In a world of game shows that often pander to the lowest common denominator, Jeopardy! has always stood apart. A certain level of pretension is ingrained in the show—consider its central conceit of having contestants answer in the form of a question—and the public loves that about it. There’s nothing quite like watching three nerds duke it out over useless trivia to see who will be crowned King Egghead.
Still, sometimes the Jeopardy! judges can be a tad too pedantic. On Monday’s show, contestant Nick Spicher buzzed in on a category where he had to mash up two titles. The clue? “A song by Coolio from ‘Dangerous Minds’ goes back in time to become a 1667 John Milton classic.” Spicher got the question right, for the most part, but the judges were more than a little gangsta when ruling on his pronunciation.
https://twitter.com/roywoodjr/status/948210103316025346
The look on Spicher’s face let everyone know just what he thought about the judge’s distinction between “gangster” and “gangsta,” but as a viewer, there is something delightful about the show’s punctiliousness being applied to the title of a Coolio song. While it cost Spicher $3,200, he still went on to win in Final Jeopardy, and in true scholarly fashion, he acknowledged his mistake on Twitter.
My first thought was, "Didn't I say 'gangsta'?" and I kind of wanted to hear the tape. But I assume they listened to it quite enough to definitively determine it.
— Nick Spicher (@nickspicher) January 2, 2018
And since that was my reaction, that of course means that yes, "Gangsta's" would have been correct. They had every right to call me out on it.
— Nick Spicher (@nickspicher) January 2, 2018
And I will be forever proud of the moment that Alex Trebek taught me how to say "Gangsta.":P
— Nick Spicher (@nickspicher) January 2, 2018
Let this serve as a lesson to all future Jeopardy! contestants: it’s “Fuck Tha Police” and “Protect Ya Neck.” You never know when Trebek might try to trip you up with some ’90s hip hop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6voHeEa3ig
