# The Jeopardy thread \[was James Holzhauer\]\[contains spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [April 17, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696 "2019-04-17T21:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 161
**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:** [October 22, 2021, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3206 "2021-10-22T05:54:44Z")
When she was listing the categories at the beginning of the round, she did say “name the artist”. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2021, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3207 "2021-10-22T11:24:31Z")
Yes, she did, but the category was “SPOKEN WORDS IN CLASSIC SONGS,” and if you didn’t happen to remember Mayim’s instruction, providing the title would seem to be the right thing. I think it was a badly constructed category. The category name or the clues should make it clear what they are asking for. It shouldn’t rely on a brief host explanation that the players might not recall in the heat of play. I’m sure they’ve done this before, but IMHO the writers should learn from this to avoid the need for such instructions. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3208 "2021-10-22T14:16:44Z")
I could have sworn she had said “name the _speaker_,” so on the “I Lost on Jeopardy” clue, I blurted out" who is Don Pardo?" ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3209 "2021-10-22T15:25:33Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > You mean you didn’t think she sounded like Meat Loaf? Phil Rizzuto did that part of the song. She didn’t sound like him, either. (I still knew that one). But the category was confusing. > [@aceplace57](#): > > There used to be a game show that challenged people to identify songs. I can do it in six notes. Or the other person would say 4 notes. They brought that back on FOX earlier this year (Name That Tune with Jane Krakowski and Randy from American Idol). In the revival, they also give clues so the tunes are often superfluous (as in, “it’s obvious that you’re describing “My Heart Will Go On,” but I guess I have to have you play a note for the sake of the game.”) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3210 "2021-10-22T15:34:30Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Phil Rizzuto did that part of the song. She didn’t sound like him, either. Well, that was part of the clue: > Phil Rizzuto’s call: “Squeeze play, it’s gonna be close… here’s the play at the plate, holy cow, I think he’s gonna make it!” ---
**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:** [October 22, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3211 "2021-10-22T16:29:37Z")
I immediately thought of Harry Caray. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3212 "2021-10-22T16:39:45Z")
I was thinking, “ ~~What’s~~ Who is Johnny Gilbert?”. I did get to Weird Al, but probably a fraction of a second after the contestant gave the wrong answer of the right song. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3213 "2021-10-22T17:37:59Z")
“Johnny Gilbert” did flash through my mind, but then I recognized that the phrasing of the announcement was not what I’d ever heard Johnny Gilbert use, and thought I was being smart when I recalled Weird Al’s lyrics: “Don Pardo, just tell me now what I didn’t win.” ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3214 "2021-10-27T01:43:47Z")
I didn’t even know that there were Bill Gates cosplayers. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3215 "2021-10-27T02:48:32Z")
Well, Jonathan lost. I am impressed they all got FJ, I sure as hell wouldn’t have. Fisher’s 11-game winning streak ties for the tenth longest in show history, that immediately following the second longest streak. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3216 "2021-10-27T03:22:20Z")
Frost was easy (Boston, poetry, mid-20th century) but I impressed the hell out of myself by guessing O’Neil correctly. I had no clue who it was. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3217 "2021-10-27T03:51:52Z")
I got Frost, but I thought of Thornton Wilder, not O’Neill. Looking it up, Wilder won three Pulitzers, not four (one for a novel, the other two for plays), died in Connecticut, not Boston, and in 1975, perhaps a little late for “mid-20th century.” I was _so close_. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3218 "2021-10-27T04:56:54Z")
I got Frost ok, but not O’Neil. When they revealed the answers, I immediately thought . . . that Tip O’Neil didn’t write plays. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3219 "2021-10-27T04:58:26Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I got Frost, but I thought of Thornton Wilder, not O’Neill. I said Tennessee Williams, but I associate him with the South, so unlikely he died in Boston. As it turns out, he died in New York City in 1983, and only won two Pulitzers. So, not a terrible guess. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3220 "2021-10-27T05:21:30Z")
Just as the music was running out, I turned to my wife, shrugged, and said, “I dunno… Robert Frost and… Eugene O’Neill.” Imagine my surprise. 😄 Kudos to Jonathan. He had a nice run. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3221 "2021-10-27T07:34:54Z")
I got both Frost and O’Neill. Looking forward to seeing Jonathan and Matt in next year’s TOC. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3222 "2021-10-27T09:28:11Z")
Nothing against Jonathan (he seems like a very nice guy), but I didn’t find him particularly inspiring. His bets after the first couple of days were quite modest, and he missed a lot of what I thought were very easy Daily Doubles (and other answers as well). I think he was capable of winning much higher sums than he did, which would have made the game a lot more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3223 "2021-10-27T16:42:33Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Frost was easy (Boston, poetry, mid-20th century) … For some reason, I could have sworn Frost was from Chicago. I missed FJ completely. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3224 "2021-10-27T16:48:27Z")
I immediately thought of Frost and O’Neill - and then could think of nobody else. I was so not-confident that I didn’t bother verbalizing it to my wife. Even afterwards I kept it to myself. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3225 "2021-10-27T16:51:07Z")
I thought of Frost but not O’Neill, who I associated with New London, Connecticut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=160) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=162)