As any game show head will tell you, no show is as harsh and unforgiving as Jeopardy! Unless you’ve got the answer absolutely correct to within a zero point zero margin of error, you’re getting shredded. Sometimes these answers go to a decision over the commercial break. The show pops back out of a ads, Alex Trebek rips the contestant’s heart out, gives them no right of reply, and simply moves on with proceedings.
There is no greater example of it than this episode. Contestant Nick Spicher was given a delightful little bit of wordplay for his Jeopardy prompt: “A song by Coolio from ‘Dangerous Minds’ goes back in time to become a 1667 John Milton classic.”
Those of you who are fans of both classic English poetry and the collected works of Coolio will know that the proper question/answer here is: “What is Gangsta’s Paradise Lost?” Very clever.
Nick got the general gist of it… but he said it a little wrong. Instead of saying “Gangsta’s Paradise Lost,” he said “Gangster’s Paradise Lost”. Similar, but different. Ultimately unforgivable.
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The ruling cost Nick $3,200, though he ended up winning anyway. The team behind Jeopardy! handed down the explanation behind their brutal verdict:
The correct response? “What is Gangsta’s Paradise Lost?”
Although Nick’s response of “Gangster’s Paradise Lost” was initially accepted, the hard R sound caught the ear of one member of the onstage team, who immediately followed up with a quick check.
It turns out that “gangsta” and “gangster” are both listed separately in the Oxford English Dictionary, each with its own unique definition.
Nick changed not only the song’s title, but also its meaning – making his response unacceptable.
Simple as that, folks. Don’t forget your hard r’s.
