This answer tripped up everyone competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
On the May 8 episode of the long-running game show, all three contestants were deemed wrong on a question they all answered ostensibly correct.
It was the pronunciation that tripped them up, according to EW.
They all mispronounced Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s name. Contestant Hannah Wilson eventually won the episode, but along with the other competitors Sami Casanova and Juveria Zaheer, they all missed the Double Jeopardy clue.
The category was The Quotable Alex, and the clue read, “An author & former prisoner: ‘Socialism of any type & shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit.’” All three said the name wrong.
“This is a tricky one to pronounce,” host Mayim Bialik said.
The show’s devoted online following was not happy with the ruling.
Former “Jeopardy!” contestant Pasha Paterson tweeted, “If you’re not going to accept anyone’s attempt to pronounce Solzhenitsyn, don’t write a clue about him.”
“I think all three had the right person in mind, but none of them was a native speaker of Russian or related langue,” another Twitter user posted.
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According to the show’s website, Wilson pushed on and continued her four-show run where she was won a total of $124,801.
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