# Jeopardy discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [January 4, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207 "2022-01-04T18:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/321 "2022-03-22T20:56:30Z")
It’s more like “staysle, ratlin, t’gallant”, emphasis on the first syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/322 "2022-03-22T21:00:57Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s more like “staysle, ratlin, t’gallant”, emphasis on the first syllables… That makes sense. but these! forecastle, boatswain, coxswain Fucksle, botswin and cocksin These sailors I swear! ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/323 "2022-03-22T21:44:12Z")
I would never have guessed Diana Ross, but I had no idea who to guess. Had I been on the show, I would have written “who is—?” > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Today I learned how to pronounce “gunwale”. Today I learned (from your post) that there is a word “gunwale,” and that it’s pronounced “gun’l,” which refines the knowledge I thought I gleaned last night from hearing Ken declare the right answer, that there is a part of a ship called the gunnel. I guessed “gunrest,” a word I knew existed from an abortive attempt to see if James Joyce’s novel _Ulysses_ made any sense. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > forecastle, boatswain, coxswain > Fucksle, botswin and cocksin > These sailors I swear! Never knew about forecastle; I would have pronounced it as spelled. Just googling it now, though, it seems it’s more like foke-s’l, not F-word-s’l. Boatswain is even worse than botswin, though; its’ bo-s’n! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/324 "2022-03-22T21:47:42Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Boatswain is even worse than botswin, though; its’ bo-s’n! That’s hilarious! I KNOW the word pronounced “bos’n”, and I know the word spelled boatswin. I never knew they were the same word! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/325 "2022-03-22T21:48:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > forecastle, boatswain, coxswain > Fucksle, botswin and cocksin In literary works, the first two are widely spelled fo’c’s’le (or [fo’c’sle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-1900s-or-1900s/492731/22)) and bosun. Ninjaed! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/326 "2022-03-22T21:49:39Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Ninjaed! Pronounced “n’ja’d”. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/327 "2022-03-22T21:53:19Z")
When the FJ category was revealed as “Singers,” I immediately said “Tony Bennett.” Imagine my surprise! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/328 "2022-03-22T22:01:18Z")
I couldn’t remember Tony Bennett, but sure as heck would know it’s not Ross. If I hadn’t known she had already passed by then I would have said Vera Lynn. Got credit for her in the deathpool but no points, as she was over 100 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/329 "2022-03-22T22:53:22Z")
I thought Tom Jones, but it turns out he’s only a “mere” 81, 14 years younger! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/330 "2022-03-22T22:56:57Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Today I learned (from your post) that there is a word “gunwale,” and that it’s pronounced “gun’l,” which refines the knowledge I thought I gleaned last night from hearing Ken declare the right answer, that there is a part of a ship called the gunnel. I’ve heard of gunwales, and I got it correct while watching the show, but I’ve only ever heard it as a plural. Ken gave it as a singular, but I assume “what are gunwales?” would have been acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/331 "2022-03-22T23:24:32Z")
Interesting. Just googling now doesn’t seem to turn up any references to the word in the plural. Speaking of pronunciations, I’d saved the College Championship for the weekends, and have been watching only one match per weekend day, so I’m still catching up on it. So this struck me: in last night’s match, there was a clue about Pliny the Elder, and Finn pronounced it to rhyme with “shiny” and Ken immediately accepted that as a correct response without comment. But one of the [College Championship matches](https://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7284) had a “Words That Should Rhyme” category, and in one of the clues the correct response was “Pliny & Shiny,” and one of the contestants rang in and pronounced both words with the same vowel sound and was ruled incorrect. Now, I know they pretty much had to do that since the category was about words that don’t rhyme, but it was still interesting to see that juxtaposed so close in time with a mispronunciation of “Pliny” that was ruled correct. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/332 "2022-03-23T01:53:24Z")
Jeeze, Bennett has been all over the media mostly because he’s so old, yet still out there. And old, yet recording with Gaga. But mostly old. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/333 "2022-03-23T04:38:17Z")
They don’t penalize for mispronunciations that don’t change the spelling, unless the clue is specifically asking for a certain pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/334 "2022-03-23T04:42:48Z")
And, conversely, in FJ they don’t penalize for misspellings that don’t change the pronunciation. Except, apparently, when they ask for a specific spelling, such as the “lede” clue a few days ago. All three got it right, but I assume “lead” would have been ruled incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/335 "2022-03-23T13:22:01Z")
I also learned how to pronounce gunwale. I knew about “fokesel” and “bosun”. And I got Final Jeopardy right! Bennett has been all over the news because of the duets with Lady Gaga. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/336 "2022-03-23T13:45:39Z")
I knew the answer to FJ was the guy who did the duet with Gaga, but my dumb brain kept calling Bennett Dean Martin. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/337 "2022-03-23T15:16:21Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Dean Martin Dat guy der? He’s dead. 🙂 Were he alive, he’d be a 105! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/338 "2022-03-23T17:36:27Z")
Could be, lol. My grandma lived to just before 108. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/339 "2022-03-24T01:30:53Z")
On the topic of pronunciation again, tonight was the second time in just the past couple of months that Gal Gadot has come up as a response, and the contestant has pronounced her last name as though it were French, with a long O and silent T. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/340 "2022-03-24T09:24:18Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > tonight was the second time in just the past couple of months that Gal Gadot has come up as a response, and the contestant has pronounced her last name as though it were French, with a long O and silent T. That’s how her name was pronounced in the media for a long while before she corrected them. There are still articles saying most people pronounce it the French way. I still have to remember to change the pronunciation in my head. And I just now learned that it’s guh-DAUT and not guh-DOTE. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=18)