# Does any question form work on Jeopardy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450 "2011-12-26T19:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/21 "2011-12-26T23:47:07Z")
And in the Spanish version, you have to stand on your head first and then ask the question. _¿Qué?_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/22 "2011-12-27T00:10:23Z")
The gimmick of “Jeopardy!” no longer makes sense to people, but when the show was first aired, the premise was clever because it was inspired by the recent game show scandals. Remember that “Twenty-One” and “The $64,000 Question” Went off the air after it was revealed that some contestants had been given the answers. Merv Griffin and his wife came up with a gimmick: we’ll give ALL the contestants the answers, and make them provide the questions! Today, of course, those scandals are forgotten, so the “question/answer” format in “Jeopardy!” doesn’t make sense to most people any more. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/23 "2011-12-27T01:30:03Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I love it. I’d try “how’s” and “How about”. > > How’s Mexico? > > How about 1066? > > How’s Menachem Begin? I remember a time on the old Art Fleming version when a woman was flustered trying to rack her brain and finally spat out something like “How about Artie Shaw?” Fleming began to say “Question, please”, then realized she had indeed uttered an interrogative sentence, and thus deserved the dollars/points. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/24 "2011-12-27T01:37:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I know the judges are hard asses on Jeopardy. > > Its the only game show I’ve seen where mispronouncing a word can be counted against you. > > This President served four terms. > > Who is Franklin Roosevelt? > > If it sounded like you said RooseBelt they’ll say wrong. A lisp is deadly on Jeopardy. This. I had a question and responded “What is Bosnia-Herzogoven **i** a?” Trebek said it was wrong. Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/25 "2011-12-27T02:21:13Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > This. I had a question and responded “What is Bosnia-Herzogoven **i** a?” Trebek said it was wrong. Seriously? Well, it’s _spelled_ “Bosnia-Herzogovenia”, but it’s pronounced “Throat-warbler Mangrove.” ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/26 "2011-12-27T04:22:22Z")
When I auditioned they said any question was acceptable, including “Is it…?”, but they asked us to only use “What is…?” or “Who is…?” and the like. I recall someone who used “Is it…?” a lot in single Jeopardy!, but stopped in Double Jeopardy! I imagine he was discouraged from using the less traditional form by the judges in between rounds. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/27 "2011-12-27T06:44:53Z")
I could have sworn that I’ve seen contestants get credit for a correct response by saying only the “answer” but raising the tone at the end in a questioning manner, a la, “Lemon _curry_?” Perhaps I’m misremembering or they just barely mumbled a what/who in front in those situations. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/28 "2011-12-27T07:35:59Z")
I put together a lot of amateur Jeopardy-style games for various gatherings and conferences (don’t tell Sony Pictures Television). I find the answer format makes it much easier to precisely set the level of difficulty. Somehow it seems to allow much more flexibility than composing a question. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/29 "2011-12-27T12:47:18Z")
It seems they will let you slide once in the first round, allowing for your being nervous. In the Double Jeopardy round, you should have figured out the format. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/30 "2011-12-27T14:00:06Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I could have sworn that I’ve seen contestants get credit for a correct response by saying only the “answer” but raising the tone at the end in a questioning manner, a la, “Lemon _curry_?” Perhaps I’m misremembering or they just barely mumbled a what/who in front in those situations. The “what’s” has to be there, but sometimes it’s barely audible. There have been times when Trebek mentioned that a given contestant is answering in the form of a question, though viewers might not hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/31 "2011-12-27T16:14:47Z")
Can’t recall whether it was with Fleming or Trebek, but I remember one contestant who answered everything in the form of a question, but inappropriately. For instance, he might have said “When is John Quincy Adams?” or “How is the Taj Mahal?” They didn’t make sense, but they were questions, so he did get credit. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/32 "2011-12-27T17:54:27Z")
I recall a celebrity Jeopardy game where one of the “celebrities” provided his responses, not in the form of a questions, but followed by, “Who dat?” i.e. “Thomas Jefferson. Who dat?” “Muncie, Indiana. Where dat?” Again, it might have been “overlooked” because it was for charity, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/33 "2011-12-27T22:47:52Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I could have sworn that I’ve seen contestants get credit for a correct response by saying only the “answer” but raising the tone at the end in a questioning manner, a la, “Lemon _curry_?” Perhaps I’m misremembering or they just barely mumbled a what/who in front in those situations. In the Jeopardy round, you aren’t penalized for not saying the “What/Who is..” part, but if it’s in Double Jeopardy and you don’t answer with a question, the answer won’t be accepted. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/34 "2011-12-27T22:52:36Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > In the Jeopardy round, you aren’t penalized for not saying the “What/Who is..” part, Maybe you don’t get penalized, but Trebek gives you the stink-eye something fierce. That was an incredibly embarrassing moment, particularly after all the practice in the morning and the repeated drilling by the production staff. In defense, it’s incredibly nerve-wracking and exciting to ring in for the first time in the real deal. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450/35 "2011-12-27T22:57:56Z")
I can’t remember where I saw something like this… maybe on SNL? ALEX: This President served four terms. CONTESTANT: Franklin Roosevelt. ALEX: It needs to be a question. CONTESTANT: Franklin Roosevelt\*\*?\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-question-form-work-on-jeopardy/607450.md?page=1)