‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Accuse Show of Dumbing Down by Using Gen-Z Slang in Clue

Jeopardy! is seemingly trying to move with the times, but many long-time viewers are reluctant to move with it.

On Friday’s (January 19) episode, a clue featured a Gen-Z slang term many fans said they’d never heard of. This led to much online debate over whether the show is dumbing down or simply keeping itself fresh and up-to-date.

The latest edition of the Champions Wildcard tournament saw a face-off between Rachel Clark, a director of client strategy from Washington, D.C., Erin Portman, a high school English teacher from Naperville, Illinois, and Bryan White, a senior regulatory compliance analyst originally from Santa Maria, California.

All three contestants performed strongly, but one particular clue under the Newer Words & Phrases seemed to stump Clark and White. The clue read: “Similar to LOL, IJBOL is short for ‘I Just Did This’.”

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However, being a high school teacher, Portman was quick on the buzzer with the correct answer. “What is burst out laughing?” she said, adding $1,200 to her total.

Even though Portman trailed slightly behind White heading into Final Jeopardy, she managed to answer the last clue correctly, giving her an episode-winning total of $20,200 and securing her spot in the semi-finals.

But fans were too distracted by the Gen-Z clue to celebrate Portman’s victory and took to social media to share their thoughts.

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“They 100% made up “IJBOL,” no one on the planet has actually used that,” wrote one viewer on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.

“I guess you should let the NY Times, USA Today, and Reader’s Digest know that because they (and other publications) have written articles about it replacing lol. Seems to largely be a Gen Z thing,” another user responded.

Another fan claimed, “It is very popular among the LGBT/chronically online communities.”

While another replied, “I’m a part of the lgbtq community and I’ve never heard that term before.”

Another said, “…I’ve never heard of ijbol.”

White himself, who competed in the episode, commented on the Reddit post, writing, “I haven’t watched the episode yet, and I must have blocked this out as I have no memory of this.”

“I’ve seen this one but I’ve only ever used by twitter stans, I think it might be a teenager thing,” said another.

“IJBOL. I’ve never seen that in my life,” wrote one viewer on X (formerly Twitter), while another added, “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard “IJBOL.”

IJBOL.
I’ve never seen that in my life. #jeopardy

— Jerzygirl45 (@jerzygirl45) January 20, 2024

I would have called the Galaxy Note a “phonezilla” myself. And that’s the first time I’ve ever heard “IJBOL.”#Jeopardy

— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) January 20, 2024

Host Ken Jennings has spoken in the past about using Gen-Z on the show and revealed his kids have prohibited him from using teenage slang.

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Appearing on Good Morning America last year, Jennings took part in a Q&A, formatted in Jeopardy!-style clues. One of the questions read, “Doing this makes your kids cringe when they watch you on Jeopardy.”

“What is any Gen-Z slang?” Jennings answered before explaining, “My kids are terrified. You know, I can say, ‘Tonight on Jeopardy, I’m gonna go to a contestant and say, ‘You’re so real for that, bestie’, and they’re like, ‘Dad, do not. I swear, DO NOT do that. Like, I will die if you do that.'”

What do you think about Jeopardy! using Gen-Z slang? And did you know the meaning of IJBOL? Let us know in the comments below.

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