Final Jeopardy: Word Origins (5-6-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (5/6/2025) in the category “Word Origins” was:
Fittingly, this adjective describing a hit-you-in-the-gut kind of feeling goes back to a Latin word for internal organs
5x champ Ben Ganger, a data analyst from Goshen, IN, has punched his ticket to the Tournament of Champions and won $105,915 in the process. In Game 6, his challengers are: Sarah Gillis, a mortgage loan processor from Asbury Park, NJ; and Keegan Olson, a consultant from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Round 1 Categories: My Cup Runneth Over – Oscar Hosts – Metaphors Be With You – Howdy, Neighbor! – Just Moved in? – We’re the Carp Family
Sarah found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Howdy, Neighbor!” under the $800 on the 10th pick of the round. She was in second place with $1,400, $400 less than Ben’s lead. Sarah made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.
China borders the province of Sukhbaatar in this neighboring country show
Keegan finished in the lead with $4,600. Sarah was second with $3,400 and Ben was last with $2,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Cold War Times – It’s a Fact – Rhyming Song Titles – Novels & Novelists – Starts & Ends With “D” – Flags
Keegan found the first Daily Double in “Flags” under the $1,600 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $6,600, $3,200 more than Sarah in second place. Keegan bet $4,000 and said Kalashnikov. That was WRONG.
Covering a lot of ground, Mozambique’s flag features an open book, a hoe & this weapon invented in the 1940s show
Keegan found the last Daily Double in “Cold War Times” under the $1,200 clue on the 12th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $10,200, $3,600 more than Sarah in second place. Keegan made it a true Daily Double and was close but his preposition made it WRONG.
Countering atheistic communism in 1954, this 2-word phrase was added to the Pledge of Allegiance show
Sarah finished in the lead with a runaway $7,400. Ben was second with $3,600 and Keegan was last with $2,800. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS VISCERAL?
Per Hull AWE: “Viscera is a Latin word, the plural of viscus, little used in current English…. Viscera was adopted into medical use in English as it was felt to be more ‘delicate’, or euphemistic, than less educated terms like ‘guts’ (now largely informal), ‘bowels’, now a rather archaic word, or ‘offal’…”
Visceral reactions can be a strong emotional response (punch-in-the-gut feeling) or a physical response, such as sweating, shaking, and a pounding heart.
Keegan got it right. He bet it all and doubled his score to $5,600.
Ben also got it right. He bet $2,001 and finished with $5,601.
Sarah didn’t have a response. She lost her $1,000 bet and won the game with the remaining $7,300. Sarah Gillis is the new Jeopardy! champ.
A triple stumper from each round:
OSCAR HOSTS ($1000) 1934: This homespun comedian, sadly back in the news in 2025 when the Palisades fire destroyed his ranch house
STARTS & ENDS WITH “D” ($400) Bunk Johnson was a popular figure in the 1940s revival of this style of jazz associated with New Orleans
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “ACTRESSES & THEIR ROLES”
She made her big screen debut as a teen named Laurie in a 1978 film & in 2022 she played that role for the 7th & last time show
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Actually, Keegan was treated unfairly in the first DDJ. AK-47 is Kalashnikov! It was great guess on his part. Not clear why he didn’t appeal the rejection.
I really hope that William Weyser will say darn those daily doubles to Keegan.
What a goofy affair that was. I’ll give Keegan half a pass for being Canadian and botching that cinch DD, but zero love at all for that ridiculous, all-in wager. He was, arguably, the strongest player.
A bit surprised that no one knew the 19-time Oscars host. In my youth he was the regular host. The Jane Addams settlement is quite well-known, and the two missed rhyming songs were somewhat gettable. I should have nailed FJ but it eluded me. All in all I did well on the regular clues.
Ick! Is that the lowest runaway win in how long?
Keegan looked good, but, being Canadian seems to have hurt!
I was 3/3 on DD, but missed FJ. I don’t know why, but, I just zoned.
Monday’s $11,500 runaway wasn’t much better, plus Ben lost $2K of it in the final round.
Ben wasn’t his sharpest in today’s game, but Ben and Keegan did get the correct FJ response. On the other hand, Sarah couldn’t come up with any FJ response, but she wisely wagered little. Well, I performed about average in the game, but flubbed the Fj. Actually, I never use the word ‘visceral’ at all when describing a gut feeling, and it is just not widely spoken in that regard.
My my my … that game was really rough on the guys and a most unlikely runaway. Ben only needed $100 more to be in contention. Keegan didn’t have to bet the farm on that Flag DD. Then to add insult to injury, they both get FJ! right and Sarah doesn’t.
Well, Ben still has the ToC to look forward to and, hopefully, Sarah can make some more $$ tomorrow.
May see Keegan in the second chance tournament. I agree silly DD wager when in the lead