Jeopardy! fans slam ‘nonsense’ clues as one category is ‘the worst’

During the latest episode of Jeopardy!, viewers were outraged over one vocabulary category in the first round that had three clues which stumped all of the contestants

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Jeopardy! fans slam “nonsense” clues as one category is “the worst”(Image: Jeopardy!)

Jeopardy! fans are upset at a new category that allegedly has “the worst clues.”

On Monday, December 8, Ken Jennings invited Morgan Lloyd, Will Riley, and Ron Lalonde to the Alex Trebek stage in California to appear on the hit game show. Once Jeopardy! began, it didn’t take long for them all to get stumped on a category that even had Ron, the three-day champ, at a loss for guesses.

During the first round, the five categories were World Traveling, Oh, You Shall Football, Bestsellers, Music Terms, “IA,” and What Does The Fax Say?. Many viewers believed the sports category would have been the trickiest for the contestants. However, while they did leave the football category until last, they found more trouble with the vocabulary category of the day.

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For the -IA category, the contestants had to guess which words had the letters I and A next to each other based on its definition. One of the clues stated an “Adjective for a bargain with the devil,” which turned out to be “Faustian.”

Ultimately, it was found challenging and the players missed out on three cash prizes.

After the Jeopardy! round was completed, many fans took to social media to defend the contestants.

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Jeopardy!’s IA category stumped the contestants(Image: Jeopardy!)

One viewer on X said, “The ‘IA’ category has some of the worst clues I have seen in a while.” They included a reaction photo of Seth Meyers, which said, “What nonsense is this?”

Another Reddit user described the category as “challenging” and “would have fit well in DJ.”

“I think it may have worked against Ron, though. Even though I bet we’ll see him in the tourneys, I’m still sad to see him go,” a third chimed in, referencing the Tournament of Champions.

The Tournament of Champions, which will air on January 27, is an annual special that brings together the most successful champions from the past year to compete for the title and significant cash prize. Contestants can qualify for the tournament from December 9, 2024 to November 14, 2025.

This year’s game will maintain the 21-player format.

The most famous winner of the Tournament of Champions is the show’s current host Ken Jennings. In 2005, he made Jeopardy! history as he won the special competition after winning 74 consecutive games the year before.

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Ken Jennings has won the most Jeopardy! games(Image: Jeopardy!)

Ken was invited back in 2021 as a guest host before becoming the sole personality in December 2023. He has already hosted three Tournament of Champions since joining the show.

Ken is grateful to still be a part of the show 20 years after his debut.

“It’s just such an incredibly fun job,” the host told TV Insider. “You’re playing along with the smartest folks and getting to see them do their thing up close. I really feel very lucky that I’m still part of the Jeopardy! family after all these years.”

Jeopardy! airs weekdays at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.