‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Clue With Surprising Language: ’Wouldn’t Fly 10 Years Ago’
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, December 6 episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! champ Dave Bond pulled off a second win on Friday’s episode, and speaking of things that come in pairs, viewers were left clutching their pearls when the quiz show presented a clue with the word “boob” in reference to a female breast for the first time in its 60-year history.
Bond, a retired grant writer from West Henrietta, New York, entered with a one-day total of $25,000, having overthrown two-day champ Stevie Ruiz. He faced Erin Adams, a historian and educator from Springfield, Tennessee, and Zach DeBoer, a graduate student from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
In the Jeopardy! round, no one pulled ahead until Bond doubled to $8,000, correctly getting the first Daily Double under “Scientific Discoveries” as “Endorphins.” He finished the round in the lead with $8,400, DeBoer with $6,000, Adams with $4,800.
In Double Jeopardy!, soon after Adams got the second Daily Double under “Literary Landmarks,” knowing “Pushkin,” the $800 “A For Art” clue was selected.
Ken Jennings read, “3-word title of a Titian in the Prado: she’s reaching for the forbidden fruit, he’s reaching for her boob.”
DeBoer buzzed in and correctly responded, “Who are: Adam and Eve?” Maybe it was the clue ending with the punctuated “boob,” or perhaps just hearing former champion Jennings say it in such a context, but it instantly made viewers perk up with attention.
From there, DeBoer found the last Daily Double, but Bond’s big gain on the first one allowed him to lead the way going into Final Jeopardy though all three players were in the five figures, making for a nailbiter finish. The returning champ had $16,400, Adams had $13,000, and DeBoer had $12,000.
The “TV CHARACTERS” clue was, “On TV in the 1960s & the 2020s, this character has a first name that’s partly from Latin for “Death.”” Bond and Adams were correct with “Morticia Addams,” and the champ added $10,000 for a big $26,400 win and a two-day total of $51,400.
Fans celebrated the champ’s win in the Reddit thread for the episode, where the majority of reactions were, yes, about the boob clue- some pointed out it was indeed Jeopardy!’s first ever.
“Today I learned you can say boob on jeopardy,” one user wrote.
“It was previously established you can say “manboobs”, so this is giving equal treatment to all kinds of boobs,” wrote another.
“It’s taken about 50 years, but by using “boob” in a clue in reference to a female breast, Jeopardy! has finally progressed to the level of language used by 1970s Match Game,” pointed out a third.
“Doubt that would fly 20 or even 10 years ago. ‘Breast’ would’ve been the word of choice. The clue writers have gotten more goofy in recent years,” wrote another.
“People talking about boob, but I feel like glazing was wilder lmao,” argued a fifth.
“I was so distracted by Ken saying boob that I didn’t even hear the clue!” wrote a sixth.
Other fans in the thread brought up Jennings mention of the Tournament of Champions cutoff, which entails a booby prize for Bond: even if he keeps winning, he will not be in January’s 2025 ToC (or the postseason at all), but in the next one more than a year from now.
“Maybe I misunderstood Ken – he said WHOEVER wins today will be included in the next eg subsequent round of CWC/TOC etc bc cutoff. Does that mean that Dave, a 2 day champ, will not be in the upcoming tournaments?” another fan asked.
“Yes, his stats will roll over to the 2026 TOC/postseason depending on how much he continues to win,” explained an eighth.
This also means that from here on out until the ToC airing in late January, any player who goes on big winning streak will be in the next annual tournament, not this one. There’s also more pressing issue on the board, which is that there wound up being only 20 qualifiers for the 21-player, upcoming 2025 ToC, something producers will likely address on Monday’s Inside Jeopardy! podcast.
What did you think of the thriller match? Will Dave Bond keep on winning? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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Conversation17 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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B
Using the word boob was completely juvenile and inappropriate. Would the writers use the term willie or dick as a substitute for penis? I doubt it. This is supposed to be an intelligent show. You have lowered the standards.
36 4
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P
Totally agree! What, we can’t say “breast” on network TV? Using “boob” applies cartoonish imagery to describe an historic work of art. Ridiculous!
16 1
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R
but the episode where the clue was about enunchs was okay? So I guess if it's about males then it's okay?
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P
Adams got the second DD correct. She answered "Pushkin" to win her $2200 wager. As for the "boob" reference, as a long-time viewer, I too was a little taken aback.
20 3
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O
I can’t imagine Alex Trebec say”boob”. He would have nixed that, I’m sure! I thought it was dumb!
10
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O
Yes, it was pointless, and beneath the dignity of jeopardy. It's odd that people are making a comparison to Match Game. Jeopardy has always been the intellectual alternative to potty-mouth silliness.
7 2
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O
Why not chest?
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O
To use the word boob was just plain tacky.
10 1
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G
"a Titian in the Prado" "reaching for her boob." Titian! Boob! That's a joke, son! (as Foghorn Leghorn might put it).
But if they're going for a Match Game '74 kind of vibe, will "tinkle" be next?
5 1
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G
You can also say "what is a hoe?"
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G
Yeah, the article mentions Match Game.
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G
Did they use a slang word for the male anatomy in the clue?
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G
American prudishness done just right.
Grow up you wankers
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D
Why do grown people care? We all have breasts or boobs. Whatever. It's just skin, fat, and muscle. It's not like it was vulgar.
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G
I was sho ked at the use of boob in reference to abreast.
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O
Americans are so repressed and puritanical. I didn’t even notice until I saw this article. 😂 (I thought maybe it was about why they accepted the champ’s final jeopardy answer when he didn’t include the character’s last name.)
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G
You say that like a certain degree of modesty is it's a bad thing. And it has nothing to do with the subject at hand (or where the hand was placed).
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