Warning: This page contains spoilers for the July 27, 2023, 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 Fighting Forces) for Thursday, July 27, 2023 (Season 39, Game 229):
Formed in 1831 to help with the conquest of Algeria, its ranks have included German, Turks & Chinese
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Zach Razavi, a palliative physician from St. Paul, Minnesota |
Alicia Schaffer, a physician from Indianapolis, Indiana |
Lucas Partridge, a school counselor from Las Vegas, Nevada (1-day total: $20,100) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Yesterday’s game saw Lucas Partridge score over $20,000 before Final Jeopardy; that’s a good sign that he might win a couple of more games before this season reaches its conclusion! Today, Alicia Schaffer and Zach Razavi hope that they instead can become a Jeopardy! champion!
This weekend—Saturday, July 29, beginning at 8:00 AM Eastern—I will be doing a lengthy fundraising live-stream on my Twitch channel (twitch.tv/thejeopardyfan/) to raise money for MS Canada‘s Gamers vs. MS “Boss Battles” July campaign. How long will the stream be? Well, that’s up to you with your donations! For every dollar (Canadian) raised before the start of the stream, one minute will be added to the clock. However, it doesn’t end there. During the stream itself, every two dollars (Canadian) donated will add another minute to the live stream. Donations are being handled by Tiltify; you can donate here!
Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, with an estimated 90,000 Canadians living with the disease. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Since that includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, MS can affect vision, memory, balance and mobility. The disease attacks myelin, the protective covering of the nerves, causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin. Myelin is necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses through nerve fibres. Currently there is no cure, but each day researchers are learning more about what causes MS and are zeroing in on ways to prevent it.
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 French Foreign Legion?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
King Louis Philippe I founded the French Foreign Legion in 1831 as a way of consolidating the foreign corps that had been fighting under the French flag, including the Swiss regiment of the Royal Guard, and the German-led Hohenlohe Regiment. Additionally, during that era of French history, there were a number of refugee veterans with significant professional military training but were unable to become a part of the main French army itself. Therefore, as a way of protecting France against what might otherwise be a strong military force within its borders, the French Foreign Legion was created so that these professionals might still fight for France, but not disrupt the government. This group was immediately sent to Algeria as reinforcements to aid in the conquest. The modern French Foreign Legion has remained commissioned from 1836 until the present day and has represented France in many conflicts since.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, July 27, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Historic Americans; Books Of The Old Testament; Triple Time; The Forbes 2023 Billionaires List; Retitled Movie Adaptations; Anatomical Anagrams)
Lucas punctuated the opening segment with picking up $2,000 on a Daily Double to extend his lead! A number of Triple Stumpers kept the scores down in the second half of the round, but Alicia made up some of the gap to Lucas.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Lucas 8 correct 1 incorrect
Alicia 3 correct 1 incorrect
Zach 1 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Zach wrote a letter of recommendation for the woman he ended up marrying.
Alicia has a big cheese problem.
Lucas is playing the game in a way his mother would hate.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Lucas 10 correct 2 incorrect
Alicia 8 correct 3 incorrect
Zach 2 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Lucas $5,200
Alicia $2,400
Zach $1,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: World Cities; Play Time; Starts With “H-I”; The Bar Mitzvah Boy; That Song Slays; Here Be Pirates!)
Alicia got to both Daily Doubles in this round; unfortunately, she only got one of them correct. This meant that Lucas was able to hold a $2,600 lead going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Lucas 21 correct 3 incorrect
Alicia 16 correct 4 incorrect
Zach 3 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 43 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Lucas $13,600
Alicia $11,000
Zach $2,000
Everyone got Final correct today; Lucas is now a 2-day champion! He’ll go for win #3 in the season finale tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Zach $2,000 + $1,986 = $3,986 (What is the French Foreign Legion?)
Alicia $11,000 + $6,999 = $17,999 (What is the French Foreign Legion?)
Lucas $13,600 + $8,500 = $22,100 (What is the French Foreign Legion?) (2-day total: $42,200)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) HISTORIC AMERICANS $800 (clue #15)
Lucas 3200 +2000 (Alicia 1200 Zach 200)
2) PLAY TIME $1600 (clue #13)
Alicia 8800 -2000 (Lucas 8000 Zach 2000)
3) WORLD CITIES $2000 (clue #15, $18000 left on board)
Alicia 6800 +1800 (Lucas 8000 Zach 2000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 66
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Lucas 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 4*
Alicia 4 1 2 3 1 2
Zach 2
DJ! Round:
Lucas 3 2 3 4 1 3
Alicia 2 5 1 2 4* 5† 5*
Zach 1 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Lucas 2.71
Alicia 2.85
Zach 2.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 43 (0.19 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Lucas $12,400 Coryat, 21 correct, 3 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Alicia $13,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 4 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Zach $2,000 Coryat, 3 correct, 1 incorrect, 5.26% in first on buzzer (3/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,600
Lach Trash: $20,400 (on 19 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,000
Player Statistics:
Lucas Partridge, career statistics:
45 correct, 5 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (42/114)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,900)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,300
Alicia Schaffer, career statistics:
17 correct, 4 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$200)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,200
Zach Razavi, career statistics:
4 correct, 1 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
5.26% in first on buzzer (3/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $2,000
Lucas Partridge, to win:
3 games: 55.627%
4: 30.944%
5: 17.213%
6: 9.575%
7: 5.327%
Avg. streak: 3.254 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score: July 27, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Lucas $13,600 Alicia $11,000 Zach $2,000)
Lucas: Standard cover bet over Alicia is $8,401. (Actual bet: $8,500)
Alicia: Limit your bet to $5,799 and play for the Double Stumper. (Actual bet: $6,999)
Zach: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $1,986)
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This one was easy for me, but I like what Katerina E. said on Tuesday about different backgrounds meaning that not everything is “obvious” to everybody. (Although my guess of “supernova” was mainly due to a careless reading of the clue—I should have got that one!) (I wonder if anyone else just reading today’s category would have had a first guess of the “Swiss Guard”?) But “The conquest of Algeria” was the clue element that made me think of France, and then everything else fell right into place. P.S. For those who like funny old movies: Laurel and Hardy join the French Foreign Legion in “The Flying Deuces”.
I guessed it specifically because it didn’t include French people. There was a question from my childhood, who are the only people who can’t get into the French Foreign Legion.
My first instinct was just “Foreign Legion,” so I’m not sure if that would have been accepted.
Same here Phillip.
Tricky… There have been other units referred to as “Foreign Legion”, but the one usually meant is the French Foreign Legion. I’d think it would be acceptable but🤷 Maybe we’ll see that tested today.
In French, what we call the “French Foreign Legion” is simply “La Legion Etrangere”. (Sorry, I can’t figure out how to add the diacriticals.) So I would vote OK for simply The Foreign Legion.
Too bad nobody tried it today, but the Archive shows that James responded tFL to a clue in the GOAT tournament. I think that’s a good precedent!
Thanks for that info. I also just said the Foreign Legion and was so sure that was “it” I did not think any longer about it. I think if I had, I would have realized it is called the French Foreign Legion, but I most knew it from hearing in various places for decades (but not in this century) “run off and join the foreign legion” and variations of “nothing left to do but join the foreign legion”.
I got this one right away. (I wonder if anyone else just reading the category would have thought of the “Swiss Guard”?) P.S. For those who like funny old movies: Laurel and Hardy join the French Foreign Legion in “The Flying Deuces”.
Sorry about the repetition—just made a mistake about posting!
I studied french during the pandemic and the phrase la legion etrangere seemed to be helpful to me here. That movie flying deuces is definitely something I want to see.
RedRose. . . We think alike!! My first thought was the French Foreign Legion which immediately evoked memories of ‘The flying Deuces’. Viva Laurel and Hardy!
Incredibly, this was the third time this month that a blind guess from the category turned out to be correct. When I think “Fighting Forces,” I think “French Foreign Legion.” The actual clue just confirmed that blind guess for me. It’s rare to have a blind guess turn out to be correct but it does happen, just not usually this often in one month.
To me, the correct response of “what is the French Foreign Legion?” was obvious. The former French colony of Algeria, all those nationalities that have been represented in it’s ranks, it all added up.
“Zach wrote a letter of recommendation for the woman he ended up marrying.”
I fast forward through the interviews, so I misread this sentence and thought it was about Lucas. A palliative physician like Zach can write a letter of recommendation for his future wife. But if a school counselor like Lucas did that, well, I would require more of an explanation, at the very least.