On the television quiz show Jeopardy!, there are some recurring categories that follow special rules. In such cases, contestants and viewers are usually told prior to game play the specific format required of a correct response.
List of recurring categories[]
- Quotation-mark categories
- In these categories, a letter or group of letters will be placed inside quotation marks in the category name; correct responses will begin with, end with, or otherwise contain that letter or group of letters.
- For example, if the category title is "AFTER" CLASS:
- Clue: A small earthquake or tremor that occurs following a major one.
- Correct response: What is an aftershock?[1]
- CROSSWORD CLUES [Letter][2]
- A specialized "quotation mark" category in which the category name gives the first letter and the individual clues give the number of letters in the correct response. Previously known as STARTS WITH [Letter] or FILE UNDER [Letter], these versions did not give the expected number of letters.
- The category is CROSSWORD CLUES "L":
- [Number]-LETTER WORDS[4]
- Each correct response is a word containing the specified number of letters.
- The category is 13-LETTER WORDS:
- Clue: A doctor who specializes in the elderly.
- Response: What is a gerontologist?[5]
- WORDS IN [Word]
- Each correct response is a word (or words) that can be formed from the letters in the given word in the category title. Alternatively titled WORDS FROM [Word].
- The category is WORDS IN SEPTEMBER:
- Clue: Neil Armstrong famously took a small one.
- Response: What is a step?[6]
- BEFORE AND AFTER[7]
- Inspired by a Wheel of Fortune category, the first and second parts of the question share a word in common. A tougher variant is the three-part BEFORE, DURING & AFTER.
- Clue: Hemorrhoid remedy for an old Baltimore Sun essayist.
- Response: What is Preparation H. L. Mencken? (joining Preparation H and H. L. Mencken)
- JEOPORTMANTEAU![8]
- The clue describes two words or phrases which the contestant must combine to form an artificial portmanteau.
- Clue: Cone-shaped dwelling plus hide-your-face game played by youngsters.
- Response: What is Teepeekaboo?
- ANAGRAMS[9]
- Each clue contains the correct response in anagrammed form. Often the category is related to a particular topic.
- The category is ANAGRAMMED ANIMALS:
- Clue: It likes to neck: fig fear.
- Response: What is giraffe?[10]
- STUPID ANSWERS[11]
- The correct response appears, unaltered, in the clue itself — although that does not mean it is always obvious.
- Clue: In 1985 Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" premiered on Broadway at this theater.
- Response: What is the Neil Simon Theater?[12]
- SPELLING[13]
- The correct response must be spelled out. Sometimes the answer will be spoken by the host, but not shown in the clue. Also known as THE DREADED SPELLING CATEGORY,[14] the words are sometimes taken directly from actual spelling bee contests[15] or are related to a particular topic or letter of the alphabet, as reflected in the category name.
- The category is CELEBRITY SURNAME SPELLING:
- Clue: The actress who'll always be TV's Buffy Summers to us.
- Response: Who is G-E-L-L-A-R?[16]
- COMMON BONDS[17]
- The correct response is the connection between the three given items.
- Clue: Bad habits, footballs, buckets.
- Response: What are things you kick?
- NAME'S THE SAME[18]
- Two given proper names share the first or last word.
- The category is FIRST NAME'S THE SAME:
- Clue: Gable, Clifford, Kent
- Response: Who is Clark?[19]
- GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT[20]
- Clues in this category present information about two similar-sounding names, one of which is stated in the clue and the other of which is the correct response.
- Clue: A gazelle is a graceful animal; this 1841 ballet has been called "the Hamlet of the dance".
- Response: What is Giselle?
- ALSO A...
- The correct response is also an unrelated thing.
- The category is ALSO A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT:
- SOUNDS LIKE[22]
- The correct response sounds like an unrelated thing or person.
- The category is SOUNDS LIKE A GAME SHOW HOST:
- Clue: Newlyweds know that he wobbled as coach of The Jets in Super Bowl III but didn't fall down.
- Response: Who is Weeb Ewbank?[23] (Which sounds like Bob Eubanks, host of The Newlywed Game.)
- HOMOPHONES[24]
- The correct response is a word that sounds like the two homonyms referred to in the clue, or sometimes a phrase containing both.
- The category is HOMOPHONIC PAIRS:
- Clue: A hidden collection of money.
- Response: What is a cash cache?
- RHYME TIME[25]
- The correct response contains two consecutive rhyming words. Common variants include CELEBRITY RHYME TIME and BEASTLY RHYME TIME (relating to animals).
- Clue: Type of paint for your dromedary.
- Response: What is camel enamel?[26]
- QUASI-RELATED PAIRS[27]
- The clue describes two unrelated people or things whose names are shared by a well known pair.
- Clue: The kernel of a peach & Foucault's famous invention.
- Response: What is the pit and the pendulum?[28]
- OPERA[29]
- When this category appears, it is often the subject of humor, since the assumption is that the category will be a difficult one. The category has on occasion been renamed in a manner acknowledging that assumption (for example, as THE DREADED OPERA CATEGORY[30] or UH-OH, OPERA[31]).
- POTENT POTABLES[32]
- An alcoholic drink must be identified from its ingredients. A variant for younger players is NONPOTENT POTABLES, about soft drinks or other non-alcoholic drinks. This category is also a recurring category in the Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches on Saturday Night Live, although it had never been picked in a sketch until the 2015 sketch shown during SNL's 40th anniversary special.[33]
- POTPOURRI[34]
- Also called HODGEPODGE or GOULASH, this is a variety of unrelated topics in the same category; it almost always appears in the last (rightmost) column on the board. A popular variant is LEFTOVERS, which consists of clues that were not used in previous games because time ran out.
- TAKE IN ORDER
- The clues must be requested in order from the lowest value to the highest. Usually, the responses form a phrase or list, or each response is connected to the one below it.
References[]
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5403 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-02-20.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "crossword clues".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5489 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-06-19.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "letter words".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5257 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2007-06-19.
- ↑ J! Archive - Show # 5532 (Jeopardy! Round), aired 2008-09-30.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "before and after".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "jeoportmanteau".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "anagram".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5492 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-06-24.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "stupid answers".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5483 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-06-11.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "spelling".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "dreaded spelling".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "spelling bee".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #4562 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2004-06-08.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "common bonds".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "name same".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #6122 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2011-04-05.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "facts straight".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5444 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-04-17.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "sounds like".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #5490 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-06-20.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "homophon".
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "rhyme time".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #4828 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2005-09-14.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "quasi-related pairs".
- ↑ J! Archive - Show #4611 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2004-09-27.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "opera".
- ↑ J! Archive: Show #4798 (Jeopardy! round), aired 2005-06-15.
- ↑ J! Archive: Show #5396 (Double Jeopardy! round), aired 2008-02-11.
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "potent potables".
- ↑ YouTube: SNL40: Celebrity Jeopardy - SNL
- ↑ J! Archive - Search for "potpourri".