Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 10, 2025, 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 Historic Phrases) for Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (Season 42, Game 3):
In 1914 Belgium’s queen gave this phrase a political meaning, saying one had descended between her & Germany
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Leslie Oakerson, a financial services manager from Red Bank, New Jersey
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Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, California
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Ian Morrison, an airline ramp agent originally from Aurora, Colorado (1-day total: $22,009)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Day 3 of Season 42 of Jeopardy! sees Colorado’s Ian Morrison return as champion; in his title defense, he faces off against Leslie Oakerson of Red Bank, New Jersey, as well as a familiar name to crossword puzzle fans in Paolo Pasco. Paolo is a relatively well-known crossword solver and constructor, skills that have led to success on Jeopardy! in the past. Of course, that never means that victory is guaranteed.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is “iron curtain”?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Although the political term “iron curtain” was used most famously by Winston Churchill to describe the divisions between West and East at the beginning of the Cold War, the term had political connotations before that. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 at the start of World War I, Elisabeth of Bavaria, then Queen of Belgium, said that an iron curtain had descended between the two countries, according to the BBC’s History Extra.
It’s hard to say how this Final Jeopardy clue will play, in my opinion. A lot of viewers and players might have an internal debate between “What else could it be?” and “But Churchill popularised it…”; I’ll guess we’ll see in a few hours how it plays!
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, September 10, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Finish Him!; A Stone Quarry; Presidential Doin’s; TV Reboot Camp; A Quick Workout; The World Of Downton Abbey)
Ian got off to a strong start, but Leslie did quite well in the Downton Abbey category to lead at the first break. At the interviews, the scores were Leslie $3,000 Ian $2,800 Paolo $1,000.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Leslie 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ian 6 correct 1 incorrect
Paolo 3 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Leslie has been riding horses for most of her life.
Paolo is obsessed with pigeons.
Ian has done lots of Jeopardy! cosplay.
Leslie went to a $200 clue, giving control over the board over to Paolo—who found a Daily Double immediately. Unfortunately, an incorrect response dropped him to $0 as he sat third after 30 clues. Meanwhile, Ian picked up another six correct to lead at the midpoint.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ian 12 correct 2 incorrect
Leslie 7 correct 1 incorrect
Paolo 8 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ian $4,000
Leslie $3,600
Paolo $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Hope Geography Is Your 4-Te; She Wrote That; From The National Weather Service Glossary; In Concert; Media Anniversaries; Anagrams Of Each Other)
Double Jeopardy started with a number of incorrect responses keeping the scores down, including Paolo missing DD2. However, Paolo did get DD3 correct, and Ian went on a good run at the end of the round, getting 9 of the last 11 clues correct to make sure the game wasn’t a runaway.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Paolo 20 correct 5 incorrect
Ian 23 correct 5 incorrect
Leslie 8 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Paolo $14,800
Ian $10,000
Leslie $1,200
Leslie and Paolo were correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes Paolo your new champion! He’ll be back tomorrow to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Leslie $1,200 + $1,000 = $2,200 (What is an Iron Curtain?)
Ian $10,000 – $7,991 = $2,009 (What is a dark cloud?)
Paolo $14,800 + $5,201 = $20,001 (What is Iron Curtain?) (1-day total: $20,001)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) PRESIDENTIAL DOIN’S $600 (clue #18)
Paolo 1200 -1200 (Ian 2800 Leslie 4000)
2) SHE WROTE THAT $2000 (clue #10)
Paolo 9600 -3300 (Ian 3600 Leslie 3600)
3) FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLOSSARY $1600 (clue #14, $17600 left on board)
Paolo 8700 +2100 (Ian 2000 Leslie 800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -110
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ian 3 4 4 5 2 2 4 2
Paolo 3 5 3 3*
Leslie 1 2 3 4 5 1
DJ! Round:
Ian 1 4 3
Paolo 4 3 5 2 3 2 5* 3 4 3 4*
Leslie
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Paolo 3.47
Leslie 2.67
Ian 3.09
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:
Paolo $18,800 Coryat, 20 correct, 5 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Leslie $1,200 Coryat, 8 correct, 3 incorrect, 14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Ian $10,000 Coryat, 23 correct, 5 incorrect, 47.37% in first on buzzer (27/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,000
Lach Trash: $9,600 (on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $14,400
Lead Changes: 6
Times Tied: 4
Player Statistics:
Ian Morrison, career statistics:
44 correct, 9 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
39.47% in first on buzzer (45/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,800
Paolo Pasco, career statistics:
21 correct, 5 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,400)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,800
Leslie Oakerson, career statistics:
9 correct, 3 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $1,200
Paolo Pasco, to win:
2 games: 42.111%
3: 17.733%
4: 7.468%
5: 3.145%
6: 1.324%
Avg. streak: 1.727 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Paolo $14,800 Ian $10,000 Leslie $1,200)
Ian: Your best chance of winning happens if you bet between $0 and $400 and hope that Paolo misses Final. (Actual bet: $7,991)
Paolo: Standard cover bet is $5,201. If you really think that Ian will bet small, you can best defend against that with a bet between $2 and $4,398. (Actual bet: $5,201)
Leslie: You need a pair of overbets to have any chance. Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $1,000)
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Got this off of a complete guess… but how you get there is how you get there, right?
In any case, this was my first correct Final Jeopardy of the season 🙂
MasterDoge!
Happy Birthday!!
Rick
I guessed correctly thinking this has to be wrong because Churchill used it in his speech in Fulton, MO years later – but I had nothing else. There is now a National Churchill Museum in Fulton, MO thanks to that speech.
Even if one initially thought that it was Churchill who has coined the phrase, as I did, the word “descended” helped to overcome the misconception.
TBH, I didn’t even know that Churchill originated the most recent/pervasive usage of the term, but it is what first came to mind and I “went with it”. [I think I’d assumed a newspaper pundit came up with the term.]
Grew up hearing about the “Iron Curtain” so much that I thought it was a fact of life. The origin of the phrase never occurred to me as it just seemed like it always existed. Most likely, anyone from my generation will get this right away as it came to me instantly. Another one that may be more difficult for younger generations than older generations, in my opinion.
p.s. When I was very young, I visualized it as a literal iron curtain between the United States and the Soviet Union.
In 1794 the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane became the first theatre to install an iron safety curtain. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron curtain (or iron) in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
👍
I couldn’t come up with a phrase, so I knew that I was wrong with my guess of Schism.
I easily “got” the Grand Ole Opry 100th anniversary clue right — I was not in attendance for that, but I WAS in the audience for the taping of the Grand Ole Opry 50th anniversary!