Elaine Or Elaine? Jeopardy Contestant Penalized For Pronunciation
OK people, listen up. If you are ever on a game show make sure to speak loudly and clearly because game show hosts are getting pretty strict these days. A few days after a Wheel of Fortune contestant lost his chance at a $1 million prize, a Jeopardy contestant was penalized for answering “Elaine” instead of “Elaine.”
Yes, I know those two words look the same but if you look real close you’ll see that when starts with a short e, as in “eh,” and the other has a long e, as in “ee.”
Contestant Fidelito Cortes was given the answer “Seinfeld: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.” He responded with the question “Who is Elaine.”
The buzzer sounded and Alex Trebek moved on to the next contestant. That contestant, by the way, was so terrified to try to say the correct answer again that he went with Elaine’s last name, Benes.
Trebek said that “Benes” was an acceptable answer and then explained to Fidelito that his answer was deemed incorrect by the judges because he used the short e instead of the long e.
Trebek said: “It was EE-laine, not UH-laine, Fidelito. That’s why the judges ruled against you on that one.”
Seriously? I think Jerry even used “UH-laine” a few times on the show.
But don’t feel too bad for Cortes, the question didn’t really have an affect on him. He ended up winning the game with $25,000. His two day total is now at more than $45,000.
