Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 7, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Languages) for Thursday, December 7, 2023 (Season 40, Game 64):
Since it can make someone “Japanese laugh as heartily as a Dane”, Lillian Gish saw film as an aesthetic this, the name of a language
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Robin Lozano, a technology chief of staff from Shavertown, Pennsylvania |
Yungsheng Wang, a deputy public defender originally from Lafayette, Louisiana |
Scott Shewfelt, a writer originally from Tavistock, Ontario, Canada |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today is Quarterfinal #7 of the Hearts bracket of Fall 2023’s Champions Wildcard. This is a reminder that the first 71 episodes of this season were envisioned as replacement programming due to the WGA strike. Regarding the replacement programming, I definitely have some thoughts about the community in general, especially in the context of what Nick Cascone said at the end of his interview on Inside Jeopardy this week; in fact, I am seriously considering devoting my entire Saturday editorial this week to what Nick said.
Meanwhile, I also want to mention something about typos: Yes, I do sometimes make typos. It happens. If you see a typo, feel free to send me a quick note or even a comment in the article; I appreciate that. What I don’t like as much is, instead of having the typo pointed out, that the typo is screenshot for posterity as I’m mocked for it in other fora. We’re all human.
I should mention something about there being an actual game today, being that I’ve devoted a significant amount of time in this section to other things. Today’s game is between Scott Shewfelt, Yungsheng Wang, and Robin Lozano. Scott had Dr. Oz and Aaron Rodgers as guest hosts; Scott’s defeat saw him go viral with a “Who wanted to kick that field goal?” moment, mocking Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s play calling late in the 2021 NFC Championship Game. Yung was an alternate for the 30th Tournament of Champions, and I think that his having won three games already definitely makes him the favorite to advance out of this one. (Of course, I’m sure Robin will now go and surprise everyone after I’ve focused on Scott and Yung in most of this preview.)
Another reminder that I have started a Sunday mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Esperanto?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Esperanto was a language created in the late 19th century by L.L. Zamenhof, intended to serve as a universal second language to foster world peace. It was designed to be learned within a few months. Interestingly, the French people are probably why Esperanto didn’t gain more of a foothold in the 1920s; the French language had long served as an international lingua franca and, worried that it would lose that status, its delegate at the League of Nations routinely blocked any Esperanto recognition attempts.
Moving onto the subject of today’s Final Jeopardy clue, Lillian Gish wrote a piece in Encyclopedia Britannica on silent film in which she described motion pictures as “a species of aesthetic Esperanto”, especially the silent films with which she was most familiar, saying “the motion picture art of Charlie Chaplin will inevitably make a Japanese laugh as heartily as a Dane”. Combining silent film with newsreels of the early 20th century, Gish concluded “the motion picture is at once the common story-book, newspaper, and text-book of the 20th century”.
To me, this Final feels more difficult than some of the others we’ve seen in recent weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, December 7, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Oklahoma!; Super Bowl Stars; Fire Place; On The “T”able; 4 Your Consideration; A Donut Shop Dictionary)
Robin got off to the best start, finding the daily double on clue #3; despite seven lead changes and two ties in that opening round, Robin led at both commercial breaks.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Robin 5 correct 1 incorrect
Scott 4 correct 1 incorrect
Yungsheng 4 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Robin was a volunteer EMT in college and had to do CPR during an Eminem concert.
Yungsheng got lots of drinks in Taiwan because of his tattoo.
Scott says he still talks with Aaron Rodgers (not really).
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Robin 12 correct 2 incorrect
Yungsheng 7 correct 1 incorrect
Scott 6 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Robin $5,000
Yungsheng $4,800
Scott $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Greek Alphabet Puzzlers; Amphibians; During Lou Gehrig’s Consecutive Game Streak; Labor Unions; It’s Raining Mensa; Star Wars Before & After)
The Daily Doubles were crucial again; Robin fell back to a tie for the lead after missing hers, while Scott converted a True Daily Double to leapfrog everyone! Scott held that lead going into Final.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Scott 13 correct 3 incorrect
Yungsheng 15 correct 4 incorrect
Robin 18 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Scott $14,400
Yungsheng $12,000
Robin $4,800
Yungsheng was the only player correct in Final, which makes him a semifinalist!
Tonight’s results:
Robin $4,800 – $4,800 = $0 (What is English?)
Yungsheng $12,000 + $11,000 = $23,000 (What is Esperanto?) (Semi-Finalist)
Scott $14,400 – $10,000 = $4,400 (What is French?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) FIRE PLACE $800 (clue #3)
Robin 1000 +1000 (Scott 0 Yungsheng 600)
2) AMPHIBIANS $1200 (clue #7)
Robin 8600 -3000 (Scott 2800 Yungsheng 5600)
3) DURING LOU GEHRIG’S CONSECUTIVE GAME STREAK $2000 (clue #16, $13600 left on board)
Scott 6400 +6400 (Yungsheng 9200 Robin 7200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 165
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Scott 3
Yungsheng 5
Robin 4*
DJ! Round:
Scott 2 3 4 5 3 5*
Yungsheng 4 4 4 3 4
Robin 2 3* 2 3 5
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Yungsheng 4.00
Scott 3.57
Robin 3.17
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Yungsheng $12,000 Coryat, 15 correct, 4 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Scott $10,000 Coryat, 13 correct, 3 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Robin $7,600 Coryat, 18 correct, 5 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,600
Lach Trash: $14,600 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,800
Lead Changes: 10
Times Tied: 4
Player Statistics:
Scott Shewfelt, career statistics:
68 correct, 19 incorrect
6/8 on rebound attempts (on 21 rebound opportunities)
30.70% in first on buzzer (70/228)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $23,500)
1/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,000
Yungsheng Wang, career statistics:
99 correct, 17 incorrect
6/7 on rebound attempts (on 23 rebound opportunities)
34.74% in first on buzzer (99/285)
5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,899)
4/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,640
Robin Lozano, career statistics:
61 correct, 15 incorrect
6/7 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
36.09% in first on buzzer (61/169)
2/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,400
Andy’s Thoughts:
- No 1s or daggers in the clue selection—kudos to all three players for that! I wish the Final Jeopardy betting had been better, though.
- Today’s box score: December 7, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Scott $14,400 Yungsheng $12,000 Robin $4,800)
Scott: Standard cover bet over Yungsheng is $9,601. However, this is the famed Faith Love scenario. If you really think Yungsheng will bet small enough to keep Robin locked out, bet $0. (Actual bet: $10,000)
Yungsheng: I’d limit my bet here to $2,399 to keep Robin locked out. Or, if you don’t think Scott will make the cover bet in this scenario, go all in. (Actual bet: $11,000)
Robin: If Scott makes the standard cover bet, he falls to $4,799. I’d bet $0. Another option would be to bet everything if you think Yungsheng will bet to pass Scott by $1. (Actual bet: $4,800)
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