Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 24, 2026, 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 Short Stories) for Tuesday, February 24, 2026 (Season 42, Game 122):
Encountering one that snarls at him in an 1819 work, this title character exclaims, “My very dog…has forgotten me!”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Christa Fidel, a musician from Wellington, Florida
|
James Hirsh, a lawyer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
Trey Hart, a grant writer from Petaluma, California (2-day total: $34,300)
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Proving once again that Michael Davies generally knows what he’s doing, yesterday saw the return of non-tournament Jeopardy! to…relative crickets. Certainly, the anti-tournament crowd was happy, but the general ambivalence of the average viewer towards last night’s game came through clearly on the analytics side of things in the 12 hours since airing in the Eastern Time Zone—especially on Facebook, where the average viewers are most likely to congregate. Tournaments move the needle, regular play doesn’t.
In that game, defending champion Trey Hart made a very intelligent move in Final Jeopardy and ended up taking his second victory when Final ended up as a Triple Stumper. Today, he goes for win #3 against Florida musician Christa Fidel and Ontario lawyer James Hirsh.
(Content continues below)
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2026? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 20 players, now including Jamie Ding, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Correct response: Who is Rip Van Winkle?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2026 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Rip Van Winkle is the title character of a famous Washington Irving short story, written in June 1818 and first published the following year in 1819. In it, Rip is a villager living at the foot of the Catskill Mountains; on a hunting trip, he gets drunk and falls asleep, only awaking 20 years later—after the American Revolution has passed.
This Final Jeopardy clue has everything needed—time frame, and just enough of the plot—in order for both player and viewer to figure it out. One good thing about regular play is that Final Jeopardy is often more straightforward.
In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in early 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.
Game Recap:
An excellent game that was separated by just $800 through 30 clues saw Trey and James pick up the Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy, James coming back from a distant third over the final 10 clues to lead entering Final Jeopardy, thanks to $8,000 on the last Daily Double.
Final Jeopardy saw a triple-get as James becomes your new champion! He’ll get to play for win #2 tomorrow.
Scores going into Final:
James $20,400
Trey $16,200
Christa $15,600
Tonight’s results:
Christa $15,600 + $0 = $15,600 (Who is Rip Van Winkle)
Trey $16,200 + $8,000 = $24,200 (Who is Rip Van Winkle?)
James $20,400 + $12,018 = $32,418 (Who is Rip Van Winkle) (1-day total: $32,418)
Game Stats:
James $12,800 Coryat, 18 correct, 1 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Trey $13,800 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Christa $15,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 0 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $42,200
James Hirsh, to win:
2 games: 60.346%
3: 36.416%
4: 21.976%
5: 13.262%
6: 8.003%
Avg. streak: 2.522 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- If James goes on a run, I would absolutely expect to see Christa in Second Chance and Trey in Champions Wildcard. If not, we’ll see.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: James $20,400 Trey $16,200 Christa $15,600)
Trey: You can’t both cover Christa and win a Triple Stumper. If covering, bet at least $15,001. If not, bet no more than $599 and force Christa to be correct and make a bet to beat you. (Actual bet: $8,000)
James: Standard cover bet is $12,001. (Actual bet: $12,018)
Christa: Bet between $1,201 and $7,199, hoping for a Triple Stumper and an overbet from Trey, while also defending against Trey’s entire low range. (Actual bet: $0)
The new TJ!F Plus section is active! In order to get the Daily Details of each episode coming soon, as well as the ability to comment on posts site-wide, make sure to register for your account! It should be noted that if you have not registered for an account since December 13, 2025, that registration for a new account is necessary.
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.