A recent Jeopardy! contestant lost out on thousands of dollars when they failed to come up with the correct clue during the Double Jeopardy round, and fans of the show are outraged.
Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard continued this week — with three contestants from Seasons 37 and 38 returning for the episode in the hopes of walking away with some cash — and during the game’s final Daily Double, a video clue proved to be too confusing for one of the contestants.
When graduate student and historian Kristen Thomas-McGill landed on the final Daily Double, she was given a video clue in the “A Bird In The Hand” category.
A brown, grey, and white bird perched on a person’s arm appeared on the screen as part of the clue as Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings read the audible portion of the clue.
“The type of hawk seen here is found in the name of this olden occupation of the guy holding it,” it read.
Kristen placed a $3,000 wager and responded with her answer, “Falcon,” which, as Ken told her, was the incorrect one.
Rather than the bird, the falcon, Ken was looking for the name of the occupation of someone who handles falcons, with the correct answer being “Falconer,” meaning that Kristen lost out on winning an additional $3,000.
After witnessing the confusing segment, some disgruntled Jeopardy! viewers headed to social media, where they sounded off, calling out Jeopardy! ‘s producers for making the clue so unclear.
Jeopardy! viewers challenge a ‘poorly written’ clue
“Based on the wording, I truly thought they were asking for the name of the species of bird,” wrote one Jeopardy! viewer.
“If the clue had just been ‘the name of this man’s occupation’ I would’ve instantly got it,” they added.
Another discontented fan of the show agreed, adding, “That wording was super ambivalent. I was surprised they didn’t reconsider.”
Another Redditor called the Jeopardy! clue “terrible,” and admitted that after re-reading it, they still found it confusing.
“I think it’s so poorly worded that it was an unfair clue,” they added.
“I think it’s somewhat poorly written,” commented another Redditor, echoing the sentiment.
“Poorly written or not, it was terrible because a falcon is not a type of hawk or vice versa,” voiced another concerned Jeopardy! fan. “There is no correct reply to the clue.”
While Jeopardy! fans griped about the show’s producers posting a questionably-worded clue, just days prior, they took aim at the contestants.
Jeopardy! fans were displeased with contestants who weren’t able to identify Led Zeppelin
As Monsters and Critics reported, Ken Jennings told all three contestants during a recent episode they’d “annoyed” Led Zeppelin fans everywhere when they failed to name the iconic rock band.
Along with a photo of its band members — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham — the Jeopardy! clue included the name of Led Zeppelin’s legendary 1973 album, Houses of the Holy.
While none of the contestants were able to identify Led Zeppelin and remained silent when it came time to guess the band, host Ken Jennings told the trio, “You have annoyed Led Zeppelin fans everywhere.”
Ken was correct, as miffed Jeopardy! viewers headed to X, formerly Twitter, to grumble about the contestants, deeming them “uncultured” for their lack of musical knowledge.