Final Jeopardy: Military Slang (5-21-20)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (5/21/2020) in the category “Military Slang” was:

This word for high-ranking officials comes from a metal used in 19th century military insignia

New champ Nathan Berger, a restaurateur & sommelier from Portland, ME, won $11,999 yesterday. In Game 2, the challengers are: Michelle Kanter Cohen, a voting rights attorney from Silver Spring, MD; and Shawn Buell, a civil engineer from Zachary, LA.

Round 1 Categories: Drink Up: It’s Thirst-day – Geography – Channel That Abbrev. – Facts & Figures – “Ye” Old – Story of Myth

Nathan found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Geography” under the $800 clue, with 9 clues to go after it. He was in third place with $1,000, $1,200 less than Shawn’s lead. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.

If you’re on Nevis & have business at Government House, you need to go to this nearby island. show

WHAT IS ST. KITTS?

Shawn finished in the lead with $7,400. Michelle was second with $2,400 and Nathan was last with $2,000.

Round 2 Categories: Sold! At Sotheby’s – Run on Sentences – Highways – Words That Rhyme – Boss Hog – Them Duke Boys!

Nathan found the first Daily Double in “Words That Rhyme” under the $1,600 clue on the 4th pick. He was in a second place tie with Michelle. They both had $2,800, $4,600 less than Shawn’s lead. He bet $800 and struggled with it. He finally came up with “cheap” and “greet” but that was WRONG.

Adjective for lowly labor & warmly affable or agreeable. show

WHAT ARE MENIAL & GENIAL?

Shawn landed on the last Daily Double in “Highways” under the $1,600 clue on the 15th pick. In the lead with $11,400, he had $6,200 more than Michelle in second place. He bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.

The Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Highway connects Feng-Shan & Keelung on this island. show

WHAT IS TAIWAN?

Shawn finished in the lead with $18,800. Michelle was next with $12,400 and Nathan was in third place with $5,600.

ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS BRASS? (TOP BRASS also accepted)

The Free Dictionary has this entry for the idiom “the top brass”: “The highest-ranking officials or executives in an organization. The expression is generally thought to come from the late-nineteenth-century British army, when senior officers had gold oak leaves decorating the brim of their caps.

“John Ciardi, however, proposed another etymology, from the cocked hat worn by French officers in Napoleon’s time, which was folded and carried under the arm (in French, chapeaux à bras) while indoors; Ciardi believed the British changed bras to brass, and referred to officers as brass hats. By World War II both that term and top brass were in common use and afterward were transferred to peacetime officialdom as well. Thus, ‘The top police brass spreads out a hot carpet for the local cops’ (Philadelphia Bulletin, 1949).” They cited “The Dictionary of Clichés” by Christine Ammer as the source for that information.

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Nathan didn’t bet a brass penny. He remained at $5,600.

Michelle got it with “top brass.” She bet $400 and finished with $12,800.

Shawn bet $6,001 and won the game with $24,801. Shawn Buell is the new Jeopardy! champ.

A triple stumper from each round:

STORY OF MYTH ($600) This god of love fell in love with the mortal Psyche, of whom his mom Venus was jealous

BOSS HOG ($2000) Zhu Bajie or “Pigsy” is an animal guide helping Tripitaka in the 16th century Chinese epic known as “Journey to” here

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “Geographic Terms”:

For a link between oceans, the U.S. signed an 1859 treaty with Mexico giving us rights to this 2-syllable strip of land “of Tehuantepec” show

WHAT IS AN ISTHMUS?

Click here to leave well wishes and prayers for Alex Trebek for continuing success in his battle against cancer. There’s also a link to where you can make a donation to pancreatic cancer research in his honor.