‘Jeopardy!’ teases Ken Jennings’ ‘What is a hoe?’ answer 21 years later

On Wednesday’s episode of “Jeopardy!,” host Ken Jennings likely experienced a bit of déjà vu while reading one of the questions from the “This Is Not A Drill” category.

As a video of a gardening tool took over the screen, Jennings read the clue to contestants Kiley Campbell, Micah Fritz, and Greg Harris. “A tool with an angled blade to get unwanted plants out at the roots is called a Cape Cod type of this,” Jennings said.

Micah buzzed in and answered, “What is a hoe.”

Unfortunately, that was incorrect. The camera looked to Kiley and Greg, who didn’t buzz in.

“That’s a Cape Cod weeder,” Jennings informed the group. He then joked, “It seems like ‘What is a hoe’ is never correct around here.”

Jennings’ comment referenced one of his infamous moments as a contestant back in 2004 when he gave the same incorrect response. At that time, the category was “Tool Time,” and the clue was, “This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.” Jennings confidently answered, “What’s a hoe?” which even caught the late host Alex Trebek off guard.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” replied Trebek after informing Jennings he was incorrect. “They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?“ Jennings’ opponent then buzzed in with the correct answer, which was “What is a rake?”

In light of Wednesday’s episode, the “Jeopardy!” social media team playfully teased Jennings for his past blunder. They posted a video of Jennings reading the question and Micah’s answer, captioning it, “‘What is a hoe?’ is still not correct 21 years later. #JUSTICEFORKEN.”

“They’re never gonna let Ken live that down are they?,” wrote one user in the YouTube comment section. Another said: “He said ‘no’ exactly the same way Alex did too,” referring to how Jennings informed Micah his answer was incorrect.

Jennings, who initially competed on “Jeopardy!” in 2004, quickly became a household name during his record-setting 74-day winning streak, the longest in the show’s history. After losing his 75th game, he went home with $2,520,700.

Following Trebek’s passing in November of that year, Jennings was named a guest host in January 2021 alongside Mayim Bialik. In 2023, he became the permanent host of “Jeopardy!”