Here are today’s contestants:

– Debbie, a university professor from Colorado, wrote a book about one of the many things Alex doesn’t know about;
– Josh, a union organizer from Massachusetts, is a Boston University hockey fan; and
– E.J., a project manager from New York, has rescue dogs who are “holy terrors”. E.J. is a three-day champ with winnings of $66,700.

Josh was correct on both of his DD opportunities while champ E.J. missed his, so Josh had the lead going into FJ with $17,100 vs. $13,000 for E.J. and $11,800 for Debbie.

DD1, $800 – HOMELAND – The Sinhalese are the majority people of this island nation (Josh won $2,500 from his score of $3,800.)

DD2, $1,200 – 5-LETTER WORDS – Term for a feudal Anglo-Saxon or Scottish lord; MacBeth was one “of Cawdor” (E.J. lost $2,000 from his total of $11,400.)

DD3, $1,600 – VILE QUOTES – In a 1941 speech, Churchill referred to “a vile race of” these traitors, from the name of a Norwegian one (Josh won $3,000 from his score of $13,700.)

FJ – ON THE MAP – 9-letter name for an area of 10 million square miles — 4/5 the size of Africa — but only 12,000 square miles of it is dry land

Everyone was incorrect on FJ and Debbie made a wagering error by betting everything from third place, costing her the victory. E.J. also lost it all and Josh escaped with the win, dropping $8,901 to finish at $8,199.

Clue selection strategy: The players did a poor job of hunting for DDs, starting DJ in “Action Movie Stars” where it was unlikely to be placed, then staying in “5-Letter Words” after DD2 was found there.

This day in shilling: No one knew Tom Holland is the star of the Spider-Man movie that “opens this week”, although for the players this premiere was still weeks away.

Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is Sri Lanka?
DD2 – What is thane?
DD3 – What are quislings?
FJ – What is Polynesia?