Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 25, 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 1 PM Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category 18th Century Lit) for Thursday, December 25, 2025 (Season 42, Game 79):
In this work, “the boys and girls would venture to come and play at hide-and-seek in my hair”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Guy Branum, a writer & comedian from West Hollywood, California
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Michelle Tsai, a tutor originally from Honolulu, Hawai’i
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Melanie Hirsch, an attorney from Silver Spring, Maryland
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Merry Christmas! We’re onto Game 1 of Week 2’s Second Chance Final today; Melanie Hirsch, Michelle Tsai, and Guy Branum can now call themselves Jeopardy! champions—and one of them will advance to Champions Wildcard beginning January 5. As is always the case with these “two-game total-point affair” finals (I think a lot of longtime fans appreciate the nod to this Trebekism), today’s final scores get added to tomorrow’s final scores to determine the overall winner.
Today is one of the most preempted days of the year when it comes to Jeopardy!, as seven of the top 10 TV markets in the United States see the show on an ABC affiliate—and, of course, they have their annual NBA marathon today. As always on a day like today, check your local listings (or Matt Carberry’s Google sheet) for more information as to when the show may air in your area. That being said, if there is an episode to be pre-empted on, it is Game 1 of a Final when no ultimate result is determined.
Here are the three players’ stats entering today’s game:
Melanie Hirsch:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
38.60% in first on buzzer (44/114)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,100
Michelle Tsai:
56 correct, 5 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
43.86% in first on buzzer (50/114)
2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,600
Guy Branum:
32 correct, 4 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
25.44% in first on buzzer (29/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,900
The Unified Prediction Model does have Michelle as a slim favorite to win this two-game final, giving her a 38.837% chance over Melanie’s 34.149% and Guy’s 27.014% chances; she absolutely dominated her semifinal with over 30 correct responses. I would not be at all surprised if that momentum continued today and tomorrow.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Gulliver’s Travels?
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.)
The quote from today’s Final Jeopardy clue comes from Chapter III of the 1726 Jonathan Swift work and his trip to Lilliput; as a way of demonstrating that he has earned the trust of the tiny inhabitants of that land by allowing their children to play hide-and-seek in his hair.
At first, I felt annoyed by the terse usage of “lit” instead of “literature” in today’s category title. However, I then realized that the shortening of the category might have been a subtle nod towards the shortness of the Liliputians—if this was the case, kudos to the writers for the inclusion of such a subtle hint.
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Game Recap:
The most important part of today’s game were the opening 10 clues of Double Jeopardy: Melanie and Guy combined for 4 incorrect responses, while Michelle had 6 correct herself, including both Daily Doubles for a combined $9,400, turning a close game into a big lead for Michelle.
However, Final Jeopardy did not turn Michelle’s way at all—both Melanie and Guy doubled up in Final, while Michelle was incorrect, meaning everything was still very much to play for tomorrow in Game 2!
Scores going into Final:
Michelle $24,600
Guy $8,000
Melanie $6,000
Tonight’s results:
Melanie $6,000 + $6,000 = $12,000 (What Is Gulliver’s Travels?)
Guy $8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000 (What is Gulliver’s Travels?)
Michelle $24,600 – $5,400 = $19,200 (What is Rapunzel…?)
Chances of winning Second Chance:
Michelle Tsai 47.912%
Guy Branum 29.051%
Melanie Hirsch: 23.037%
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Due to the fact that tomorrow’s scores can be doubled in Final Jeopardy, Michelle has an “effective lead” of just $1,600 over Guy and $3,600 over Melanie.
- No wagering suggestions will be posted today due to today being Game 1 of a final.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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