Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 27, 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 Children’s Books) for Tuesday, December 27, 2022 (Season 39, Game 77):
Its title character is told “By the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off…your eyes drop out & you get…shabby”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Scott Handelman, a math & computer science teacher from Lincoln, Nebraska
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Maggie Frank-Hsu, a writer from San Diego, California
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Ray Lalonde, a scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (8-day total: $219,300)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
With his win yesterday, Ray Lalonde has moved into the top 20 all-time in terms of regular play winnings; he also became the 26th player since Sky’s the Limit was introduced in 2003 to win eight games. The previous 25 players are 18-7 when going for win #9; on which side will Ray end up? I’m sure Maggie Frank-Hsu or Scott Handelman want to play Giant Killer today!
Unrelated to today’s game, but still important enough to note here on The Jeopardy! Fan—As part of my work with J! Archive, I’m going to be looking for about 5 or 6 volunteers as part of a special proofreading project. If this sounds like something that might interest you, feel free to email me—you can find my email on my About page.
PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is The Velveteen Rabbit?
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.)
The Velveteen Rabbit is a famous 1922 work of literature by Margery Williams, about a stuffed rabbit’s desire to become Real. The famous discussion about being Real took place between the title Velveteen Rabbit and the Skin Horse (who originally belonged to the child’s uncle) in the work. According to the Skin Horse, “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
This is definitely the sort of clue that could potentially trip up a contestant with some knowledge, but not enough—I would not be surprised to see responses of Pinocchio either on stage or from the home audience.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Proceeds from the sale of the “Doctor Oz’s Fast-Acting Snake Oil Elixir” T-shirt are being donated to The Trevor Project:
Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Espionage Glossary; Rhyming Responses; World Of Beers; Historical Figures On Film; Fiction; Economy Of Movement)
Both challengers played very well to start today’s game and were both ahead of Ray for most of the opening round! The Daily Double, though—much like a spy—stayed very well hidden until the end of the round, and Ray doubled up through it to bring himself back into the game after 30 clues!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Maggie 5 correct 0 incorrect
Scott 6 correct 1 incorrect
Ray 3 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Scott 11 correct 2 incorrect
Ray 8 correct 2 incorrect
Maggie 9 correct 3 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Flyover Countries; Synonyms; Science; Album Covers; The Civil War; “T” Time)
In almost the exact opposite situation as the opening round, the Daily Doubles came out very quickly on the second board. Maggie missed hers to see her score fall, and Ray picked up his in the midst of his category run of SCIENCE. (Which, of course, meant that Scott didn’t get to call for it at all.) Meanwhile, Ray picked up 19 correct and $21,600 of Coryat in that round alone to romp to a runaway! Scores going into Final were Ray at $27,800, Scott at $9,200, and Maggie at $3,600.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ray 27 correct 3 incorrect
Scott 15 correct 3 incorrect
Maggie 13 correct 6 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Nobody fell for the Pinocchio trap today, as everyone got Final correct! Ray’s now a 9-day champion!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, December 27, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Ray $27,800
Scott $9,200
Maggie $3,600
Tonight’s results:
Maggie $3,600 + $3,599 = $7,199 (What is the Velveteen Rabbit?)
Scott $9,200 + $1,999 = $11,199 (What is the Velveteen Rabbit?)
Ray $27,800 + $8,000 = $35,800 (What is the Velveteen Rabbit?) (9-day total: $255,100)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Scott $6,000
Ray $4,200
Maggie $3,800
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) ESPIONAGE GLOSSARY $400 (clue #25)
Ray 1800 +1800 (Maggie 3800 Scott 5800)
2) THE CIVIL WAR $1200 (clue #1)
Maggie 3800 -2200 (Ray 4200 Scott 6000)
3) SCIENCE $2000 (clue #4, $30000 left on board)
Ray 7000 +4000 (Maggie 1600 Scott 6000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 99
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ray 3 5 5 5 2*
Maggie 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 4 5
Scott 4 5 4 3 2 2 4 5 2 1 3
DJ! Round:
Ray 4 5*
Maggie 3* 3
Scott
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ray 4.14
Scott 3.18
Maggie 3.27
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.16 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ray $24,400 Coryat, 27 correct, 3 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 4/5 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Scott $9,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Maggie $5,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 6 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $39,400
Lach Trash: $4,000 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,600
Ray Lalonde, career statistics:
233 correct, 29 incorrect
19/22 on rebound attempts (on 33 rebound opportunities)
42.30% in first on buzzer (217/513)
14/14 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $42,100)
7/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,489
Maggie Frank-Hsu, career statistics:
14 correct, 6 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,200)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $5,800
Scott Handelman, career statistics:
16 correct, 3 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200
Ray Lalonde, to win:
10 games: 82.928%
11: 68.771%
12: 57.031%
13: 47.295%
14: 39.221%
Avg. streak: 13.858 games.
Today’s interviews:
Scott had a crossword puzzle wedding cake.
Maggie chickened out of an audition in New York 20 years ago.
Ray wants to thank the contestant staff at the show.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Ray moves into 15th place all-time in terms of regular play winnings.
- Today’s box score: December 27, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ray $27,800 Scott $9,200 Maggie $3,600)
Ray: Bet no more than $9,399 and enjoy win #9! (Actual bet: $8,000)
Maggie: Bet what you like! (Actual bet: $3,599)
Scott: Bet no more than $1,999 to guarantee second place. (Actual bet: $1,999)
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I didn’t guess Pinocchio. (Nose grows.)
I specifically thought it couldn’t be Pinocchio because ‘real’ had to be a red herring otherwise it would be too obvious. And this time I was correct figuring it would be something that with much loving would get shabby not made out of wood.
Yes, I knew it didn’t quite fit, but came up empty otherwise. Forgot about The Velveteen Rabbit, which aligns perfectly with the clue.
Tomorrow’s another day.
“trip up” – 🙋 I guessed Pinocchio, though I’m only familiar w the Disney version. The only thing I know about The Velveteen Rabbit is the title.
Current FJ streak: 4L
Add me to the club. I didn’t recall anything like that from Pinocchio, but thought maybe Geppetto had said it.
I was thinking of dogs and couldn’t come up with anything; Pinocchio actually wasn’t a consideration. I too know nothing about the Velveteen Rabbit aside from its title.
These FJ clues lately have been rough. Also shows me where my deficiencies are.
Pinocchio popped into my mind and then when I reread it, I realized it had to be a plush, cuddly toy.
The Velveteen Rabbit was all I could think of.
Oops. Not Pinocchio.
I do awful on these kid lit questions. I was raised on a steady stream of Dr. Suess books which I loved, but I missed a lot of the classic children’s books that so often come up on Jeopardy.
Of course! Gotta be the children’s classic, “The Velveteen Rabbit”!
I went with Corduroy the bear. I know about Velveteen Rabbit, but not enough to guess it for FJ!
Corduroy for me, too
One thing I’ve noticed about Ray’s playstyle (and kind of Ryan Long’s as well) is that he sometimes has games where he seems to find another gear in between rounds and go from a distant third (or second) after the first round to a dominating runaway in the second. I’m totally all for it! Meanwhile, I think the fact that Ray still hasn’t missed a Daily Double and has only missed 2 Final Jeopardy clues is a good sign for his ability to extend his streak to double digits tomorrow, but I suppose anything can happen!
Judging from the box scores, it looks like it’s more a matter of his opponents falling off in Double Jeopardy. Ray had 24 and 25 attempts respectively in the first and second rounds this game, and his opponents went 21 to 11 and 18 to 11.
Or, it just means that Ray is better on the more difficult material that comes in the second round.
Your comments could be interpreted as being disparaging towards his opposition, just FYI.
Sorry, poor phrasing on my part. Please read as “opponent’s buzzer attempts falling off”.
I thought Paddington Bear but wasn’t even sure if it was a book of sorts?!
Paddington was the thought as we played at home. When we saw the correct response, everyone said “oh, of course.”
I had definitely heard the quote before and I have heard of ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ but we never had the book, so it didn’t come to mind even though I realized it was talking about a doll (probably cloth) or plush animal, not a wooden anything. Raggedy Ann was all I could think of, but I was pretty sure her story didn’t have anything like that.
I have heard of the velveteen rabbit previously as the library in my town had those books in the children’s stack. I didn’t fall for the Pinocchio trap so this book was my childhood
“The Velveteen Rabbit” is such a beloved, classic story, that I felt this would be a triple get as soon as I read the quote. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I raised two boys and read to them every night when they were young. My thinking is that anyone (or almost anyone) with children would get this one. Of course, there are also those who were read to as children who would also get this one even if they didn’t have children of their own. I’m not surprised that all three contestants got this one. Congratulations to Ray on going for number 10 tomorrow.