Wednesday Words & Woes: Fun With Jeopardy!

I love this show. I really, really LOVE this show! I don't know if it's shown anywhere except the U.S., but I hope it is.

The premise of the show is that the contestants (and everyone watching) are given the answers, and they have to come up with the question. Seems simple, but often it's not. The show has been on since 1984 (with the same host, Alex Trebeck), and it's usually won by those who have a far-reaching knowledge of all sorts of odd things, people, and/or events.

The format goes like this:

A contestant chooses one clue from one of the six categories shown on the Jeopardy! board, such as "Well-known bloggers on LinkedIn."

Alex Trebeck gives an answer like this: A woman who helps others learn the finer points of American grammar and usage.

All answers must be phrased as a question, such as this correct one: Who is the Grammar Goddess?

I feel like the queen of the mountain some nights when I can come up with a lot of the questions, sometimes when the contestants can't. Woo hoo! I rock!

Then, of course, I feel like the dumbest bunny on the planet when the questions to the clues are obvious to everyone except moi.

Keeps me humble . . . a very good thing.

Lately, the show has been featuring word games that I can relate to, and tonight one of the categories was Homophonic Pairs. Yup! And it tied right in to my yesterday's Tuesday Tricksters post, once again reminding my readers that homophones can make us all look really dumb when we use the wrong one.

So I was in heaven with this category, and, yes, I got all of them right. Phew!

See if you can come up with the questions for these five answers, which you will find at the bottom of the post. Remember, you're looking for two rhyming words that match the clue.

Answer #1: A discount on boating canvas

Answer #2: A question to identify a sorceress

Answer #3: Photos of Harry or William

Answer #4: These keep prying fingers away from the smoked salmon

Answer #5: An umbilicus, and a midshipman or admiral

Take a minute. I'll wait.

OK, here are the answers/questions:

Question #1 = What is a sail sale?

Question #2 = What is which witch?

Question #3 = What are prince prints?

Question #4 = What are lox locks?

Question #5 = What is a naval navel?

How did you do? If you're not a Jeopardy! fanatic -- or even a lukewarm fan -- this might not be exciting. But for me, and for all the English language lovers out there, it's great to see a category that we can figure out.

Oh, and each show has a "Final Jeopardy!" answer, and the contestants can bet all or some of their hard-won cash. Tonight's was tough! No one got the correct answer, not even me.

The category was "Geography and Language."

Here's the answer: THE WORLD'S BUSIEST CONTAINER PORT, ITS NAME IS ALSO AN ENGLISH VERB WITH CRIMINAL OVERTONES

Here's the question: What is . . . Shanghai.

Arrrrgggghhh! So simple once I saw it. I just couldn't come up with it.

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