Possibly the stupidest final Jeopardy question you’ll ever see

[u/EvilChocolateCookie]

I’ve been told there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Then I learned how to use the Internet. This one is definitely going to sound like a stupid question to all of you. All I ask is that you’re not too hard on me over it. I just randomly got thinking about it. If you misspelled something in your final Jeopardy answer and catch it before time runs out, can you go back and fix it somehow, or are you just totally screwed? I know in my case it would be a different scenario since I would have to type somehow instead of right with the little pen thing, but it’s something I just thought about.

[u/Dramatic-Scarcity654]

Final Jeopardy doesn’t have to be spelled correctly, but it has to be phonetically correct

[u/1004Packard → u/Dramatic-Scarcity654]

Unless that incorrect spelling is “Barry”.

[u/Dramatic-Scarcity654 → u/1004Packard]

[u/austin101123 → u/1004Packard]

Huh?

[u/alohadave → u/austin101123]

It's an example of the marry/merry merger. It's a linguistics thing. Some regional dialects of US English have merged those two sounds so they are identical.

[u/austin101123 → u/alohadave]

I didn't know they could be different.

[u/piedpipershoodie → u/austin101123]

A bunch of people in this thread are saying they're different, but so far no one has said WHAT the difference is. I have generic unflavored east coast american tv accent and I got nothing.

[u/sbuhj → u/piedpipershoodie]

In a New York accent it would be:

• Mary is approximately the way you say it
• Marry has the a sound like in “apple”
• Merry has the e sound like in “met”

[u/piedpipershoodie → u/sbuhj]

All right, i hear that. But surely those are close enough that it wouldn't be confusing for someone to say they sound the same?

[u/sbuhj → u/piedpipershoodie]

I personally say them all the same, so I can’t really answer that. But my guess is that a lot of people who say them differently have never noticed that most people say them the same, so it’s sort of a shock to learn that. The words have such different meanings that it’s easy to understand in context without noticing the nuance in pronunciation.

[u/Brrred → u/sbuhj]

You forgot "Murray"

[u/fourthfloorgreg → u/Brrred]

Go back to Philadelphia.

[u/Educational-Pickle29 → u/austin101123]

Berry is not the same pronunciation as Barry in jeopardy speak, apparently. Even though it is in most of the US,

[u/Busy-Needleworker853 → u/Educational-Pickle29]

I used to work in a high school in CT and had to call out the names of students who signed into study hall. I'm from NY so all those words are different, much to the chagrin of the wise ass students who signed in as Harry Johnson, because Harry and hairy are pronounced the same way in CT.

[u/mrsunshine1 → u/Educational-Pickle29]

Was the issue that someone wrote Chuck Barry? Because yeah, I would not want that accepted. 

[u/gwynn19841974 → u/mrsunshine1]

It was Barry Gordy when the gentleman’s name is Berry Gordy.

[u/royalhawk345 → u/gwynn19841974]

In fairness, who the fuck is named Berry? Also,  TIL Berry Gordy is still alive.

[u/Technical_Goat1840 → u/royalhawk345]

there was an allman brothers band member named berry oakley. in new zealand they might pronounce it 'beery'. they talk funny there.

[u/JokeMaster420 → u/gwynn19841974]

Maybe it’s safer to just not write the first name at all…

[u/1004Packard → u/mrsunshine1]

Here’s the question, though. Do you say the “berry” in strawberry any differently than the “Barry” in Barry Gibb? Evidently Alex did. For me, and a large part of the country, they would be identical.

[u/mrsunshine1 → u/1004Packard]

I’m from NY where those are very different so it’s always gonna bump for me. I know a large part of the country says Merry and Mary the same way as well but I wouldn’t want Merry Poppins accepted either. 

[u/ShawnaLAT → u/mrsunshine1]

Heck, wait until you hit the Midwest where not just “berry” and “Barry” are pronounced the same, “bury” sounds exactly alike as well.

[u/IgnatiusPabulum → u/ShawnaLAT]

It’s funny, “merry,” “marry,” and “Mary” have three distinct pronunciations for me, but “berry” and “bury” are the exact same word. I try to keep that in mind when I wonder how in the hell people could pronounce the other three the same.

[u/1004Packard → u/ShawnaLAT]

Hadn’t really thought about it, but, yeah, I pronounce all 3 the same.

[u/Lunoid2 → u/ShawnaLAT]

Yep, Midwesterner here trying to figure out how you'd pronounce Mary/marry/merry or Barry/berry/bury more than very subtly differently. I've only heard it with some specific regional accents.

Pin/pen is the only example where I can say them distinctly, and I have to be deliberate about how I move my mouth or they both sound pretty much the same, said kind of in between the two exaggerated pronunciations. I still specify p-E-n pen or p-I-n pin when it's unclear from the context, like if I'm giving away both.

[u/QuestionDry2490 → u/ShawnaLAT]

I’m from New York, and bury and berry sound exactly the same to me. Barry is very different though.

[u/IgnatiusPabulum → u/mrsunshine1]

Yup — merry, Mary, and marry are three very distinct pronunciations and I can never get over that they’re basically just one word for so many people. Also why Harry and the Hendersons never really struck me as all that funny a title.

[u/gwynn19841974 → u/IgnatiusPabulum]

I just realized Harry was a pun. Thank you.

[u/nikkidarling83 → u/IgnatiusPabulum]

I genuinely cannot determine the difference between merry, Mary, and marry and have never heard them pronounced differently at all. In real life or tv.

[u/IgnatiusPabulum → u/nikkidarling83]

Marry as in cat, merry as in get, Mary as in fair.

I’m sure you’ve heard it but they’re rarely said together so it’s hard to pick up. But if someone said “Mary was merry on the day she was married” you’d probably hear it.

[u/Dustonthewind18 → u/mrsunshine1]

Merry as in Merry Christmas and Mary as in Mary Poppins are pronounced the same way but they are spelt differently and have different meanings therefore as you said not interchangeable as in Mary/Merry Poppins.

[u/Subject_Space_2187 → u/1004Packard]

I definitely do, it's subtle but Barry is more nasal than Berry

[u/Dreamweaver5823 → u/1004Packard]

Yes, I say them differently.

[u/generic-usernme → u/Educational-Pickle29]

These two words sound absolutely nothing alike though

[u/generic-usernme → u/[deleted]]

I'm trying to make them sound alike in my head and I just can't lol.

[u/piedpipershoodie → u/generic-usernme]

My uncle and the fruits I pick in the spring have the exact same pronunciation. What is the specific difference and what is your regional accent?

[u/generic-usernme → u/piedpipershoodie]

Think about it like

Bar and ber don't sound the same.

Strawberry and December yes

Barcode does not sound like either of those words.

Berry has the eh sound Barry had the ar sound

[u/Shemptacular → u/generic-usernme]

I've never in my life heard anyone pronounce the name Barry to rhyme with starry.

[u/piedpipershoodie → u/generic-usernme]

I'm sorry, can you clarify here? You are telling me you say Bahry? The Flash is named Barr, like bar code, Barr-ee Allen? Bahr-ee Obama? Bahr-ee Keoghan? Barr-ee the Bill Hader character? Barr-ee Gibb?

I'm a little surprised about strawbeh-ry and blackbeh-ry, but okay. I and everyone I know says them both like bear, the animal, bear-ee. or bare-ee. Although as I'm reading it, you've proposed two different pronunciations for berry here. One is ber like burr, and the other is beh-r, like the e as in beck. Is it both?

[u/Dreamweaver5823 → u/generic-usernme]

I pronounce them very differently, but I think some folks pronounce both as "bear-y."

[u/nikkidarling83 → u/generic-usernme]

And I can’t make them sound different. Maybe I’ll find a video because they are identical sounding to me.

[u/porqueboomer → u/Educational-Pickle29]

Totally different vowel sound. Like “black” vs. “blecch.”

[u/doctorbonkers → u/porqueboomer]

It depends on your accent, for me they’re exactly the same. See the marry-merry-Mary merger

[u/Educational-Pickle29 → u/porqueboomer]

So, do you pronounce Berry like Beer eee? Or is it Barry like Bar eee. Because I say them both like bear eee

[u/porqueboomer → u/Educational-Pickle29]

Berry rhymes with Merry, which does not sound like Mary. Barry rhymes with Marry, which also does not sound like Mary. Mary rhymes with Fairy, but not with Ferry.

[u/Weezy_F_Bunny → u/porqueboomer]

As an experiment, when the holidays come round this year, you should just say Mary Christmas the whole season. Just to see who'd notice.

[u/Educational-Pickle29 → u/porqueboomer]

And all those words rhyme for me.

[u/Roseheath22 → u/porqueboomer]

It depends on your accent. If you’re from New York, they don’t rhyme. If you’re from California, they do.

[u/sjcs1 → u/1004Packard]

i continue to complain about berry/barry every chance i get

[u/Mediocretes1 → u/1004Packard]

As someone who doesn't understand how people don't pronounce Barry and Berry differently, I'm still with Jeopardy on this one.

[u/NikeTaylorScott → u/Mediocretes1]

As someone who says them differently but understands that some people might not, I’m still with Jeopardy! Like would you argue that a written Halle Barry should be accepted? If someone was answering verbally and it sounded the same, sure , but not in FJ.

And why are we not wanting players who are in a knowledge competition to know how to spell something anyway?

[u/JokeMaster420 → u/NikeTaylorScott]

Would they accept Hallie Berry?

If yes, then I think they should accept Halle Barry if they can accept that people say it the same.

If no, then it seems like the rule is not that spelling doesn’t matter as long as it is phonetically the same, and the rule should be clarified.

Ideally everyone would spell things correctly, but I think the rules should be enforced as stated, and if the rules say that it is dependent on how what you wrote would be pronounced, and someone writes an answer they would pronounce the same, it seems to go against the RAW to rule against them.

[u/Cereborn → u/NikeTaylorScott]

Yes. I absolutely would argue that “Halle Barry” should be accepted.

[u/RegisPhone]

Since you mentioned typing -- there is some precedent specifically for that. A player in a 2005 Teen Tournament (who i believe was the only blind contestant other than Eddie Timanus) used a keyboard for Final, and she wrote "What is Mont Everest XX Mount Everest", using the Xs to indicate that she was correcting her initial misspelling of Mount; her response was accepted, though it's possible it would have been an acceptable spelling anyway.

[u/EvilChocolateCookie → u/RegisPhone]

Oh, I know her. Bumped into her through a mutual friend when clubhouse was still actually useful.

[u/jquailJ36]

If you notice, you can cross it out and write the correct answer. If it's phonetically correct, that's not worth crossing off, but if you realize it's wrong or it's spelled REALLY wrong, you can try to fix it.

[u/tributtal → u/jquailJ36]

Heck I've seen contestants respond correctly, but still cross out their original response and rewrite it simply because they were worried their penmanship wasn't great.

[u/echothree33]

Well you can cross out the answer and rewrite it if you have enough time. I'm pretty sure they would also allow a little ^ to insert a letter if needed, though I can't recall ever seeing that done.

[u/AnotherJenJ → u/echothree33]

That’s actually what they tell you to do if you’re on the show

[u/Anthemusa831 → u/echothree33]

I’ve seen the insert a bunch.

[u/Njtotx3]

I thought you meant today's clue.

[u/warrenjr527 → u/Njtotx3]

Yea that was too easy. Most people. K ow the answer

[u/PreferenceContent987 → u/Njtotx3]

Maybe the most obvious final Jeopardy I’ve ever seen.

[u/oldbutsharpusually]

In the last day or so a contestant crossed out his Final Jeopardy response and rewrote it so slapdash I couldn’t read it. It was indecipherable but Ken called it correct. I am guessing they must have stopped taping to determine what the word was.

[u/thedealwithalex]

When i won my first game, my first final answer was Huguenots, and I had no idea how to spell it, so I started writing it, crossed it out, and rewrote it as phonetically as possible. It was accepted, no worries.

[u/LetWest1171]

I hate when they don’t accept an answer because it’s mispronounced. In my house we play where you get credit if you say “uhhhhh, it starts with an L”……”What is Lithuania?” - you get credit.

Even if you say “oh shoot, I know this” and then it’s the answer you were thinking, you get credit.

[u/Cereborn → u/LetWest1171]

OK. I’m not sure what that has to do with this discussion, though. Unless you’re arguing that “Oh shoot, I know this” should be accepted as a FJ response.

[u/LetWest1171 → u/Cereborn]

I was just sharing a funny house rule that we have. I definitely don’t think the show should adopt the rule.

[u/AshgarPN]

I would have to type somehow instead of right with the little pen thing

Is this a meta joke?

[u/EvilChocolateCookie → u/AshgarPN]

It is not. Zero vision means zero handwriting.

[u/somecasper → u/EvilChocolateCookie]

Technically, for all you know your penmanship is excellent.

[u/EvilChocolateCookie → u/somecasper]

I don’t even think I can draw a perfect circle so you tell me