Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 4, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category World Cities) for Friday, November 4, 2022 (Season 39, Game 40):
The name of this city may come from “dur”, meaning water, a reference to the Helvetian people’s settlement on a lake
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jackie Kelly, a pension calculation developer from Cary, North Carolina
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Jaskaran Singh, a consultant from Plano, Texas
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Eric Ahasic, a meteorologist from Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Eric, Jaskaran, and Jackie are all incredibly strong players—my prediction model believes they’re all in the top four players who are playing in the quarterfinal rounds. My prediction is that Eric is slightly favored to win today, but all three players are strong and whoever wins today has a very strong chance of taking down any member of the Big Three in the semifinals. The nice thing is that there’s no World Series game today—Game 6 is tomorrow night, so all of the FOX stations also get to see this show!
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Zurich, Switzerland?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2022 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
For those readers who are unfamiliar: I want the show to be as good as it can be, and if this means that I need to criticize the show, I do so from an objective position of wanting the show to be as good as it can be.
Zurich, located in northern Switzerland on the lake of the same name, is one of Switzerland’s major commercial centers. Of course, Switzerland is also known by its Latin name—”Confoederatio Helvetica”.
However, the word “may” is doing a significant amount of work in this clue, way too much for my liking. The most authoritative source that I can find that says that Zurich’s etymology fits this clue is this page, the “Online Etymology Dictionary”, as compiled by a man named Douglas Harper. For what it’s worth, Harper specifically says: “This is the creation of an amateur. Great care has been taken and it’s as accurate as I can make it. But if you’re a professional linguist or a serious student of linguistics, you shouldn’t be doing your homework here. This is for the rest of us.” If there’s a more authoritative source, I’d certainly like to see it. Is the clue technically correct as written? Yes. But as of the time I’m writing this, I think I ultimately disagree with the Jeopardy! writer’s room in this case as to “what constitutes an authoritative enough source”, especially for clues being used in the Tournament of Champions.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Champions Of Tournaments; South America; A Fashionable Category; Give Us Some Direction; Dinosaur Names; Homophones)
Jaskaran and Jackie had the best time of things in the opening round, with Jackie also doubling through the game’s first Daily Double.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Jackie 5 correct 0 incorrect
Jaskaran 5 correct 0 incorrect
Eric 4 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Jackie 8 correct 2 incorrect
Jaskaran 10 correct 2 incorrect
Eric 8 correct 3 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: History; Triple Rhyme Time; Musical Instruments; The Tangled Web; On Broadway; The Oed Quotes)
This game can basically be summed up in two clues: Clues 7 and 8 were the Daily Doubles in the round. Eric pulled his best Roger Craig impersonation over those two clues, dramatically increasing his score from $5,800 to $23,200. Jackie and Jaskaran fought bravely, though, and this game was not a runaway going into the Final! Scores going into the Final were Eric at $26,000, Jackie at $19,600, and Jaskaran at $11,000.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Eric 15 correct 4 incorrect
Jackie 19 correct 2 incorrect
Jaskaran 17 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Eric and Jaskaran were correct today; Eric is a semi-finalist after his daring move early in Double Jeopardy! Congratulations!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, November 4, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Eric $26,000
Jackie $19,600
Jaskaran $11,000
Tonight’s results:
Jaskaran $11,000 + $2,201 = $13,201 ($5,000) (What is Zurich?)
Jackie $19,600 – $6,401 = $13,199 ($5,000) (What is Geneva?)
Eric $26,000 + $13,201 = $39,201 (What is Zurich?) (1-day total: $39,201)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jackie $6,000
Jaskaran $5,800
Eric $2,600
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) DINOSAUR NAMES $800 (clue #11)
Jackie 3000 +3000 (Eric 1200 Jaskaran 3000)
2) THE OED QUOTES $1200 (clue #7)
Eric 5800 +5800 (Jaskaran 5400 Jackie 8000)
3) HISTORY $800 (clue #8, $24400 left on board)
Eric 11600 +11600 (Jaskaran 5400 Jackie 8000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 300
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.20 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Eric $10,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 4 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 1/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Jaskaran $11,000 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jackie $17,400 Coryat, 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $39,000
Lach Trash: $9,000 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,000
Eric Ahasic, career statistics:
192 correct, 23 incorrect
14/17 on rebound attempts (on 38 rebound opportunities)
37.94% in first on buzzer (173/456)
15/17 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $65,000)
3/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,275
Jaskaran Singh, career statistics:
115 correct, 19 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities)
40.35% in first on buzzer (115/285)
7/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,400)
5/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,320
Jackie Kelly, career statistics:
121 correct, 11 incorrect
13/13 on rebound attempts (on 38 rebound opportunities)
31.34% in first on buzzer (105/335)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $20,200)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,967
Today’s interviews:
Jackie had family tell her that her run was more exciting than Philly sports titles.
Jaskaran was invited to a University of Texas basketball game after his college win.
Eric got to do a morning radio show at the State Fair.
Remaining Players’ Tournament of Champions Chances (after 100,000 Simulations)
Amy Schneider: 17.178%
Matt Amodio: 26.586%
Mattea Roach: 9.930%
Maureen O’Neil: 0.658%
Andrew He: 13.914%
Tyler Rhode: 3.631%
John Focht: 9.672%
Eric Ahasic: 14.932%
Zach Newkirk: 0.970%
Jessica Stephens: 0.395%
Sam Buttrey: 2.134%
Andy’s Thoughts:
- A reminder: while Jaskaran is very much a strong quiz bowl player, quiz bowl is not Jeopardy—the show’s history is littered with those who were expected to win more than they did but did not do so.
- I’d like to think that the prediction model got today’s game more or less correct: fireworks, Eric’s victory, and Jackie being in second going into Final.
- Interestingly, my prediction model says that Mattea still has a better chance of making the final than Andrew, John, or Eric—the difference is that when she does make the final, she is more likely to have to play against Amy or Matt.
- Today’s box score: November 4, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Eric $26,000 Jackie $19,600 Jaskaran $11,000)
Eric: Standard cover bet over Jackie is $13,201. (Actual bet: $13,201)
Jaskaran: You need to bet at least $6,201 to surpass Jackie’s low cover bet over you. However, being that you need to be correct to pass Eric, you should go all in. (Actual bet: $2,201)
Jackie: Standard cover bet over Jaskaran is $2,401. (Actual bet: $6,401)
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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The proffered etymology seems like a bit of a stretch, but at least guessing Zurich followed from the hint. Connect Helvetian to Switzerland, then think of a city there that “dur” might remind you of. The water hint should strengthen the confidence in the guess because of the same-named lake.
I don’t have any problem with the writers choosing to include that supposed etymology [may come from “dur”] as long as it has not been totally disproven by some very reputable source. I think this way because it was such a helpful part of the clue. I also guessed Geneva and I’m not sure I’ve ever known that ‘Helvetian’ has to do with Switzerland (it just sounded sort of Germanic to me and rightly or wrongly, I do not associate lakes with Germany). It is an even stronger clue for Zurich.
I didn’t even think of Zurich, but if I had, I then would have had to choose between the two and I would have still picked Geneva thinking that it would have been more likely to be the less apparently obvious choice.
well, I got the correct country. I guessed Interlaken. Earlier this week ‘pond’ led me astray on a final jeopardy, and today it was lake.
Perhaps you were thinking In”dur”laken?
I think many of us were led astray by erroneously letting the ‘pond’ be the overriding factor. It was probably a clever and deliberate (though not inaccurate) distraction in that clue.
Andy, your predictions can easily be upset by contestants hitting daily doubles. Finding those or not can obviously upset the best prediction model, although the betting strategy of a particular contestant hitting a daily double is somewhat predictable based on contestants with good histories.
That’s why I prefer to stay out of the prediction business . . . 🙄
To be fair, Maureen has been the only player thus far to win after the prediction model gave less than a 30% chance of winning a 3-way match to.
An online source suggests that the name “Zurich” is of German origin and means “Gift of God”. Perhaps the discoverers of the lake had been looking for a suitable place to settle, believed they had found it, and named it according to their beliefs. Sounds as good as any other explanation to me, and it’s possible the true origin will never be known for sure.
Interesting. Another city that means ‘Gift of G-d” is Netanya (from the Hebrew). I wonder if there are other cities with that same meaning name in the world.
Are you sure? The etymology of Netanya in the Wikipedia article is as follows: It was named in honor of Nathan (Hebrew: Natan) Straus (1848–1931), co-owner of Macy’s department store, New York City Parks Commissioner, and president of the New York City Board of Health, who gifted two-thirds of his personal fortune to projects benefiting Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine.
That’s why I had said: “An online source suggests . . .”
There is no one definitive answer as far as I can tell. And Wikipedia is well known for sometimes being wrong, which is hardly surprising when you consider that all its content is from unverified sources.
There are quite a few given names with the meaning “Gift of God” (e. g. Matthew and its calques like Dieudonne or Bogdan); also, the custom of naming settlements after their founders, or in honor of someone (with or without a possessive modifier), is widespread. A more plausible explanation, which bodes well with the etymology mentioned in the Wikipedia article, is, therefore, that Zurich is a derivation from a given name with that meaning.
Zurich meaning gift of god has long interested me which lead me to that country in today’s game. Maybe that lake was a perfect settlement. But still I would love to visit zurich one day.
Such a fantastic game that could have went a number of different ways depending on who revealed the daily doubles.
My favorite to win this game was Eric. So I am happy to see that he won. And that he got both DB in DJ. I’m happy that he is a semi-finalist.
Holy ____! I’m a bit surprised that Eric is ranked third, considering outside of DD’s he had the lowest stats of any of the three this game. But I won’t argue with the predictions.
By the way, how many times has what Eric did today with the Double Jeopardy Daily Doubles happened in all of Jeopardy history? (Also, how many times have the Daily Doubles been uncovered on B2B clues on two consecutive days?)
Third most likely to win the entire tournament, that is*
Although a pie chart is a type of graph, the phrase “pie graph” is uncommon enough (nearly 20x the Google hits for “pie chart” vs “pie graph”) that they should have chosen a different phrasing or example for that clue.
I also think the meanings of “perilous” and “frightening” are dissimilar enough that I wouldn’t have accepted the “knight fright fight” response. Although it’s probably better not to invite gray-area responses with clues like that if possible.
(Like Andy, my criticism is also intended to be constructive.)
Couldn’t shake Hellenic from my mind when reading Helvetica. Had I immediately remembered Helvetica was a typeface, I might’ve had a chance, I might’ve remembered it was Swiss from my 21 years as a “computer guy.” Last week was got three Finals, including a Triple Stumper Final. This week, not so good. Sometimes you’re the pigeon, sometimes you’re the statue. I see several White Russians in my future. Thanks, Dude . . .
Helvetica typeface is what it made me think of, too, but I had no idea that was “Swiss”.
I actually knew that it was referring to Switzerland from when (many years ago!) I used to collect postage stamps, and all the old Swiss stamps were labeled “Helvetia”.
Another game basically decided by who found, correctly responded to the Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy. If I had to pick someone I wold like to have move on to the next round from these three, it wold’ve been Eric not sure why.
I missed recording this game,so Andy’s report/analysis is a nice subsitute for watching it.
The author of the reference work used as justification for today’s clue states he was an amatuer, so I can see Andy’s wonderment as to why this book was accepted as an authorative sorce. But it is what it is.
I knew that (one of) Switzerland’s official name(s) is Helvatica but it didn’t help me to figure out that the correct response would be Zurich.