Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 20, 2024, 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 Figures of Myth) for Wednesday, November 20, 2024 (Season 41, Game 53):
Ovid says he “toppled, beating wild with naked arms the unsustaining air…shrieking for succour from his sire”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Mehal Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington
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Elizabeth Little, a writer from Los Angeles, California
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Mikey McCullough, a librarian from Baltimore, Maryland (1-day total: $18,200)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Baltimore librarian (aren’t librarians always so good on this show?) Mikey McCullough won in yesterday’s matchup in near-runaway fashion; today, she faces off for the right to return again against L.A. writer Elizabeth Little and Seattle software engineer Mehal Shah.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Icarus?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Ovid wrote about Icarus and his father Daedalus in Metamorphoses; Daedalus had been trapped on Crete to prevent his knowledge of the Labyrinth from reaching the public. As an attempt at escape, Daedalus and his son attempt to escape by flying, attaching wings to their arms with wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the water, lest the moisture make things too heavy, nor too close to the sun, lest the sun’s heat melt the wax. Unfortunately, Icarus did fly too close to the sun, toppling into the Mediterranean—the part of the sea where Icarus fell to his death is now known as the Icarian sea, after the myth.
Lest there be any confusion here—and I suspect there will be, because there always is when the show dares to use less-common verbiage—the word “sire” refers to one’s father, not one’s son. Reading this clue and thinking this isn’t pinned is a skill issue on the viewer’s part, not the show’s.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, November 20, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 21st Century Movie Moments; Road Trip; In The Zeitgeist; Tarot-A-Go-Go; Stock Symbols; Gladiators)
Mehal got the first five clues correct, including the Daily Double on clue #2; while Elizabeth got some of that back, Mehal led after 15. Scores at the first break were Mehal $5,400 Elizabeth $3,000 and Mikey $600.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Mehal 8 correct 0 incorrect
Elizabeth 4 correct 0 incorrect
Mikey 3 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Mehal self-published his farewell email as a book when he left Amazon.
Elizabeth wanted to become a CIA officer.
Mikey spent her 30th birthday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Mehal picked up another seven correct to continue leading after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Mehal 15 correct 1 incorrect
Elizabeth 7 correct 0 incorrect
Mikey 5 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Mehal $7,600
Elizabeth $4,600
Mikey $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Animal Planet; A Little Night Music; Mmm, Leftovers; 3 Of The Same Letter; Authors’ Epitaphs; A Capital Happening)
Double Jeopardy saw a number of Triple Stumpers and a pair of missed Daily Doubles. However, Mehal only bet $800 on his—and that conservatism made sure he had a good-sized lead going into Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Mehal 22 correct 4 incorrect
Mikey 10 correct 2 incorrect
Elizabeth 11 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (2 today).
Scores going into Final:
Mehal $12,800
Mikey $7,600
Elizabeth $3,800
Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Mehal’s big lead going into the round makes him the new champion! He’ll return tomorrow to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Elizabeth $3,800 – $0 = $3,800 (Who is Polyphemus?)
Mikey $7,600 – $5,000 = $2,600 (Who is Prometheus?)
Mehal $12,800 – $3,001 = $9,799 (Who is Aeneas?) (1-day total: $9,799)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) ROAD TRIP $800 (clue #2)
Mehal 400 +1000 (Mikey 0 Elizabeth 0)
2) 3 OF THE SAME LETTER $1600 (clue #6)
Elizabeth 6600 -4000 (Mikey 1200 Mehal 7600)
3) AUTHORS’ EPITAPHS $1600 (clue #20, $6800 left on board)
Mehal 12800 -800 (Mikey 6400 Elizabeth 3800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 33
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Mikey 2
Elizabeth
Mehal 4*
DJ! Round:
Mikey 2 3 5 3 5
Elizabeth 3 4 5 3 4* 5† 2 3 4
Mehal 4 3 5 4 2 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Mehal 3.71
Elizabeth 3.67
Mikey 3.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: 3 OF THE SAME LETTER $400 AUTHORS’ EPITAPHS $400
Total Left On Board: $800
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.23 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Mehal $13,400 Coryat, 22 correct, 4 incorrect, 41.82% in first on buzzer (23/55), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Elizabeth $7,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Mikey $7,600 Coryat, 10 correct, 2 incorrect, 20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $28,800
Lach Trash: $16,000 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,400
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Mikey McCullough, career statistics:
32 correct, 5 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
27.27% in first on buzzer (30/110)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,300
Elizabeth Little, career statistics:
11 correct, 3 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800
Mehal Shah, career statistics:
22 correct, 5 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
41.82% in first on buzzer (23/55)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400
Mehal Shah, to win:
2 games: 44.961%
3: 20.215%
4: 9.089%
5: 4.086%
6: 1.837%
Avg. streak: 1.817 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Mehal $12,800 Mikey $7,600 Elizabeth $3,800)
Mikey: To have any chance of winning, you have to bet at least $2,800. I would limit my bet here to $3,799 to at least force Elizabeth to be correct to have a chance of beating me. (Actual bet: $5,000)
Elizabeth: I would probably bet $1,001 here—this would mean I pass Mikey if she’s incorrect, I’m correct, and she bets her minimum. (Actual bet: $0)
Mehal: Standard cover bet over Mikey is $2,401. (Actual bet: $3,001)
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Absolutely straightforward, sire (father) is the noun, TO sire is the verb.
While I knew that Sire usually meant father, that was a far as I got understanding this Final Jeopardy clue answer. I know of the Icarus myth, like many, but since I didn’t understand what the clue meant, I’m now 1-2 for the week.
I thought this FJ was highly likely to be a triple get. I did not know that particular description of the story, but knowing that Daedalus had warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, but he did and lost his wings, it made sense that Icarus would cry for help from his father (and I thought practically everybody knows what a sire is).
My guess about all the players being wrong was that the “toppled” threw them off into thinking of someone falling from walking or standing (or being defeated/overthrown) rather than falling from the sky and knew enough Roman myths to be able to come up with characters who fit that, whereas I don’t know a lot of Roman or Greek myths but I do know about the story of Icarus which the clue immediately brought to mind.
Nice Lisa! Your comments remind of things from the movie Space Cowboys.
While not necessarily a triple get, I thought that, at least, one (most likely the librarian) would get this. The myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun is so well known that I thought someone would figure it out from the clue’s reference to beating the air with naked arms and calling out to his father.
Never knew there to ever be any confusion over the word “sire.” We often hear of famous racehorses who sired (fathered) some other famous offspring or how many offspring they may have. For example, Secretariat sired Risen Star (winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes) and Lady Star (the 1986 Horse of the Year). As another example, Lexington sired 236 winners who won 1,176 races, including three Preakness Stakes winner (tied for the record with Broomstick). Oh, did I mention that I grew up close to Pimlico Race Course?
Three days in a row with unplayed clues. 🙁
Those categories such as today’s “Gladiators” where someone is doing the clues on videos take longer and frequently result in unplayed clues. That could account for some of the unplayed clues. That, plus longer story telling during the interviews chews up time.
I didn’t know. 1 for 3 for the week and 7 for 53 on the season.