A Jeopardy Contestant Lost Over $3K For Not Keeping It ‘Gangsta’ In A Coolio Answer

Jeopardy! is starting off the year more exacting and cruel than ever. Last night, the game show contestants were asked to merge two related titles, utilizing the clue “A song by Coolio from Dangerous Minds goes back in time to become a 1667 John Milton Classic.” Bespeckled contestant Nick raced to the buzzer, chiming in with “Gangster’s Paradise Lost.” What a quick-witted guy!

Or so he thought up until host Alex Trebek rescinded his answer at hefty $3,200 cost, dropping him into second place. In typical Trebek fashion — blunt and swift, with no time for recovery — the host explained that the Jeopardy! team of brutal judges had spoken: Nick marked his fate when he mistitled the rapper’s 1995 single as “Gangster’s Paradise” and not “Gangsta’s Paradise.” The rules of Jeopardy! are binding and unyielding.

The Daily Show‘s Roy Wood Jr. posted the emotional roller coaster to Twitter, along with some sage advice. “Let Nick’s mistake be a lesson to us all,” he wrote. “In 2018, you gotta keep it gangsta at all times. Never Gangster.” Watch Nick reach new levels of chagrin above.

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