Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 22, 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 Musicians) for Wednesday, November 22, 2023 (Season 40, Game 53):
An Esquire profile said, “The most distinguishing thing” about the face of this singer “are his eyes, clear blue & alert”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Kit Sekelsky, a freelance graphic designer from Kent, Ohio
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Deanna Bolio, a community outreach supervisor from Campbell, California
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Nick Cascone, an orthopedic physician assistant originally from Queens, New York
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
The nine quarterfinals of the Clubs bracket are now complete; it’s now time for the three semifinals, scheduled today, tomorrow, and Friday! Due to the usual preemptions surrounding Thanksgiving and Black Friday, I would encourage everyone to check their local listings for information about when Jeopardy! will be airing in your area during the next few days.
Today’s semifinal is between Nick Cascone, Deanna Bolio, and Kit Sekelsky. During the quarterfinals, Deanna could buzz in nearly at will—her 78% success rate was highest of any of the 27 people in the Clubs bracket. If that continues, I think Nick and Kit will be in for a frustrating day. If not, I think Kit is probably the best equipped to take a victory; it seemed her clue selection strategy was the best out of the three of them in the quarters.
I should also note that The Jeopardy Fan‘s Twitter/X account will not be posting any statistics posts or article links to that platform; this is an indefinite postponement, as the main Jeopardy! account has not posted anything to that platform since last Thursday. If and when the main account starts posting content again, I would resume posting content there. I am also waiting for basic post-scheduling functionality for any potential replacement platforms before I begin posting in earnest elsewhere.
In one final scheduling note, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Celebrity Jeopardy tonight is an encore presentation of the earlier quarterfinal between Timothy Simons, Lisa Ann Walter, and Brian Baumgartner.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Frank Sinatra?
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.)
“The most distinguishing thing about Sinatra’s face are his eyes, clear blue and alert, eyes that within seconds can go cold with anger, or glow with affection, or, as now, reflect a vague detachment that keeps his friends silent and distant”. Those words grace an early part of one of the most famous magazine articles of all time, “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold“, published in Esquire Magazine in April 1966. Writer Gay Talese had been assigned to interview Sinatra, but Sinatra refused to be interviewed. Instead, Talese hung around many of Sinatra’s friends and associates and gained enough information about the famed singer to produce the profile. It became known as one of the early hallmarks of the New Journalism movement.
A 2018 interview with Alex Trebek revealed that Sinatra was quite a fan of the show; more sadly, even “The Jeopardy Curse” struck Sinatra; a famous Final Jeopardy clue about him aired just two weeks after the singer’s 1998 death.
Certainly, the best way into this one is to focus on the “blue eyes” part of the clue, and remember that one of Sinatra’s nicknames was “Ol’ Blue Eyes”.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, November 22, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: “B”ooks; Sportstalk; The Instrument Of Death; Pasta Shapes; Building Terms; Onomatopoeia)
Missing the first Daily Double didn’t stop Nick; his 11 correct responses in the opening round gave him the lead through 30 clues! Deanna sat second and Kit third.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Kit 6 correct 1 incorrect
Deanna 3 correct 0 incorrect
Nick 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Kit is still hoping to make a charitable donation in exchange for a blimp ride.
Deanna thinks each step in Season 40 has been a surprise.
Nick thinks his patients are more likely to take his advice since his win on the show.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Nick 11 correct 1 incorrect
Deanna 5 correct 0 incorrect
Kit 8 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Nick $5,000
Deanna $3,800
Kit $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Belgium; Sorry About That; Title Role Actors; 18th Century Technology; Company Name Origins; “Tag”, You’re It)
Kit had an opportunity early to jump into the lead, but a missed True Daily Double brought her back to $0. Nick then took over, dominating the signalling device en route to getting 15 correct in the round and running to a runaway victory.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Nick 26 correct 2 incorrect
Deanna 7 correct 2 incorrect
Kit 15 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Nick $23,200
Deanna $3,000
Kit $1,200
Kit was the only player correct in Final, but Nick’s runaway makes him a finalist!
Tonight’s results:
Kit $1,200 + $21 = $1,221 (Who is Frank Sinatra?)
Deanna $3,000 – $3,000 = $0 (Who is David Bowie?)
Nick $23,200 – $0 = $23,200 (Who was David Bowie?) (Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) “B”OOKS $800 (clue #6)
Nick 1000 -1000 (Deanna 400 Kit 600)
2) COMPANY NAME ORIGINS $1600 (clue #4)
Kit 4000 -4000 (Nick 5800 Deanna 3800)
3) BELGIUM $1600 (clue #29, $2000 left on board)
Nick 20200 +1000 (Deanna 3000 Kit 1200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -195
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Nick 1 2 4*
Deanna 2
Kit 2 3
DJ! Round:
Nick 1 1 2 3 4 5 1† 1 5 1 1 2 2 3 4*
Deanna 4 5 3
Kit 2 3 4* 5† 2 3 4 5 2 3 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Nick 2.39
Kit 3.23
Deanna 3.50
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:
Nick $24,800 Coryat, 26 correct, 2 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Kit $5,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 4 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Deanna $3,000 Coryat, 7 correct, 2 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,000
Lach Trash: $11,000 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,000
Lead Changes: 9
Times Tied: 7
Player Statistics:
Nick Cascone, career statistics:
93 correct, 16 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities)
39.91% in first on buzzer (91/228)
4/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,200)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,550
Deanna Bolio, career statistics:
109 correct, 21 incorrect
10/12 on rebound attempts (on 31 rebound opportunities)
30.70% in first on buzzer (105/342)
7/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $17,400)
1/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,600
Kit Sekelsky, career statistics:
110 correct, 24 incorrect
4/6 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities)
34.21% in first on buzzer (117/342)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $0)
2/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,767
Andy’s Thoughts:
- “Dominate the signaling device” is certainly one path to victory, but as Deanna showed here, you can have it one day and not the next. Good strategy can help you on days where you’re not buzzing in as well.
- Today’s box score: November 22, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Nick $23,200 Deanna $3,000 Kit $1,200)
Nick: Limit your bet to $17,199—but really, there’s not really any reason to bet anything. (Actual bet: $0)
Deanna: Limit your bet to $599 and take second. (Actual bet: $3,000)
Kit: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $21)
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“Certainly, the best way into this one is to focus on the “blue eyes” part of the clue, and remember that one of Sinatra’s nicknames was “Ol’ Blue Eyes”.”
You really get me 😁
Exactly! His “blue eyes, clear and alert,” obviously were the keywords in the Final Jeopardy answer. And, when one remembered that one of Sinatra’s nicknames was “Ol Blue Eyes,” as Andy reminded us in his “more information,” you think that this would be an easy “get.”
I don’t know anything about Bowie’s appearance to say wether are not “blues eyes” describes him, or, not.Have to presume it does, since 2 of the three semifinalists gave him as their response.
Bill, if you see this reply, be sure to read Andy’s below, too. I tried to begin writing this about the same time he began his, but it disappeared on me when a full page ad popped up that I couldn’t get to go away (but I thought I had already hit ‘POST’ so went on with other comments and only saw Andy’s later).
Andy described Bowie’s eye color/condition, but I had also written that since there are a lot of famous blue-eyed singers, I thought maybe the two contestants that wrote ‘Bowie’ had recalled that his eyes (or gaze) had always been considered noteworthy, but perhaps did not remember why. The quote’s description doesn’t really seem apt enough to have been likely to describe Bowie since one of his pupils was normal (showing the blue iris fine) but the other was eternally fully open (so all black, almost no iris) due to damage to its controlling muscles from a teenage fistfight over a girl.
Easiest one you have ever had.
So easy I thought it must be a trap. But I couldn’t think of anyone else, so went with Sinatra, still thinking it couldn’t be.
I also immediately thought of “Ol Blue Eyes”, but thought it might be a trap as I thought the description sounded like something one would say about a person who otherwise was not that good-looking and Sinatra was good-looking (especially for the tastes of his time), so I thought it might be someone like Tom Petty, Barry Manilow or Phil Collins. However, since I could not narrow it down to one, I went with Frank Sinatra.
Until we get the “regular” writers back, when it comes to FJ, just remember the dictum: Go with the obvious.
I don’t know what you mean by “regular” writers. These are the same writers who’ve always been there who have written these clues.
Sorry, I thought these were still pre-strike-settlement clues. Mea culpa if that isn’t the case.
When my aunt was young, she was a hostess at a restaurant in NY. Frank was a frequent customer, and she told us he always came in through the kitchen door, never the front door. Anyway, Frank once gave her a gold keychain with his initials, and it was always one of her prized possessions.
Easy for me too. So much so, like MarkO, I wondered if it was a trap. But as Andy likes to say, it’s better to have a mix of easy and hard clues to keep players playing to win.
As a technicality, looking at the category, was Frank really a “Musician?” A singer, yes. A vocal artist, yes. But in comparison, he was not like Nat King Cole, who sang and played the piano…or Louis Armstrong, who sang and played the trumpet.
I agree. The category is wrong. Frank Sinatra was a singer, actor and a producer. I did get FJ! right, though. The blue eyes gave it away.
Singers (especially very good ones) ARE considered musicians! But I agree that the category was a red herring. However, that could be considered a good thing, keeping the clue from being a total “gimme”.
His instrument was his voice and that makes him a musician by any reckoning
My streak is at 2 now!
Easy for me too! Hoping to get three in a row tomorrow!
TYPO: Nick thinks his “patience…” You meant patients.
Thank you, Dan!
(Glad to see someone is reading my stuff!)
“Kit wash the only player correct in Final…”
Read the answer and immediately said to my self, “How could it be anybody but Frank Sinatra?” Pays to be old I quess.
It seemed like a “gimme.” He even had an album called “Old Blue Eyes Is Back.”
I got frank sinatra as well because of his music he made over the years of his career. But still though the movies he was in I should find out later on what they are
For my generation, this one was a given and expected triple get. I’m wondering, though, if this was more difficult for younger generations. Apparently, the clue led to David Bowie for some. Is Bowie the “Ol’ Blue Eyes” for a younger cohort? Age may be a factor for whether one gets this one or not.
One of my J! Archive colleagues pointed out earlier today that David Bowie had blue eyes and was known for having an eye condition (in his case, different-sized pupils, or anisocoria).
Can’t say I was expecting a runaway in this matchup, but alas it was and that’s been the story for all 3 games this week.
I’m by no means a Frank Sinatra expert, but I am 55 years old and perhaps that “blue eyes” only means Frank Sinatra to me. I have blue eyes as well, but know that my name wasn’t the answer. LOL.
I’ll take tonight’s rare FJ correct answer and see how things go tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!