Ken Jennings is not only one of Jeopardy!’s biggest winners and the current host of one of the best game shows of all time. He’s also responsible for what is possibly the most viral Jeopardy! moment ever. We’ve all seen Jennings’ response from that fateful 2004 episode, and the Jeopardy! writers make sure to remind us of it from time to time. But, when the host was asked about it recently during an audience Q&A, he revealed a twist to the ending of that story.
It’s a tradition on Jeopardy! for the host to take questions from the studio audience during breaks from the game — Colin Jost has had some great reactions to questions about his wife, Scarlett Johansson on Pop Culture Jeopardy! — and someone asked Ken Jennings recently about his viral “hoe” moment. First, he recalled the clue that got him in trouble, saying in a video on the show’s X (Twitter) page:
I’m asked for a word that’s both a ‘long handled garden instrument and a loose seeker of pleasure.’ Unfortunately I said, ‘What is a hoe?’ And I realized after I buzzed in and right before I said it, I’m like, ‘This is not gonna be what is a hoe,’ but it was like the train had already left the station.
In the clip, Alex Trebek tries to move forward, but the audience begins to laugh, forcing the host to stop the game temporarily to quip, “Whoa! They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?” Trebek then called on Al Lindke, who gave the correct response of, “What is a rake?”
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Ken Jennings continued talking about the moment that lives in infamy, including what ole Al Lindke told him afterward:
It was at the top of the board, so I don’t know, 200 bucks or 400 bucks. A small price, right, to be able to ask Alex Trebek, ‘What is a hoe?’ The funny postscript is the guy at the end in that game was a Lutheran minister, and during the break he was like, ‘Boy am I glad you beat me, because I was going to say …’
It sounds like Al Lindke has Ken Jennings’ buzzer speed to thank for not being the one to go viral (or the 2004 equivalent) that day on Jeopardy! You can see Jennings tell the story himself below:
To be fair, we were all thinking the same 😏 #Jeopardy! #KenJennings pic.twitter.com/t37d6bKjgAAugust 28, 2026
In Ken Jennings’ defense — and Al Lindke’s, too, if it’s true that he was thinking “hoe” before Jennings’ response made him change his answer to “rake” — I’ve always wondered why “hoe” was not an acceptable (albeit derogatory) response. It turns out Jennings did too, and he even asked the head writers about it.
Honestly, I find it hilarious anytime this unforgettable Jeopardy! moment finds its way back into the conversation. Now, I’ll probably always think about this added context, knowing that it apparently wasn’t only Ken Jennings who thought that garden instrument was a ho — he just buzzed in first.
You can see Ken Jennings hosting Jeopardy! Masters Season 4, which is airing at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday to Friday through September 8 on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription. Regular syndicated games resume on the 2026 TV schedule on Monday, September 14; check your local listings for time and channel.
