Ken Jennings Made A Stomach-Turning Joke After A Leading Contestant Blew It In Final Jeopardy!

Ken Jennings couldn’t resist an easy joke. During Thursday night’s episode of Jeopardy!, returning champion Steve Clarke botched his Final Jeopardy! answer, which cost him the victory after arriving in the final round in the lead.

Clarke, who was brought back for the controversial Tournament of Champions (a workaround so episodes could be produced during writers strike), dropped the ball big time when it came time to answer the final clue: “Though it meant ‘seasickness’ in Latin, this 6-letter word now refers to a more general feeling of sickness.” However, the blunder left an opening for Jennings, and he went right for the groan-worthy dad joke.

Via Decider:

Once the three contestants were prompted to give their answers, both Saak (who had $16,400) and Costelo (who had $5,200) had guessed the correct response of “nausea,” which brought them to $19,105 and $5,200 respectively. However, it would be Clarke who left feeling queasy, as he guessed “malaise,” a seven-letter word, no less.

“Oh no, what is malaise,” Jennings reiterated before delivering a prime play on words: “He might be coming up with nausea right now.”

Clarke entered the final round with $19,100, however he clearly over-estimated his own skills and wagered a hefty $13,701. The loss dropped him down to second place, and he probably felt a little green around the gills when reality sunk in.