Final Jeopardy: International Literature (2-13-20)
Here are 8 more triple stumpers from the 2/13/2020 Jeopardy! game:
FEBRUARY ($800) John Clare’s poem “February” is all about thawing: “eaves in quick succession drop, where grinning” these “have been”
JUST SAY “N.O.” ($800) It’s a French phrase whose sentiment is that the rich should take care of the poor
THE HORN OF AFRICA ($200) National Geographic called the Danakil this, home to the Horn’s Afar people, “the cruelest place on earth”
($1000) The Horn of Africa is bordered by the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and this body of water that gets its name from a seaport on the coast of Yemen
RELIGIOUS FICTION ($800) Orson Scott Card’s “Women of Genesis” series of novels includes one about these 2 sisters & wives of Jacob
($1200) “The Fifth Mountain” by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho tells of the “whirlwind” life of this biblical prophet
HEAT STREET ($200) Pasta chefs know it’s the common way of saying heat-induced conversion of a liquid to a gas through vaporization
($1200) It’s the transfer of energy from one object to another by electromagnetic waves, like heat traveling from the Sun to the Earth
The players didn’t get any of the clues in OPERA ZINGERS:
($400) Donizetti’s “Maria Stuarda” has lots to say to this other British queen, such as “Figlia impura di Bolena”
($800) “Vile intruder who thou art” are the first words directed to this Mozart seducer
($1200) This Verdi guy’s joking includes suggesting the Count of Ceprano be beheaded since his head is useless on his shoulders
($1600) “You inconsiderate jade” is one of the nicer things said to Polly in this 1728 “opera” that inspired the 20th c. “Threepenny Opera”
($2000) The Wagnerian dwarf Alberich calls these “maidens” “bony fish” who should “take eels for their lovers”
ANSWERS: show
Answers to the Sneak Peek clues — FOOD & DRINK WORDS & PHRASES
($200) Something ill-suited is “not my” this 3-word phrase; I prefer English breakfast
($400) Tread carefully if doing this phrase for being careful not to anger someone (it can use the whole food item or just the shells)
($600) It’s a circular representation of relative percentages making up a whole
($800) To lament a misfortune that can’t be changed or corrected
($1000) This expression means “earn a living”; in an old commercial, it was followed by “fry it up in a pan”
ANSWERS: show
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That opera category showed the extent of the disconnect between my interests and everybody else’s because I knew every opera in the category. I’d even listened to Das Rheingold, the $2,000 question’s opera, earlier that day on the Met Opera station on Sirius.
They’re all reasonably famous operas, though The Beggar’s Opera, despite its title, isn’t usually played in opera houses. The Beggar’s Opera is the first example of a new form, the ballad-opera, in which John Gay took existing folk melodies and some classical themes by composers like Händel and Bononcini, and set new lyrics to them. However, this was no hindrance to me since I’ve loved the play—arguably, the first example of musical theatre—since I was a teenager and saw the movie version with Laurence Olivier. (Not when it was new, I hasten to point out. I’m only in my late 30s. But it was on Bravo back when that station was actually an arts channel.)
It also seems to me that the Bible is usually a blind-spot of most contestants. I knew Jacob’s wives were Rachel and Leah and about Elijah being caught up in the whirlwind and I’m an lifelong atheist. I don’t know if there would have been more triple-stumpers, because they didn’t finish the category, but the fact it was saved until last is probably an indication.
@Nullifidian, I sympathize with the players — opera is one of those categories that I just can’t get a Handel on (pun intended–lol) . I did get The Beggar’s Opera though because of the song Mack the Knife.
Thanks for mentioning the film with Olivier. I will have to see it. I see that Stanley Holloway (Alfred E. Doolittle) is in it, too!
I knew the Final only because I used to buy desiccated beef liver tablets from Argentina at the health food store. So for me it was a NUTRITION Final.
Thanks for posting the Enjoli commercial, VJ, it jarred my memory!
you’re welcome, Rhonda. I never forgot that one — my mom used to do a parody of it 🤣🤣
Today was a good demonstration of why the writers sometimes include “dreaded” in the name of “Opera” categories.
Even though the $400 clue was essentially a British history clue.
Jeopardy promos always have spoiler alerts.
After going 0-for-3 yesterday, we went 3-for-3 on the Daily Double which is a lot better.
It was unfortunate that Josh couldn’t get another win. But still congrats to Brooke on winning the game and to meg on getting final right. Besides, Josh should have at least stayed with his original bet instead of risking losing the game. Hopefully Brooke can break the leader curse and get a streak running. By the way VJ, do you often hear this poem read aloud in libraries or in schools?
I never heard of this poem before today, Lou. The first part of the poem was published in 1872 and the second in 1879 but, according to wikipedia, it took until the 1910s for it to be recognized as a classic.
I had a “Hispanic Anthology” years ago, published by poet and translator Thomas Walsh in 1920. Walsh must not have heard about all that yet. Maybe he never did. He died in 1928. According to him in 1920 anyway, Olegario Victor Andrade was Argentina’s most famous poet. Nothing by Jose Hernandez was in the book. (I gave the book away when I found out it’s on Google Books)