Office JEOPARDY! #2

19 folks, including FOUR from my office, playing this round of near-daily questions arriving in our e-mail. Key rule is that you can’t look up the answer.

See how you would have done.

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Political Lingo
The Jeopardy game answer is: An 1868 definition of this term: “Men traveling with little luggage and less character” to profit from the situation.

Hitting my strong suit for an old poli sci major!

What is a carpetbagger?

Nine-way tie for first.
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Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: Political Lingo
The Jeopardy game answer is: Calling someone who favors talk over military action this bird dates from the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“Alex” added: “I have no clue if this answer was written correctly. Perhaps it will make sense to some of you. I was totally lost on it. It is written verbatim from the calendar.”

It IS awkwardly phrased, but I got it. I associate the term more with Vietnam.

What is a dove?

Five-way tie for first, with FOUR coming from my office!
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Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: She Married Him
The Jeopardy game answer is: Ben Affleck.

I’m not really up on celebrity marriages, but Affleck was recently on the news recently, profiled for one of his causes, and it mentioned his wife.

Who is Jennifer Garner?

Still a five-way tie at $2000, with one at $1400 and two at $1000.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: She Married Him
The Jeopardy game answer is: William H. Macy

I never would have gotten this one on the actual TV show. I could visualize her, but spent five minutes saying to myself, “What the heck is the name of that blonde woman on Desperate Housewives?” I saw her on the TV show Sports Night and in the movie Transamerica, too. Finally, the light bulb lit up.

Who is Felicity Huffman?

A three-way tie for 1st place at $3200; all librarians! Two at $2200, 1 each at $2000 and $1800, 2 at $1600.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: The Hardy Boys
The Jeopardy game answer is: General Hugh Hardy was a 1980s commanding officer of this huge marine base near San Diego.

One of my sisters lives in San Diego, so I’d better get this right! BTW, the categories are often misleading; this has no relation to the Hardy book series.

What is Camp Pendleton?

STILL a three-way tie for 1st place at $4200; all librarians! One each at $3200, $3000, $2800, and $2600.
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Today’s Answer is worth $200 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: An invisible emanation, or an intangible quality.

Didn’t know straight off, but started thinking of words that start and end with A and got it.

What is an aura?

Now a two-way tie for 1st, another librarian and me, with the other librarian at $4000. Someone at $3200, and another of my colleagues at $3000. Our office rules!
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Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: A noble gas, atomic number 10.

The fact that I had recently written about inert gases, helped as I noted all of them, except helium, end with N. What starts and ends with N? That made it easy for me.

What is neon?

Rankings stay relatively the same.
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Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: Edible fruit matter, or lurid “fiction”.

I’d seen the film. But the e-mailed question was stuck in my spam folder for hours. Glad I found it.

What is pulp?

Pretty easy for all the leaders.
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Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: Ranks & Titles
The Jeopardy game answer is: There is nothing like this term for a female Knight or the wife of a Lord.

One might see Lord and decide on Lady, and I considered it briefly. Bur sometimes the answer is in the clue. “There is nothing like…” lead me to the correct response.

What is a dame?

For your listening pleasure: There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame from the film South Pacific.

This one tripped up a few people, but not the librarians.
I remained tied for the lead at $6400, with a third librarian at $6000. Two at $4800, one at $4200.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: Ranks & Titles
The Jeopardy game answer is: John Busby’s call to Christian service led him from youth leader to national commander of this “army”.

Christian “army”? The quotes suggest it’s part of the answer, and I took the educated guess.

What is the Salvation Army?

Interesting: one librarian didn’t answer this. So FINALLY, alone in first place with $7600, but the other two right behind me at $7200 and $6400, not to mention a couple others at $6000, it’s going to be anyone’s match.
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Today’s Answer is worth $200 and the category is: The Animal Kingdom
The Jeopardy game answer is: During a chase, these cats take about 3½ strides per second, though the sprints only last about 300 yards.

There’s is no real incentive to answer this. If the second place person gets it right, and I get it wrong, I lose the lead. But the idea of getting every question right is too appealing. So I pick the fastest land mammal. And after the fact, I discover it’s the last question before Final Jeopardy.

What is a cheetah?
***
I go into Final JEOPARDY with a $200 lead, $7800 to $7600. The Final Jeopardy Category is: Characters Who Became Words, which the librarians agree we will either know right away, or not at all. I wager $7400; if I get it right, and the 2nd place person bets it all and gets it right, we will be tied for the win. Or I crash and burn.

Today’s Final JEOPARDY! answer in the category Characters Who Became Words
This money lending character from a 1596 play now refers to any heartless or demanding creditor.

The time frame suggests Shakespeare, and the clue sends me to the character from The Merchant of Venice. But if it’s what I think it is, it’s generally considered an ethnic slur.

Still: Who is Shylock?

Correct! And the person, only $200 behind me, DID bet it all, so we ended up in a tie, at $15,200. That person thanked me for pulling “an Arthur Chu”, referring to this episode of the real game show, in which the “compliance analyst, voiceover artist, and blogger from Broadview Heights, Ohio,” who ended up as 2014 Tournament of Champions 1st runner-up for Season 30, played for the tie rather than the win.

I got all the questions right THIS time. Next round, not nearly so fortunate…