There is perhaps no game show more iconic thanJeopardy!. As such, the show has had many memorable moments over the years. Sometimes, against all odds, a contestant will answer the question correctly. Other times, nobody gets the answer to what seems to be an obvious question, much to the frustration of some of the show’s viewers. InJeopardy!, the contestants' individual answers are often more memorable even than the questions.
Most of the time onJeopardy!, the contestants will get most of the questions right. Occasionally, they will get a question wrong with a similar answer to what is correct. Other times, someone will answer a question so incorrectly, that the answer becomes a permanent memory for the show’s viewers. Sometimes, there is nothing funnier onJeopardy!than when a contestant gives a disastrously wrong answer. These are the 10 worstJeopardy!answers, ranked.
10"What is 411?"
The most entertaining wrong answers onJeopardy!are when contestants miss something very common or easy, with an answer that seems to be completely out of left field. One such example is when a group of contestants were asked:“In Britain, they dial 999 in emergencies instead of this number we use.“To this, a contestant, Jackie, answered, “What is 411?”
The correct answer, of course, is 911. 411 is for directory help, rather than emergencies. This is one of the worst jeopardy answers, because the answer is extremely well-known and important. 411 is still a memorable number, though, and it is only one digit away from the correct answer. It is not as far-fetched as some other answers on the show, but it is stilla funny and unexpected mistake.
9"What is hot gun?”
Prompt: “A hired killer.”
Another type of wrong answer that fans will occasionally see onJeopardy!is a mixup of words. Sometimes, even the contestants who answer with these know that they are wrong, but they still cannot think of the right answer. Once, a group of contestants onJeopardy!were asked to answer a question in the 3+3 category, for which the answer would consist of two words, each containing three letters.
The question was to find a word that fit this category and that meant"A hired killer.“To this, a contestant, Jamie, responded, “Hot gun.” The correct answer was hitman, which is a popular enough term that it seems obvious. Additionally, “hot gun” is not a real term, and was clearly just a mashup of two random words. It wasa hilariously bad answer, and even Jamie seemed to know that it was wrong when he suggested it.
8"What is ‘pick it up’?”
Prompt: “A common sign at a checkout counter is ‘Take a penny, do this’.”
Sometimes onJeopardy!, contestantswill have to complete a common saying. This can lead to wildly wrong answers, if the contestant has never heard of what is an otherwise popular phrase. Once, a group ofJeopardy!contestants were asked,“A common sign at a checkout counter is ‘Take a penny,’ do this.“The answer was “Leave a penny,” which is a pretty common saying.
One of the contestants, Tyler, answered, “Pick it up.” It was an especially funny wrong answer. For one thing, the phrase is very common. For another, it is hilarious to picture customers being asked to take pennies and keep them for themselves at a checkout counter. The answer is not that wrong, though. Tyler clearly mistook this phrase for another popular one:“Find a penny, pick it up. All day long, you’ll have good luck.”
7"What is a threesome?”
Prompt: “If Andy yearns for Brenda and Brenda cares about Charlene who pines for Andy, the 3 of them form one of these.”
Every once in a while onJeopardy!,a contestant will unknowingly answer a question with a hilarious and out-there word or phrase. Once, a group of contestants were asked,“If Andy yearns for Brenda and Brenda cares about Charlene, who pines for Andy, the 3 of them form one of these.“The answer was love triangle, but a contestant, Kara, answered it with, “What is a threesome?”
This was an especially memorable wrong answer, because a love triangle seemed like the obvious response. The three people in the question have a clear love triangle that touches on all sides, and it is a popular saying. This particular wrong answer is also hilarious and unexpected for a show likeJeopardy!The show tries to keep things friendly for network TV, so this was a surprising and funny answer.
6"What are public toilets?”
One of the most notable wronganswers inJeopardy!historywas a truly hilarious suggestion. The contestants were asked,“By the 4th Century A.D., Rome had 28 public ones stacked with rolls of papyrus.“A contestant, Gary, gave an answer that sounded correct in theory. He answered,“What are public toilets?“This answer could have made sense upon first thought, due to the mention of rolls in the question.
Gary’s wrong answer is so iconic for two main reasons. First, while it is believable and generally accurate that Ancient Romans used communal toilets, 28 public toilets would not have been nearly enough for all of Ancient Rome. Second of all, the thought of papyrus as toilet paper is very strange and funny. This is a memorable wrong answer, made even more hilarious when paired against the actual correct answer, libraries.
5"What is a dick?”
Prompt: “Slang for a detective.”
A common type category inJeopardy!is any variation on the concept of making contestants give the names of slang terms for popular words. This can lead to some hilarious answers, sometimes because the slang is extremely obscure, and other times even when it is very common. Once, aJeopardy!named Austin selected the category “Starts and ends with a tree.” The question was,“Slang for a detective.”
To this, Austin answered, “Dick.” This was an especially memorable wrong answer, because Austin’s suggestion is not even a part of the word “detective.” Additionally, asAlex Trebekhilariously pointed out, it is also not a type of tree. The correct answer was gumshoe, which fit the category because of the gumtree. “Gumshoe” is a difficult answer to name, but Austin’s answer was still very funny and unexpected.
4"What is a hoe?”
Prompt: “This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.”
Ken Jenningsmay be the host ofJeopardy!now, but true fans remember when he excelled as a contestant on the game show. Jennings always did very well on the show, but he has one hilarious wrong answer that has become an iconic party ofJeopardy!history. In the category of “Tool Time,” contestants had to answer each question with a word that had two meanings, where one was a tool.
The contestants were asked to answer,“This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.“Ken Jennings answered, “What is a hoe?” but the correct answer was actually a rake. “Rake” was generally less of a commonly-known termbefore it was repopularized byBridgerton, so it makes sense that Jennings did not immediately think of that. Regardless, this is still one of the funniest and most memorable wrong answers in the history ofJeopardy!
3"What is Toronto?”
Prompt: “Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest, for a World War II battle.” (In the category of U.S. Cities)
Wrong answers can come from even the very bestJeopardy!contestants. After all, they’re only human. One of the very worst answers inJeopardy!history came from a non-human contestant, though, and it was absolutely hilarious. In 2011, a computer system named Watson competed onJeopardy!against Ken Jennings andBrad Rutter. Watson did very well, and eventually even won. However, the computer had one major slip-up.
In a “Final Jeopardy” question, the category was “U.S. Cities.” The question was,“Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest, for a World War II battle.“To this, Watson typed, “Toronto?????” This could have been reasonable guess to the question, if the category were not quite literally “U.S. Cities.” This showedthat computers had their limitations, as Watson answered a question in a U.S. Cities category with a city in Canada.
2"What is a baguette?”
Prompt: “Some French people holdune clope, one of these, between 2 fingers outside a bistro as they contemplate life’s meaning.”
SomeJeopardy!wrong answers initially seem correct, in theory. Contestants only have a limited amount of time to answer, so it makes sense that they could give an illogical answer in a hurry. Once, a group of contestants were asked to give the translation of a French word. The question was,“Some French people holdune clope, one of these, between 2 fingers outside a bistro as they contemplate life’s meaning.”
The answer was, of course, a cigarette. It seems to be an obvious answer, playing off ofcommon tropes in French movies. However, one of the contestants, Alex, answered, “What is a baguette?” This was an absolutely hilarious wrong answer, because it is wonderfully absurd to picture a person holding an entire baguette between 2 fingers in a melancholy fashion.
1"What is a train?”
Prompt: “It made zoological news in 2008 when Asian mouse deer were seen escaping predators by this means of locomotion.”
The most iconic wrong answer inJeopardy!history came from a question about animals. The contestants were asked,“It made zoological news in 2008 when Asian mouse deer were seen escaping predators by this means of locomotion.“To this, a contestant named Christine answered, “What is a train?” In fairness to Christine,Jeopardy!questions have to be answered very quickly, and it is easy to confuse “locomotion” with “locomotive.”
That being said, there is noJeopardy!wrong answer that conjures up a more memorable visual than the Asian mouse deer galloping onto a train to run for their lives. The correct answer was swimming, which makes much more sense, but is way less entertaining. The worstJeopardy!answers are typically also the answers that are funniest and most entertaining to watch, and this one did not disappoint.
Jeopardy!airs on broadcast TV andis available to stream on Fubo in the US.
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