‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Makes Costly Gaffe on a Rhyming Question

[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, May 14, episode of Jeopardy!]

A risky Daily Double wager on a rhyming question cost one Jeopardy! player the win. The game was a close call until the final question.

Andrew Jones, from Queens, New York, returned for this third game on Wednesday, May 14. He played against Jen Johnson, from Timonium, Maryland, and Brandon Monsman, from Cleveland, Ohio. Jones had a two-day total of $26,400 after a risky all-in wager the game before.

The game was pretty even in the beginning with each of the contestants answering a handful of questions. Monsman, a bartender, found the first Daily Double on question 13. He made it a true Daily Double and wagered $1,000. In “Knives Out,” the clue read, “Referees in this sport carry a knife called a tanto, to symbolize their willingness to commit seppuku if they make a bad call.” “What is sumo?” he answered correctly, doubling up to $2,000.

Despite, Monsman correctly answering the DD, Jones, a graduate student, still led by the first commercial break with $3,800. He also picked up five more correct responses to have the lead of $4,400 by the end of the round. Monsman had $3,600. Johnson, a communications manager, trailed with $2,800. It was still anybody’s game, but Jones made a crucial mistake in Double Jeopardy that made his opponents surpass him.

Johnson found the second DD on clue number two. The game show contestant wagered $2,400 in the category “Authors’ Homes.” The clue read, “Some years after vacating the ‘Old Manse, he purchased a home from the Alcotts & called it ‘The Wayside.'” “Who was Hawthorne?” she answered correctly, doubling up to $4,800 and taking the lead.

Jones found the final DD five questions later. He went all in with $5,600 as his wager. In “Rhyme Time,” the clue read, “A compulsion to sing a song of mourning.”

“What is a lament? I don’t know,” he answered. The answer was “a dirge urge.” “That’s good,” he replied. Jones dropped down to $0. This put him at a big disadvantage going into Final Jeopardy.

However, he had an amazing comeback and retook the lead by the end of the round, but he got the penultimate question wrong, which caused Monsman to lead by $400. The clue, which turned out to be a Triple Stumper, read “On this mount that towers over Jerusalem, Jesus commandeered a colt to ride to the city.” Jones answered, “What is Hebron?” and lost $1,200 from his total. The correct answer was The Mount of Olives.

He ended the round with $8,000. Monsman led with $8,400. Johnson trailed by only a little with $6,000.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “South American Cities.” ” GPS technology has determined that a popular monument near this capital was built about 800 feet too far to the south” was the question.

Both Monsman and Jonhson answered correctly with “What is Quito [Ecuador]?” Johnson wagered $2,401, giving her a final total of $8,401. Monsman wagered $8,000, ending the game with $16,000. It all came down to Jones’ answer and wager. He answered, “What is Buenos Aires?” which was incorrect. He wagered $1,999, dropping him down to $6,001. Jones did not win his third game.

Monsman became the new winner. He will face off against two new opponents on Thursday, May 15.

Reddit users weren’t a big fan of the DD question that tripped Jones up. “Not a fan of placing a DD in DJ in a gimmick category such as RHYME TIME,” one fan wrote.

“I agree that putting a DD in a tricky wordplay category was a bit of sharp practice, particularly when added to a full category of we will stump you clues (which felt like a little bit of bad vibes or throw down, from the writers),” another said.

“Another tough close match today and congrats to Brandon. I got FJ easily today since I was just in Quito last year hehe,” a third said.

“I only knew DD3 because I had previously looked up the etymology of a Pokémon’s name – Skeledirge from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. I love learning new things and connecting it to Jeopardy, and vice versa,” another wrote.