'Jeopardy!' Fans Debate Rule After Grammar Mistake Costs Contestant $2,000

Jeopardy! viewers are sounding off after an obscure rule in the game's lengthy rulebook cost one player $2,000. Marketing director Taylor Clagett unintentionally sparked plenty of debate with his July 24 appearance on the long-running game show when he made a mistake with an article in his answer.

The incident occurred during Double Jeopardy. Clagett, who returned with a one-day total of $10,800 and was facing off against graduate student Simona Fine and teacher Ian Foutz, had increased his winnings to $18,800 when he selected Musical Works for $2000. The clue read, "Each of the 10 movements of this Mussorgsky work represents a piece of art on display, created by a late friend." Clagett's answer of "What is Pictures at the Exhibition?" turned out to be wrong, with host Ken Jennings soon revealing the correct answer, "It's Pictures at an Exhibition, I'm afraid."

Clagett's answer, which brought his total down to $16,800, was ruled incorrect due to a rule in the Jeopardy! rule book, which states, per one Reddit user, "While you're allowed to get an article wrong at the beginning of a title, it will cost you if you make such a mistake in any other part of a title." For many, though, that rule doesn't seem very fair, and on Reddit, many believed Taylor should have been given the win.

"I could be wrong but I think 'Pictures at the Exhibition' should have been ruled correct for 'Pictures at an Exhibition' since the original is in Russian and Russian doesn't have articles," one fan wrote, with another person agreeing when they wrote, "Yeah, that was overly harsh." Somebody else shared, "Wikipedia has a scan of the first printed version where its title is 'Tableaux d'une exposition,' French, not Russian. Tableaux is shown translated by various to English as paintings or pictures. So like you suggest, there ought to be some leeway. Or if there can be 4-5 acceptable answers, try a different question." However, one person commented, "I'd imagine the canonical English name has some pull here? It's NEVER 'Pictures at the Exhibition' in this hemisphere, but I do see your argument holding water. Probably just an oversight from the judges."

Regardless of the ruling, Clagett still came out on top. After his total dropped $16,800, Clagett still led, with Foutz having $6,400 and Fine having $1,200. Clagett also managed to be the only contestant to get the Final Jeopardy question correct, and he ended the game leading with $21,000, giving him a two-day total of $31,800.