# Is Alex Trebek actually that smart? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111 "2014-11-19T22:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/61 "2014-11-21T19:12:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Buddy deserved more than an “oh no.” He deserved a “Jesus Christ, of course not.” See, I would have gotten that wrong too because I don’t watch the NHL and the only hockey player I’ve heard of is Tony Gwin ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/62 "2014-11-21T19:30:59Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > What are the alternatives? > > **WRONG!** > > **You can’t be serious** > > **Nope, you idiot!** > > **Incorrect!** I’m sorry Mr. McEnroe, but I think we’ll go a different direction for this week’s guest host. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/63 "2014-11-21T19:46:00Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m sorry Mr. McEnroe, but I think we’ll go a different direction for this week’s guest host. Perfect! I’m trying not to break out laughing like an idiot here. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/64 "2014-11-21T19:48:11Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Or is he just a pretentious douche who pretends to be a genius because he already has all the answers? Both. He really is that smart, and he’s a pretentious douche. A couple of my most hated Trebekisms: None of the players buzz in, so Alex gives them the answer: - …“the _famous_” whatever. Subtext being “I thought _everybody_ knows that.” - …“the answer we were going for is Irktusk. _Beautiful city_.” Yes, Ajax, by now we all know you’ve been _everywhere_. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/65 "2014-11-21T20:46:54Z")
I’ve heard Sean Connery can’t stand the guy. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/66 "2014-11-21T22:44:49Z")
> [@MostlyUseless](#): > > I would always pronounce verde as vair-day. That is the Spanish pronunciation. True. Or close, anyway. I might even go with something like “bear-they” to add some extra Spanishness. Sadly, Lusophones have an annoying habit of pronouncing some of their words differently. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/67 "2014-11-21T23:32:33Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > True. Or close, anyway. I might even go with something like “bear-they” to add some extra Spanishness. Sadly, Lusophones have an annoying habit of pronouncing some of their words differently. I listened to a bunch of people pronounce this online. The Brazilians say “Cabo Ver-jay” and a Portuguese woman said “Cabo Verd.” I propose an all-expenses-paid-by-Trebek research mission to get to the bottom of this controversy that is tearing us apart. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/68 "2014-11-22T00:04:27Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Here, I dug up a classic “Oh, no.” I swear he does this at least once a week. > > [https://youtube.com/watch?v=tK8Qjo7HCIk](https://youtube.com/watch?v=tK8Qjo7HCIk) First, we don’t know that such a take hasn’t been edited. Second, Alex is probably the performer least rattled by the situation, and can recognize wildly incorrect responses better than the nervous contestants. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111/69 "2014-11-22T06:22:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You poor deprived person. ☹ How can anyone only know the name of ONE hockey player? I don’t much care for association football (soccer) or basketball, but I can name many pro players in each of them. In sports I don’t know or watch I cannot name ANY pro players. (Cricket, Rugby, etc) But in all seriousness… I sometimes wonder if his smugness is more because of the sort of crispness of his unaccented English. Sometimes he seems to have to work a bit on a standard USA broadcast pronunciation of a word, vs his French Canadian roots. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alex-trebek-actually-that-smart/705111.md?page=3)