Here’s tonight’s Final Jeopardy answer and question for Thursday, December 8, 2016:
Final Jeopardy! category: PRINTING
Final Jeopardy! clue/answer: The 3 major Western typefaces are Gothic, Roman & this one first used in an entire book in 1501 for a work by Virgil
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s contestants:
Anton Deljaj, a residential manager from Bronx, New York |
Stephanie Snyder, a program manager from Silver Spring, Maryland |
Tim Aten, an editor from Vermilion, Ohio (4-day total: $71,300) |
Tim made it into #10 on our ToC Tracker with yesterday’s win. A win today will put him at #8.
You’ve probably heard the news by this point about upcoming contestant Cindy Stowell. Remember to watch on December 13. Her friends and family will also appreciate donations on her behalf to the Cancer Research Institute.
[spoiler title=’Click/Tap Here for Correct Response/Question’]What is italic?[/spoiler]
When it comes to typefaces, most people nowadays consider “italic” to be the slanted-right oblique form of a certain font. A true italic typeface, though, is a stylized cursive font based on calligraphy.
The first complete work in an italic font was by Aldus Manutius’ Aldine Press, an edition of Virgil dedicated to Italy in 1501. He had used italic type a year earlier in the frontispiece of the letters of Catherine of Siena.
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Scores going into Final Jeopardy:
Tim $13,000
Anton $9,000
Stephanie $3,000
Final Results:
Stephanie $3,000 – $600 = $2,400 (What is Helvetica?)
Anton $9,000 – $2,999 = $6,001 (What is Times New Roman?)
Tim $13,000 – $5,001 = $7,999 (What is Ionian?) (5-day total: $79,299)
Scores after the opening round:
Tim $3,600
Anton $2,600
Stephanie $2,600
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) ANATOMICAL ETYMOLOGY $1000 (20th pick)
Anton 2200 +800 (Stephanie 3400 Tim 1600)
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2) HISTORIC AMERICA $1200 (7th pick)
Tim 4400 +1000 (Stephanie 4200 Anton 3000)
3) PHILOSOPHY $1200 (28th pick, $3,600 left on board)
Tim 14600 -1600 (Anton 9000 Stephanie 3000)
Unplayed clues:
J! round: HENRIK IBSEN OR HENRY GIBSON $1000
DJ! round: None!
Game Stats:
Tim $14,800 Coryat, 18 correct, 1 incorrect, 30.36% in first on buzzer
Anton $9,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 3 incorrect, 26.79% in first on buzzer
Stephanie $3,000 Coryat, 10 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.43% in first on buzzer
Tim Aten, stats to date:
92 correct
8 incorrect
4/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,800)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
30.07% in first on buzzer (83/276)
Average Coryat: $12,240
Tim Aten, to win:
6 games: 37.36%
7: 13.95%
8: 5.21%
9: 1.95%
10: 0.73%
Avg. streak: 5.596 games.
Italics is NOT, I repeat, NOT a Font. It is a stylized version of a font. Your question and answer for tonight is wrong.
Charles:
1) This is a fan site. The question and answer are not mine. This site is not affiliated with Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
2) You are also incorrect. The clue said “typeface”, not “font”. If you read the extra information I provided, that while in 2016, the term “italic” is used to describe the stylized text given as an example here, the term “italic” originated in the Aldus Manutius-created typeface c.1500, as used in the printing of the 1501 work of Virgil. And that is what was what tonight’s Final Jeopardy! was asking about.
I agree with Charles. Italics in not a font, it is font attribute, such as bold. If Jeopardy wanted to refer to the Virgil work more accurately, they should have called it cursive. Sorry, but on this one, I think they got it wrong.
Vince:
The word “font” was not used in the clue. Thus, using it in this context introduces confusion.
Around 1500, Aldus Manutius gave the typeface that he used in that publication of Virgil a name.
He did not name the typeface “cursive”.
He named the typeface “Italic”.
Thus, Jeopardy! used the proper term that Aldus Manutius gave it.
I have to agree that the final answer was unfairly phrased. While the detail about a typeface named “Italic” being used for the 1501 Virgil book is correct, the lead-in is extremely misleading. I can’t find any source describing “three major Western typefaces” of “Gothic, Roman, and Italic”. Perhaps they meant “first three”? But that’s not what they said. And today, while “Roman” is still a class of typefaces, “Italic” is not a “major Western typeface”.
Britannica has:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/typography/History-of-typography
In light of this information: the official editorial position of The Jeopardy! Fan is that there are zero phrasing issues with this Final Jeopardy! clue and that while it was a difficult clue, it was fairly phrased.