# 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:** 182
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3627 "2022-01-01T06:22:13Z")
“Church fair” led me to “Scarborough Fair” so I too said Simon and Garfunkel. Other than also being a famous pair, there wasn’t anything in the clue to lead you to Lennon and McCartney if you didn’t already know how they met. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3628 "2022-01-01T06:22:56Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I suppose if you’d seen that quote before, it might have rung a bell, but I’m sure I never had. Otherwise, there was little about that clue that pointed to Lennon and McCartney. I never saw the quote before, but “church fairs” are more a British thing, not American, plus I knew the pair had met at one. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3629 "2022-01-01T09:21:21Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I never saw the quote before, but “church fairs” are more a British thing, not American, plus I knew the pair had met at one. So that’s why it was “too easy”? Because you already knew the answer? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3630 "2022-01-01T12:22:15Z")
I guessed the Everly Brothers. They were starting out around the 1957 time frame of the question/answer. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3631 "2022-01-01T12:35:01Z")
Did you think they were brothers like the Righteous Brothers were brothers? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3632 "2022-01-01T14:21:35Z")
What threw me was the word “pair.” This lead me to think they were going for two people who were known for performing as a duo, like Simon & Garfunkel (which is what I assume happened in the contestants’ minds as well.) I knew it wasn’t them since they’re Jewish, but who else could it be? Hall & Oates? Sonny & Cher? No other musical “pair” I could think of met the time frame and quote. Not sure I would have realized they could be talking about the two chief songwriters of a four-man band no matter how much time I had. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3633 "2022-01-01T15:34:32Z")
I wonder if, whenever there are three identical wrong answers, the writers ever say, “Hmmm, maybe we missed the mark on that one.” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3634 "2022-01-01T18:13:43Z")
I also knew it was Lennon/McCartney, but it’s just one of those factoids you either know or you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3635 "2022-01-01T18:31:07Z")
Or high fives all around! ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3636 "2022-01-01T20:03:14Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > but “church fairs” are more a British thing, not American, We had one every year in WI. i also went with S&G. My wife went with Brian Wilson and…somebody? But Brian could be both the fat one and the drunk one. 🙂 She also thought of David Crosby, but couldn’t come up with a pairing. Mostly she though him going by DC’s quote in _Echo In The Canyon_ about how he got kicked out of the Byrds because he “was an asshole”. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3637 "2022-01-01T20:06:20Z")
Can we officially remove “[was James Holzhauer]” from the thread title? We’ve not only moved on from him, we’ve moved on from “What’s…Amodio” and are living through the Era of Amy ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3638 "2022-01-02T00:15:00Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > What threw me was the word “pair.” This lead me to think they were going for two people who were known for performing as a duo, like Simon & Garfunkel (which is what I assume happened in the contestants’ minds as well.) … I agree; the question was misleading. It might have been less so had they inserted the word “songwriting” in front of “pair.” > [@](#): > > **Of their July 1957 first meeting at a church fair, one of this pair recalled: “I was a fat schoolboy and… he was drunk”** I wasn’t a fan of the wording of the previous day’s clue, either: > [@](#): > > **Confirming a theory, fossils found with this explorer in 1912 included a plant from more than 250 million years ago** I realize the clue-writers wanted to avoid saying ‘dead body’ or ‘remains’ because that might have narrowed down the choices too much, making it too easy for FJ. But the wording they _did_ use seemed to include the possibility that the fossils were found “with” the explorer in the sense that they were not found BY that explorer but by someone who was WITH that explorer (i.e. by another member of the expedition). ---
**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:** [January 2, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3639 "2022-01-02T00:34:03Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > But the wording they _did_ use seemed to include the possibility that the fossils were found “with” the explorer in the sense that they were not found BY that explorer but by someone who was WITH that explorer (i.e. by another member of the expedition). Nah, disagree on this one. The wording here was quite clear. That would be a weird usage of the word “with” if they meant by someone else. “With this explorer” immediately made me think “they found the explorer and these fossils were with him.” ---
**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:** [January 2, 2022, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3640 "2022-01-02T05:46:29Z")
My first guess was John and Paul, but I ruled them out because I thought I remembered that the proto-Beatles were already performing in Hamburg by 1957. So I switched, somewhat reluctantly, to S&G, although I couldn’t figure which one would have been drunk. (I wish I had thought about the Jewish angle!) First reactions are often the best! Did anyone else think it very odd, in Wednesday’s game, that the $200 clue about Lincoln’s synonym for twenty was a triple stumper? Amy said four score, another player said four score and seven, and the third player didn’t even ring in! Really? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3641 "2022-01-02T06:07:24Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Did anyone else think it very odd, in Wednesday’s game, that the $200 clue about Lincoln’s synonym for twenty was a triple stumper? Amy said four score, another player said four score and seven, and the third player didn’t even ring in! Really? My take on it was that Amy lost track of the question (“what word meant 20”); Second player compounded Amy’s error; Third player was spooked and/or also confused and wisely kept quiet. But Amy and #2 weren’t stumped- they both obviously knew that “score” meant “twenty.” ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3642 "2022-01-02T15:09:24Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I never saw the quote before, but “church fairs” are more a British thing, not American, plus I knew the pair had met at one. Had they used the word “fete,” which is how I’ve always heard the gathering described, that would have been much more obviously British. That said, I got it pretty easily. John and Paul’s first meeting is a pretty well-known part of Beatles lore. I disagree that the question was misleading. They may never have performed as a duo, but I would argue that “Lennon & McCartney” as a team is a perfectly familiar phrase in music history. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3643 "2022-01-02T20:56:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > So that’s why it was “too easy”? Because you already knew the answer? No, I just thought it was better known than I guess it is. Didn’t mean to get everyone so riled up. Sheesh. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3644 "2022-01-02T20:58:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > We had one every year in WI. Possibly regional. I grew up in the Bible belt and never saw nor heard of church fairs until I started reading more British literature. I think one served as an important plot point in a Graham Greene story in particular. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3645 "2022-01-02T20:59:36Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > John and Paul’s first meeting is a pretty well-known part of Beatles lore. That’s what I thought too. I guess not so. But I would expect a Jeopardy contestant to know it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3646 "2022-01-04T13:11:11Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Can we officially remove “[was James Holzhauer]” from the thread title? We’ve not only moved on from him, we’ve moved on from “What’s…Amodio” and are living through the Era of Amy Does it make sense to start a new thread for the new year, instead? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=181) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=183)