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A 9-letter word starting with C: After ‘Jeopardy!’ appearance, here’s a clue to her new hobby

Rachel Fabi, PhD, created this puzzle for Upstate Health magazine. The puzzle solution appears at the end of this article. Rachel Fabi, PhD, created this puzzle for Upstate Health magazine. The puzzle solution appears at the end of this article.

BY AMBER SMITH

Rachel Fabi, PhD, starts her day with a cup of coffee and The New York Times crossword puzzle.

“It gets my brain working,” she says.

Rachel Fabi working on a crossword puzzle in the courtyard in front of Upstate’s Weiskotten Hall. (photo by Richard Whelsky) Rachel Fabi working on a crossword puzzle in the courtyard in front of Upstate’s Weiskotten Hall. (photo by Richard Whelsky)

In the evenings, she likes to attend trivia games, watch “Jeopardy!” or create crossword puzzles (like the one above, which she created specially for Upstate Health magazine).

Fabi is an assistant professor of bioethics at Upstate.

She fulfilled her lifelong dream of appearing on “Jeopardy!” this year — a few weeks before host Alex Trebek disclosed his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and before James Holzhauer began his widely reported winning streak.

(Click hereHealthLink on Air logo to hear Fabi talk about her time as a contestant on the TV game show "Jeopardy!"in a podcast/radio interview with Upstate's "HealthLink on Air.")

Since she was 13, Fabi has made a daily habit of completing The New York Times crossword puzzle as a way to train for “Jeopardy!”

Fabi became a “Jeopardy!” champion her first night when she edged out her opponents by $1 by wagering nothing on a Final Jeopardy answer, which they all got wrong. She played the next night, too, but fell to a teacher from California.

After her “Jeopardy!” appearance, Fabi followed a new pursuit: to create crossword puzzles. She purchased software, found mentors willing to guide her, and so far this year has had four published in newspapers and crossword publications.

So, which is more challenging — making or solving a puzzle?

“Definitely making them.”

Can you answer the ‘Jeopardy!’ questions Fabi faced?

1. “Born in 1866, he has been called ‘The Shakespeare of Science Fiction.’”

Answer: “Who is H.G. Wells?”

2. “The title of this musical that opened in 1956 came from the last line of a nursery rhyme about a structure that spanned the Thames.”

Answer: What is “My Fair Lady”?

Puzzle solution

crossword puzzle solution

Upstate Health magazine summer 2019 issue coverThis article appears in the summer 2019 issue of Upstate Health magazine.

 

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