 1883 a bartender told the Chicago Tribune that his patrons preferred this American whiskey to bourbon in their old-fashioned
COLONIAL AMERICA ($600) The growth of colonial governments was aided by the British policy of lax oversight called “salutary” this
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “WORDS FROM WORLD WAR I”
“Cistern” & “reservoir” were suggested names for a secret invention, but the British preferred this less clumsy monosyllable show
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Usually the ToC clues are, for the most part, way out of my comfort zone. But tonight I was lapping up most of those $1000 and $2000 clues, and a good share of the cheaper ones. FJ got me, but in hindsight I understood the analogy. Shocked myself by getting all 3 DDs. “Fiddler” is one of my favorite musicals, though it took me a few seconds to determine which song the DD referred to.
Ballsy DD wager by Neilish. He seemed to rock E-W less tonight, but also turned his back on the camera at the end of 2nd round. I’m calling him the favorite to win the title. Isaac consistently showed frustration when Neilish out-buzzed him.
I knew the $2000 Before, etc clue, but I don’t see it listed here as a stumper. Or did someone get it? I was too busy shouting out the answer to notice.
It was another terrific Jeopardy game, and Adriana did not emerge as the champion this time around. Actually, it didn’t help her situation much after she bet heavily, but flubbed a DD. Anyways, I went with ‘Alexander the Great’ for FJ which wasn’t such a bad choice (IMHO). Pyrrhus? I can hardly spell nor pronounce the name. Well, I’ll have to feed that name into the Pronunciation Check.
Pyrrhus: It’s pronounced as ‘Paris’ (as in the French capital).
I contend that the first syllable is pronounced as if it were a short “i,” as in “him.” I’ve never heard the word pronounced any other way. Wikipedia shows the first syllable as a phonetic PIRR.
0/3 on DD, but got FJ. However, was not confident.
I almost got the before during after DD, but didn’t think of the Fiddler song.
Good on Neilish. His moving all the time has diminished somewhat. They don’t have to move the camera to keep him in the picture.
Funny, I was 3/3 and missed FJ. Maybe we should be joined at the hip and try out for the show under your name. Know any good surgeons? 🙂
“When in doubt, cut it out!” – Surgeon’s mantra
I think Isaac’s response of Pyrrhis should be added to the spelling list decisions. It is phonetically correct with any vowel and it does not change the pronunciation.