Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 9, 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 Legends) for Tuesday, December 9, 2025 (Season 42, Game 67):
Legend says that for military aid, Robert Bruce gave half of a symbol of Scotland’s monarchy to the King of Munster, who turned it into this
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jenna LaFleur, a freelancer from Washington, D.C.
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Steve Riddell, a business manager from Euless, Texas
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Will Riley, an engineer originally from Houston, Texas (1-day total: $16,801)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We have a new champion on Jeopardy! in Will Riley, who picked up $16,801 yesterday. Today, he faces off in his first title defense against DFW-area Steve Riddell and D.C.’s Jenna LaFleur.
There was an exchange in yesterday’s comments section overnight that reminds me of the following excerpt from the Site Comment Policy: “It’s very rare for the show to make mistakes—it’s much more likely that you as a viewer either misunderstood the clue or misremembered the requisite knowledge. We all watch Jeopardy! to learn—use the clue as a learning experience instead of assuming that you already know everything.” And, yes, the phrase is properly spelled “just deserts”.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the Blarney Stone?
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.)
First and foremost: According to Merriam-Webster, the first definition of “legend” is “a story coming down from the past, especially: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable”. The Blarney Castle website itself says “Another legend is that it was given to the MacCarthy Chieftain by Robert Bruce in thanks for support that he offered by sending 5,000-foot soldiers [sic] to Scotland to help him against Edward II, and that it was part of the Stone of Scone, on which the Kings of Scotland were inaugurated.” The stone is now famous worldwide for giving eloquence to anyone who kisses it.
Of course, modern research cares not for legend, with Glasgow University researchers concluding that the Stone was Irish and not Scottish, but as a specific way of discussing the legends surrounding the Blarney Stone, this is perfectly acceptable as a Final Jeopardy clue—one can only hope that the viewing public knows what “legend” means and doesn’t assume the actual legend is fact. (I’m not keeping my hopes up in 2025.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, December 9, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Historic Leaders; Lit-Pourri; That’s Probably Illegal; Mild TV Spoilers; K2; Yas Queens)
Will got off to the best start today with 7 correct responses; after 15 clues, the scores were Will $4,000 Steve $2,200 Jenna $1,600.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Will 7 correct 1 incorrect
Steve 4 correct 1 incorrect
Jenna 3 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Jenna is a crossword puzzle champion—possibly because Paolo Pasco was taping J! during that tournament.
Steve has a daughter who is as good at J! as he is.
Will has had weird experiences in movie theatres.
Jenna found the Daily Double and doubled her score through it, catapulting her into a lead she would keep for the rest of the round.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Jenna 10 correct 0 incorrect
Will 10 correct 1 incorrect
Steve 9 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jenna $7,600
Will $5,400
Steve $4,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Islands; Russian Composers; Science Glossary; Film Title Pairs; Say “Love”; Moving Words & Phrases)
The turning point of today’s game came when Steve moved out of ISLANDS to pick a $400 clue. Will gained control, went back to ISLANDS, and doubled up through the Daily Double. While Jenna stayed close, she missed DD3 and Will pulled away to have a reasonable lead entering Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Will 19 correct 1 incorrect
Jenna 18 correct 2 incorrect
Steve 17 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 6 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Will $19,600
Jenna $14,400
Steve $9,200
Will was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes him a 2-day champion! He’ll go for win #3 tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Steve $9,200 – $9,200 = $0 (What is a royal crest?)
Jenna $14,400 – $5,201 = $9,199 (What is a unicorn sword?)
Will $19,600 + $9,201 = $28,801 (What is the Blarney Stone?) (2-day total: $45,602)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) THAT’S PROBABLY ILLEGAL $600 (clue #18)
Jenna 2400 +2400 (Will 4000 Steve 2200)
2) ISLANDS $1600 (clue #6)
Will 6200 +6200 (Steve 5600 Jenna 9200)
3) SAY “LOVE” $1600 (clue #12, $21200 left on board)
Jenna 15200 -2000 (Will 13600 Steve 5600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 187
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Will 4 5 3 2 1 4 3 2
Steve 1 2 5 5 4
Jenna 3 4 5 3 3*
DJ! Round:
Will 2 4 4* 5† 3
Steve 1 1
Jenna 3 3 4 3 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Will 3.23
Jenna 3.50
Steve 2.71
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 6 (0.09 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Will $15,000 Coryat, 19 correct, 1 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jenna $14,600 Coryat, 18 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Steve $9,200 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $38,800
Lach Trash: $8,400 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,800
Lead Changes: 6
Times Tied: 3
Player Statistics:
Will Riley, career statistics:
38 correct, 7 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
30.70% in first on buzzer (35/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $9,200)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,700
Steve Riddell, career statistics:
17 correct, 4 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200
Jenna LaFleur, career statistics:
18 correct, 3 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,600
Will Riley, to win:
3 games: 57.315%
4: 32.850%
5: 18.828%
6: 10.791%
7: 6.185%
Avg. streak: 3.343 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Will $19,600 Jenna $14,400 Steve $9,200)
Will: Standard cover bet over Jenna is $9,201. Because of the evenly spaced scores, you should bet exactly this amount. (Actual bet: $9,201)
Steve: You have to be correct to win, and the evenly spaced scores means that Jenna might bet just $4,000. Go all in. (Actual bet: $9,200)
Jenna: Bet either $4,000 or $4,001, as Will will fall to $10,399 if he is incorrect in Final Jeopardy. Don’t fall for Zerg’s Fallacy with a bet of $5,201. (Actual bet: $5,201)
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Years ago (pre google), I too thought someone had misspelled ‘just deserts’. And fortunately, I looked it up before calling that person out and learned something new and saved myself embarrassment. (and I got today’s FJ wrong- thinking legend and Britain I went with Excalibur).
A propos of “desert” in “just deserts”, I visited Acadia National Park with my parents as a child in the ‘60s, and learned that the island there, Mount Desert Island, was pronounced like a scoop of ice cream, and not like the Sahara. I can’t remember why. Maybe a Mainer would know.
The island’s name came from Champlain because the mountains viable from the sea were bare (deserted) of trees. I was an adult when I visited in the late ’70s.
There’s a restaurant near me that doesn’t sell main courses. It’s called “Just Desserts.” A pun of sorts. 🙂
It helps to see this particular “desert” as being a form of “deserve.” Both of them stress the second syllable. “Desert”, meaning an abandoned place, stresses the first syllable, and is related to “desolate”, which also stresses the first syllable. “Dessert” comes at the end of a meal, and comes from roots meaning “un-serve”, i.e. to clear the table.
I went with the Stone of Scone.
I always thought the myth, i.e. legend, that Robert the Bruce gave Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster, part of the Stone of Scone (now the Blarney Stone) was pretty well known so I thought this would be a Triple Get or, at least, 2 out of 3. Maybe the use of King of Munster threw people off as they might not have known that was Cormac MacCarthy. I wonder if using Cormac MacCarthy instead of King of Munster would have helped more people get this final.
The juxtaposition of “Don’t fall for Zerg’s Fallacy with a bet of $5,201. (Actual bet: $5,201)” made me smile.
Years ago, when I took a sculpting class, I made a Scottish baked good out of granite. I called it the Scone of Stone. 🙂
Nope, didn’t know this FJ.