Final Jeopardy: The Music Biz (9-15-20)
Here are 7 more triple stumpers from the 9/15/2020 Jeopardy! game:
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ($200) A century before the same-named act of 1964, this act of 1866 guaranteed the rights of those formerly enslaved
IT COMES FROM ANIMALS ($1000) The red pigment carmine comes from cochineal, this type of animal
ON THE GO ($1000) In 1960 this nuclear sub bearing the name of Poseidon’s son became the first to circumnavigate the globe underwater
PIECES OF “EIGHT” ($200) LXXVIII
VOLCANOES ($2000) In 1883 an explosive eruption of this volcano in the Sunda Strait could be heard nearly 3,000 miles away
ON THE BOOKSHELF ($2000) Dubbed the “Queen of Suspense” for such novels as “You Belong to Me”, this beloved author passed away in 2020 at age 92
OF STING ($2000) This 20th century poet wrote “Stings”, referred to as her “bee sequence”, posthumously published in “Ariel” in 1965
Answers to the Sneak Peek clues — NAME THE DIRECTOR
($200) 2016: “Fences”, in which he also starred
($400) 1997: Rediscovering “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”
($600) 1935: Taking “The 39 Steps”
($800) In 2017, a man unafraid of explosions: “Transformers: The Last Knight”
($1000) 1991: “Point Break” (she’d win a directing Oscar for a later film)
ANSWERS: show
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To me, the ruling was harsh but correct given the rules of FJ as the game presents them to contestants (or at least as they did 15 years ago in the UTOC, when I last appeared).
FJ is judged like a DD on paper. That is, if there is a misspelling, they translate what you write into spoken English, and if it matches the correct pronunciation, you get credit. Katherine Hepburn for Katharine Hepburn is fine; they sound the same. That’s why Wiley Coyote works for Wile E. Coyote, because the character’s name was pronounced as “Wiley” on the show, not as two distinct words.
The problem comes when what is written down has two or more plausible pronunciations. Since there is no way to go to the contestant for a clarification, the judgment will go against the contestant in these situations.
“Barry” can be pronounced two different ways: like strawBERRY or like BAH-ree. Both are very common. Since there was no way to know which one the contestant meant, the misspelling goes against the contestant (i.e., it is assumed she meant BAH-ree).
Tough, but that’s the general rule.
Thank for that info, Michael.
Unfair– they have stated in the past that incorrect spellings were OK so long as the sound is correct. And since when are insects animals?
Since forever. “Animal Kingdom” isn’t just a phrase, it’s a taxonomic rank which includes all insects.
Betsy was burned twice…her answer of “beetle” was correct for the type of animal, and I didn’t think spelling counted in FJ if the word sounded the same.
I think that penalizing her for spelling Berry Gordy with an A instead of an e was just downright stupid of the judges. Can’t wait to see if the next FJ answer is misspelled if that person is penalized. Most of us who have followed the Motown Sound since the 50’s know who Berry Gordy is.
Too much controversy over something that had zero effect on the game.
She MIGHT have gotten away with it if it had been a verbal response and not written.
It’s pronounced the same so there’s no MIGHT about it. If it was verbal it would have been accepted.
It did make a difference… Betsy! would have received $2000 instead of $1000. Did Jeopardy change the rules about spelling?
@John W, Betsy would have finished with $2800 if her response had been accepted. Still third place.
As for the ruling, it wasn’t a spelling or pronunciation issue in the eyes of Jeopardy! — the position taken was that Berry and Barry are two different names
As a teacher, I know students spell name and words incorrectly all the time and names are often spelled in many ways. Berry and Barry sound the same. My name is Brigid and I get Bridget all the time, same name just different spelling. This was very unfair based on Jeopardy rules.
All I’d like to know is, did they do away with the Clue Crew?
That’s a good question, Cece. I guess that remains to be seen. They must have prerecorded clues they haven’t used, in any event.
I’ve also been wondering if they are going to leave the stage this way forevermore
I hadn’t thought of prerecorded clues but, you’re right, they probably have them.
Regarding the stage, are you talking about the adjustment for COVID, or aesthetics?
I mean the distance between the podiums – will they leave them that way or put them back together at some future point.
My guess is “some future point” will depend on a COVID vaccine/cure…whatever the future holds for this pandemic (and pandemonium).
You find the stage weird? 🙂
No, Cece. I like it
Interesting in that pre-Motown 1958, he wrote and produced a record for his younger brother Robert who used the name Bob Kayli a song called “Everyone Was There”, and is credited on the label as “Barry Gordy”.
Based on the “Eve Marie Saint” reversal in the 12-29-16 game, it certainly seems that the judges would have to reverse this decision if they were supplied with proof of that.
What were they thinking. Spelling has never counted, especially a homonym. SHAME!
Indeed, a shame.
just plain wrong – she shouldn’t have been penalized for spelling. B. Gordy would’ve worked SHE HAD THE ANSWER!
I just added the clue to the Thumbs Down section of the Jeopardy! Spelling Decisions post
This decision doesn’t look good at all when you see others that were accepted —
Salassie for Selassie
Metamorphisis for Metamorphosis
I don’t understand. They have never penalized spelling before!!!!
Since when does spelling count?
Unless the show has only very recently changed a rule that’s been in place for many years or maybe even decades, I simply cannot understand the judges’ decision. There’s no way to pronounce Barry and Berry that makes them anything other than pure homophones. And given how badly so many people spell, this is surely a rule they wouldn’t have changed. I was in disbelief when they said her answer was unacceptable.
It only counts if you add or subtract a syllable from it, like when Greg Buzzard’s response was deemed unacceptable because he wrote “Kazakhistan” instead of “Kazakhstan”.
While I would have answered “Who is Gordy”, this is BS. What if I had answered “Who is Gordie?” Jeopardy has never penalized someone for incorrect spelling unless they stated that spelling is taken into account.
Betsy learned one of the most important lessons in Jeopardy the hard way.
Never, never, never give the first name when the last name alone is unambiguous.
I mean, she didn’t learn the hard way cause she was always going to come in third, but she shoudn’t have written the first name for this reason, indeed.
I don’t really understand the decision in any event and I know his name so well that I probably wouldn’t have felt concerned writing it in full either as Barry (though probably with a y and not ‘ie’).
I will differ from some people, depending on your accent (as a Canadian here, it can be prominent., “berry” and “barry/barrie” can be pronounced differently – the former like ‘strawberry’ or ‘hairy’, and the latter with the vowel as in ‘half’ or ‘has’..
Still, to me the fact that an accent could make the word pronounced different should not change the fact that “barrie” certainly CAN be pronounced the same as “berry”, but it also can be pronounced exactly the same. Bad call, but not one that affected the outcome in any meaningful way.
First triple stumper of the season for FJ.
I never anticipated this sort of outcome for final jeopardy today. But still though I am happy both Cory and Ted kept their amounts. I am not a huge fan of Barry gordy so I had no clue on this one.
Well, now we’re getting silly with this over here: What if the FJ answer was “Murray the K” and a player wrote down “Merry the K” ?
🤣🤣🤣
Lerry King??
lol, kassidy. How about Parry Mason? It does seem like it would be opening the door to them having to accept all kinds of name misspellings.
Berry Gordy is bound to hear about this. It would be so cool if he weighed in on the decision!
“Merry” is neither a name or typically pronounced the same as Murray.
Would Allen/Allan/Allan be accepted for each other on the show? They should be.
TH, Merry is a girl’s name. Most people I have heard say it as a name say “Mary” or “Mairy” but when I say merry, it sounds more like Murray than Mary
All you need to know about Berry Gordy is that… I’ve never heard of him.
I perceive no difference between the pronunciations of “Barry” and “Berry”. They are homophones, at least in the North Midwest regional dialect. I find the judges’ decision perplexing.
I’m w/ you, JP. Strange ruling by the judges, but fortunately it had no impact on the results of the game.
how about these words:
merry / marry
Perry / parry
Terry / tarry
All those pairs are also homophones for me as well, if ‘tarry’ is defined as ‘to linger’, rather than ‘covered in tar’.
For each of those pairs, the first pronunciation for each word is identical to the first pronunciation for the other word in the pair, as provided by Merriam Webster. However, there are alternative pronunciations for a few of those 6 words that would not match the other in the pair.
@ VJ:
merry / marry – homophones
Perry / parry – homophones
Terry / tarry – homophones if referring to the word meaning “to delay or be late”; if referring to something covered in “tar”, then the pronunciation would differ.
Interesting, JP. I also see in the Rhyming Dictionary that they consider all these words a rhyme for berry. lol.
They don’t rhyme the way I tawk 😁
By the way have you ever seen rick and morty VJ? That was so easy for me to figure out on the tv shows by episodes. It has been really popular on cartoon network these days. I also got the Mary higgins Clark clue as well.
Nope, Lou, I never watched Rick and Morty so I missed that one. I got the MHC clue too.
People who aren’t from NY don’t know how to tawk.
There’s a cute little bulldog in my building whose name is Berry, not Barry, and she’s a goil.
lol, Rhonda, that’s a cute name for her — Berry the Bulldawg
That’s right, thanks, VJ, Berry the Bulldawg, sorry for the misspelling.lol.
There has to be a cat out there somewhere named Purry Mason 🤣🤣
Awww, there just has to be, VJ!
You mean instead of Parry Mason, right lol?
yes, of course, lol!
Same here. I found that unfair based on the past rules where spelling does not count if it sounds correct. Ontario, Canada – Barry and Berry are the same sounds..
Wow! Didn’t anticipate this outcome on fj. 😧