# Jeopardy: How did this guy's answer fly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109 "2013-01-04T22:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/1 "2013-01-04T22:59:10Z")
I can’t remember the exact wording, but it involved a rhyming category regarding ET’s favorite treat. The guy’s answer rhymed, all right but IT’S NOT RIGHT. His answer was, “ReeSEES PieCEES.” And he got away with it. I sort of get the Reese’s mispronunciation, but surely the mispronunciation of pieces to rhyme with his mispronunciation of Reese’s is blatantly incorrect. I almost decided to stop watching Jeopardy after this. Even Wheel of Fortune wouldn’t have let this slide! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/2 "2013-01-04T23:02:58Z")
I’ve heard Reesee’s Peesees in the South before. I even used to pronounce it that way myself. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/3 "2013-01-04T23:09:49Z")
I am shocked that anyone DOESN’T use that pronunciation. That’s part of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/4 "2013-01-04T23:11:28Z")
I’ve never heard Reese’s Pieces pronounced like that but, as a kid in Alabama, people called Reese’s Cups “Ree-See Cups”. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/5 "2013-01-04T23:12:22Z")
First thing that it came to my mind: Reese’s Pieces ad from the early 90s https://www.youtube.com/embed/TO8tfxr9U58?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque > [@](#): > > Big pieces, little pieces, masterpieces, REESE’S PIECES > > Head pieces, neck pieces, hair pieces, REESE’S PIECES > > Eye pieces, nose pieces, mouth pieces, REESE’S PIECES > > 3 pieces, 2 pieces, 1 pieces, REESE’S PIECES > > Time pieces, centerpieces, mental pieces, REESE’S PIECES > > Chess pieces, gold pieces, silver pieces, REESE’S PIECES ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/6 "2013-01-04T23:17:03Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > I’ve heard Reesee’s Peesees in the South before. I even used to pronounce it that way myself. I don’t mind that, but I have to admit that I shudder when I hear someone refer to a single piece of the candy as a Reesee Peesee. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/7 "2013-01-04T23:18:12Z")
Regardless, pieCEES is not a word and I’m just surprised that he got away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/8 "2013-01-04T23:24:41Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Regardless, pieCEES is not a word and I’m just surprised that he got away with it. Perhaps _Jeopardy_’s judges accepted it as a known vernacular pronunciation; it’s obvious the contestant knows the correct answer. _Jeopardy_ is not usually _uber_-strict about pronunciation unless it creates an ambiguity over what the contestant meant. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/9 "2013-01-04T23:24:59Z")
i cannot explain why but i really really really hate the “reesees peesees” (mis)pronunciation. HATE. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/10 "2013-01-04T23:36:21Z")
Jeopardy! doesn’t penalize for a wrong pronunciation, as long as you don’t add a letter or syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/11 "2013-01-04T23:41:25Z")
> [@expectopatronum](#): > > i cannot explain why but i really really really hate the “reesees peesees” (mis)pronunciation. HATE. Me, too! That’s why I almost turned it off! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/12 "2013-01-05T00:02:04Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Perhaps _Jeopardy_’s judges accepted it as a known vernacular pronunciation; it’s obvious the contestant knows the correct answer. _Jeopardy_ is not usually _uber_-strict about pronunciation unless it creates an ambiguity over what the contestant meant. Which I commend them for, not like those idiots at Wheel of Fortune who seem completely arbitrary in what they accept. Not just the recent “seven swans a-swimming” fiasco, but the “Buttinsky” idiocy, too. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/13 "2013-01-05T01:01:33Z")
> [@expectopatronum](#): > > i cannot explain why but i really really really hate the “reesees peesees” (mis)pronunciation. HATE. Yeah, it’s from the same people who must call McDonald’s “Mickey D’s” and insist the grocery store Kroger is “Krogers.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/14 "2013-01-05T03:46:18Z")
I use Burger Thing, Taco Smell, Dead Lobster, and a few others I can’t recall right now. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/15 "2013-01-05T04:37:15Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > … I almost decided to stop watching Jeopardy after this. Even Wheel of Fortune wouldn’t have let this slide! 🙂 Lighten up, Francis! 😉 Actually, the big joke in Junior High after this movie was pronouncing it “Reece’s Feces”! :rolleyes: Yeah, it was a simpler time… ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/16 "2013-01-06T04:44:06Z")
I saw this and wondered the same thing when it happened. I concluded that the contestant was given the benefit of the doubt because he seemed to have an accent as if he was not a native speaker. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/17 "2013-01-06T04:58:35Z")
Okay, _Pea-Sees_ is a novelty pronunciation of _pieces_, but _Ree-Sees_ is just as much a novelty pronunciation of _Reese’s_. Why are people submitting posts that suggest that _Ree-Sees_ is a standard pronunciation of anything at all? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/18 "2013-01-06T04:59:38Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I use Burger Thing, Taco Smell, Dead Lobster, and a few others I can’t recall right now. Gag in the Bag. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/19 "2013-01-06T05:07:46Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > First thing that it came to my mind: > > Reese’s Pieces ad from the early 90s > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO8tfxr9U58](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO8tfxr9U58) Wow, haven’t seen that commercial in a long time. Reminds me of Numb by U2. I don’t know if it’s something I watched or the rhyming thing, but all the related videos that popped up feature John CLEESE. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109/20 "2013-01-06T05:40:05Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I use Burger Thing, Taco Smell, Dead Lobster, and a few others I can’t recall right now. Kentucky Fried Chipmunks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-how-did-this-guys-answer-fly/646109.md?page=2)