‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Accuse Ken Jennings of Making Mistake on ‘Downton Abbey’ Clue

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Is that how you say it? Jeopardy! fans accused host Ken Jennings of making a big mistake after they thought he pronounced a word incorrectly.

On the June 29 episode, Adam Remsen returned for his 12th game. He won it in another runaway against Sarah Streicher, from Altadena, California, and Jeff Price, from Barrington, Illinois. Remsen ended the game with $27,609, giving him a 12-day total of $306,415.

While some fans focused on Remsen’s win, others were confused at the way Jennings pronounced a common word. In Double Jeopardy, the clue in “Compound Words” was “The duties of this servant seen on Downton Abbey include acting as valet to a male guest who somehow arrives without one.” The correct response was “footman,” which none of the contestants guessed.

Most people know the word “valet” to be pronounced as “Val-ay,” but the host said it like “Val-it.” A valet is a person who typically parks a person’s car at a public place for a price and then fetches it for them on the way out to make it easier. However, in British terms, it typically means a footman or car service, and in that case, it is pronounced exactly how Jennings said it. It rhymes with “pallet,” according to a Jane Austin blog.

Fans took to a Jeopardy! Facebook group, Jeopardy! Fan Group, to discuss what they thought was a mistake. “Ken pronounced valet as spelled. I thought it was valay,”  the original poster said.

“So did I,” a fan replied.

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“I noticed that mispronunciation also,” another wrote.

“I bet we all noticed that. Surprising,” a third added.

“Me too. But I’ve heard more and more people pronounce it Valette and not Val ay,” a fan commented.

“I noticed that too. Weird,” a Facebook user commented.

Many fans iterated what is mentioned above — on Downton Abbey and in Great Britain, it is said as “valit.” “I knew that one from watching Downton Abbey,” another commented.

“Depends on where you live; it’s said both ways,” another said.

“If I remember correctly, it was pronounced as spelled on Downton Abbey,” one last fan said.

Did you know that the word is pronounced in different ways? Let us know in the comments.

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