Today's episode featured Shubha Ghosh of WI, Antoinette Aubert of CA, and 2-day champ Buddy Wright of TX.  Despite the lopsided scores at the end of the Jeopardy round, they seemed evenly matched at first.  Or at least they were all actively responding.  Shubha had 3000 at end of the round, while Antoinette had 4600 and Buddy had 8000.  Shubha and Buddy seesawed back and forth in Double Jeopardy, while Antoinette was largely silent.  First, Shubha nearly swept Presidential Succession 2010.  Then he picked up 3000 when he answered the first Daily Double, in Greek Letters: "This 9th letter of the Greek alphabet also means a jot or whit."* (The answer is at the end of this post, but I encourage you to read the whole post before you scroll down, or you will see all the answers.)  I hope my dad was watching today, by the way.  He knows his Greek letters.
     Buddy responded by sweeping Disco! Duck!  (Do you suppose he's proud, or embarrassed?  I'm leaning toward 'proud.'  Why not?)   Shubha then lost 2800 on this tough Daily Double, in Time is On Your Side: "Shakespeare coined this 'culinary' term for a time of youthful exuberance."
     At the end of Double Jeopardy, Shubha had 8800, Antoinette had 3800, and Buddy had 16800.  All three got this clue right, in Toys: "Original sets of this toy that was first sold in 1918 included plans for building Uncle Tom's Cabin."  Shubha wagered everything, but Buddy wagered enough to win as long as he responded correctly.  He is now a 3-day champ, with a three-week vacation: Next week is the final week of the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, followed by two weeks of the Tournament of Champions. Bring it on!
     Did you know the answers to these clues that none of the contestants got right?  I can't believe no one got this one for 200 in Scene and Herd: "Billy Crystal goes on a cattle drive (and causes a stampede with his coffee grinder) in this 1991 comedy."  How about this one for 1600 in Not Great Work: "This plural of an ordinal number also refers to flawed goods from the factory." (I had never heard of this, but I made a lucky guess.)
     Here are my scores for a couple of games this week: (For those of you new to this blog: First, welcome!  Secondly, I sometimes play along with the contestants using a Jeopardy Challenger, a device for that purpose that was sold in the 1980s.)
Alexandra Helprin NY 26400        Buddy Wright TX 27201        Randall Johnson VA  3600      Me 8798
Robin Poche TN         23800        Linda Smith AR      7900         Buddy Wright TX      24001   Me 8398

*iota, salad days, Lincoln Logs, City Slickers, seconds