Warning: This page contains spoilers for the October 20, 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 Languages of Asia) for Friday, October 20, 2023 (Season 40, Game 30):
Meaning “palace”, this word in the name of a UNESCO World Heritage site follows Jal & Lal in the names of other historic structures
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Kristin Hucek, an attorney from Washington, D.C.
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William Chou, a foreign policy think-tank research fellow from Cheverly, Maryland
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Dave Pai, a field application scientist originally from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
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Andy’s Pre-Game Thoughts:
Josh Saak has taken the Spades bracket and its corresponding spot in the Tournament of Champions; now, another 27 players return from Seasons 37 and 38 to make up the Diamonds bracket!. Today’s returning quarterfinalists are Dave Pai, William Chou, and Kristin Hucek!
I’d also like to thank everyone who sent along kind words to me yesterday; as it turns out, my concerns were (at least temporarily) unfounded, but my statement does still stand. I am thankful that none of the players in the Diamonds bracket were the reason for my concern. I would also like to say that the stories that were sent along to me yesterday were very heartwarming, and they absolutely brightened my day to read them. Thank you!
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Correct response: What is “Mahal”?
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.)
Along with the most famous example, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, there is a Jal Mahal in Jaipur, India, and a Lal Mahal in Pune, India. According to Merriam-Webster, the word “mahal” today means “a summer house”, “a private apartment or lodging”, or even “a territorial division”.
This does seem like it would be a relatively straightforward Final, but there are possibilities that a contestant or home viewer might pick “Wat”, thinking of Angkor Wat instead. Again, I do believe that straightforward Final Jeopardy clues are important to keep the betting “honest” and players playing to win the game (as opposed to “not to lose”.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, October 20, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: We Made It; Justin Time; Sports Around The World; Not Your Average Opera; Body Language; Halloween Costume Ideas)
Ken thought Kristin was “going for the jugular” early on—I wouldn’t quite agree, as the Daily Double wasn’t really actively hunted for! On the other hand, Dave did go for the jugular, successfully converting a True Daily Double shortly after the break and then shutting out Kristin (she had no correct responses in the second segment) en route to a big lead after 30!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Kristin 7 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 5 correct 1 incorrect
William 0 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Kristin recently had her first son, Calvin.
William started a new job in D.C. and has a ramen blog.
Dave had to explain to his two-year-old that “Daddy is not a permanent fixture on TV”
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Dave 14 correct 1 incorrect
Kristin 7 correct 1 incorrect
William 3 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Dave $11,200
Kristin $4,200
William $1,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Olde England; Amy Poehler Is Awesome; What’s Next?; Family Drama; Houseplants; Good “P.R.”)
A difficult Double Jeopardy Round saw Dave’s score come back down to earth after a missed Daily Double early, compounded by Kristin finding the last one. However, Kristin only bet just under half her score and then only picked up a net $400 on the final 22 clues. This gave Dave an opportunity to mount a comeback, and he led by $3,200 going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Dave 23 correct 3 incorrect
Kristin 12 correct 3 incorrect
William 7 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Dave $13,200
Kristin $10,000
William $3,600
William and Dave got the right half, Kristin going for “taj” instead—Dave is a semi-finalist!
Tonight’s results:
William $3,600 + $3,600 = $7,200 (What is Mahal)
Kristin $10,000 – $7,500 = $2,500 (What is taj?)
Dave $13,200 + $6,801 = $20,001 (What is Mahal?) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) SPORTS AROUND THE WORLD $1000 (clue #20)
Dave 4000 +4000 (William 400 Kristin 4200)
2) OLDE ENGLAND $1600 (clue #2)
Dave 12400 -5600 (William 1200 Kristin 4200)
3) FAMILY DRAMA $1600 (clue #8, $25200 left on board)
Kristin 6600 +3000 (Dave 5600 William 1200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 100
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Dave 3 3 4 5 3 3 4 5*
William 4 3
Kristin 1 2 4 5 2 1 1 2 4 5
DJ! Round:
Dave 4* 3 4 3 3
William 3
Kristin 3 4*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Dave 3.62
William 3.33
Kristin 2.83
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Dave $15,800 Coryat, 23 correct, 3 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
William $3,600 Coryat, 7 correct, 2 incorrect, 14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Kristin $8,600 Coryat, 12 correct, 3 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $28,000
Lach Trash: $19,000 (on 17 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,000
Lead Changes: 3
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Dave Pai, career statistics:
84 correct, 10 incorrect
6/7 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
35.24% in first on buzzer (80/227)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,600)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,100
William Chou, career statistics:
40 correct, 6 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 16 rebound opportunities)
23.26% in first on buzzer (40/172)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,400)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,733
Kristin Hucek, career statistics:
66 correct, 20 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
27.47% in first on buzzer (75/273)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,200)
1/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,040
Andy’s Thoughts:
- With regard to HOUSEPLANTS $1600, the clue opened “Though its name means ‘loving tree’.” A response of “monstera” does not fit that part of the clue—only “philodendron” does—remember, per the published rules of the show, “Correct responses must satisfy the demands of both the clue and the category.” The judges’ ruling was correct in this case.
- Today’s box score: October 20, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Dave $13,200 Kristin $10,000 William $3,600)
Dave: Standard cover bet over Kristin is $6,801. (Actual bet: $6,801)
William: You have to bet at least $2,800 to pass Dave’s total if he covers and is incorrect. (Actual bet: $3,600)
Kristin: Limit your bet to $2,799 or less to keep William locked out. (Actual bet: $7,500)
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Final question felt more at home for being from India. I did think about Wat for a second
Lucky guess for me, but happy to end the week with a correct answer.
Another straightforward Final! Five for five this week. When I saw the category name “Languages Of Asia”, I thought “Oh, THIS one will be hard!”, but, no. It does make sense to have both “easy” and “hard” Finals—though as the saying goes, “It’s easy if you know it!”—but in tournament play, I would have expected at least a couple of more challenging ones. Still, a good end to the week.
P.S. Judith P., if you’re reading this, I left you a little note on Wednesday, October 18 (regular play).
Hi RedRose, At the risk of continuing a “thank-you circle,” I did see your note on Wednesday, October 18th. And yes, a thank you is in order, here. Wow, I really went on a wild goose chase with today’s Final! I thought immediately of Jalalabad, Afghanistan & Lalabad, Iran, based on the clue. I didn’t know if either one of those was a UNESCO site, or not. I thought about Islamabad, Pakistan, too. So I thought the correct response was “al-abad” or just “abad.” Because I worked in the Middle East for 7 years, I never even thought of India or the Taj Mahal. Drat!
I didn’t even think of “Wat”, but did briefly consider which of the two words in “Taj Mahal” was the correct selection. I chose wisely, and end the week at 4-1 plus a hit in the Celebrity show.
For what it’s worth, Jim, the word “follows” in the clue points you in the direction of which one to pick.
Excellent tip that I did not catch this time around. Definitely something I’ll try to keep in mind in the future, though!
I didn’t even think to count my “Celebrity” hit—even though I left a post—so, then, six for six!
Only 5/5 for me. I haven’t followed Celebrity Jeopardy at all since I stopped watching :/
I also don’t watch Celebrity Jeopardy.
First half of the clue made me scramble thinking is it ‘taj’ or ‘mahal’, but the second half of the clue gave it away for me.
For whatever reason, my mind went to “Hambra”, as in “Alhambra”. I figured there could have been a Jalhambra and Lalhambra as well, but nope.
That would be a good trick answer since it’s Arabic, a language of Asia, but it didn’t say that the locations used in the clue were located in Asia.
I pretty much regarded Taj Mahal as a site visiting to later on. The second half of the clue was a dead giveaway because the world trivia computer game covered this one.
My mind immediately went to “Mahal”; I thought of “Wat” also, but stuck with the first option.
Regarding JUSTIN TIME $800 and the ongoing debate over “be more specific”: yes, there were two Canadian Prime Ministers with the surname Trudeau, but given that “JUSTIN” was in the category title here, I think Ken was correct to accept Kristin’s response of “Trudeau” alone without further prompt.
I see the show’s ruling, but I also could see a way this could work with “Taj” as the answer.
“This word follows” could also be read as “in a list, this is the next one” – so Jal Mahal, Lal Mahal, Taj Mahal – Taj follows the other two alphabetically, and is the one that is in the name of a UNESCO world heritage site.
I see why they would expect Mahal, but I’d argue based on the wording Taj makes sense as well.
The only issue with that: The opening phrase of the clue was Meaning “palace”. “Taj” doesn’t mean “palace”.
Noah does seem to be referring to a response that he thinks is “just as correct” as Mahal, but in terms of trying to think of what question to write down as one’s response, if one doesn’t know the word for palace and has never heard of those Jal & Lal historic structures, it could be difficult to chose whether ‘Taj’ or ‘Mahal’ means palace. With the clue having said “in the name” for the “this” but “follows” for the additional examples, I can see why Kristin wrote ‘Taj’ instead of ‘Mahal’. I went with Mahal because ‘Taj’ more resembled the other two examples, but I didn’t decide fast enough to have written it down (due to juggling the ‘before’ vs ‘in’ decision).
Very interesting game that looked like it was going to be a runaway at one point. Instead of “Mahal” for the FJ answer, I went with just “Mal.” I did that because of the others being 3 letter answers. Closer than I actually expected to be. Not a strong category for me. On to Quarterfinal’s 2 to 6 next week. Go Dave Rapp in Quarterfinal 9!