“Jeopardy!” is a television game-show institution with a unique premise: Contestants are given clues in the form of answers and must identify the person, place, thing, or idea described in the form of a “What is?” or “Who is?” question.
Since the beloved syndicated show premiered in 1984, there have been nearly 453,000 clues provided to contestants, according to the fan-created website J! Archive. The clues are revealed under sometimes whimsical category names such as “Julius Caesar Salad” (words derived from Julius Caesar) or the more straightforward, like “The Old West.”
As indicated by its fan-driven online archive, no game show has the cultural hold on the public like “Jeopardy!” The show was even the target of pop-music lampooner “Weird Al” Yankovic. Now in its 39th season, it is one of the longest-running game shows of all time. It has enjoyed public and critical acclaim since its inception and won 39 Daytime Emmy Awards.
In the course of its primetime run, the show has provided clues about firearms in any number of categories. 24/7 Tempo reviewed J! Archives to identify more than 30 clues about firearms in categories including historical events, wordplay, literary figures, and even geology. (Can you answer these real “Jeopardy!” clues about U.S. history?)
Click here to see if you can guess these real ‘Jeopardy!’ clues about guns in America
Our list references significant firearms throughout history; the part they played in settling the American frontier; people on both sides of the law associated with a particular firearm; weapons of choice of for fictional pop-culture figures; and how gun-related terms have been mainstreamed into the American vernacular – for instance, “a smoking gun” means proof of guilt. (Can you answer these real “Jeopardy!” questions about words?)
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
THE OLD WEST $100:
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
rifle
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
ANIMALS & THE LAW $200:
fish
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
WEAPONS $200:
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
rifle
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
ORGANIZATIONS $200:
Source: dsmoulton / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
National Rifle Association
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MUSICALS IN OTHER WORDS $300:
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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Annie Get Your Gun
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WEAPONS $400:
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
lock, stock & barrel
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THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR $400:
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
dragoons
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
OHIO BIO $400:
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Annie Oakley
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
THE OLD WEST $400:
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Winchester
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WHICH CABINET DEPARTMENT? $500:
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Source: wsmahar / E+ via Getty Images
Treasury
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REVERSIBLE COMPOUND WORDS $600:
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Source: olemac / iStock via Getty Images
a gunshot and a shotgun
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
LET’S ROCK & ROLL! $600:
Source: ffolas / Getty Images
flint
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
“AIR” INCLUDED $600:
Source: gan chaonan / iStock via Getty Images
crosshairs
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I BEG YOUR PARDON $600:
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Patty Hearst
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DIAL M FOR MURDER $600:
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Source: aapsky / iStock via Getty Images
machine gun
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
PUSH BY SAFIRE $800:
Source: francisblack / iStock via Getty Images
a smoking gun
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
OF THE LAW $800:
Source: Whitney Curtis / Getty Images News via Getty Images
a shotgun
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
ALPHANUMERIC TERMS $800:
Source: serikbaib / iStock via Getty Images
an AK-47
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HODGEPODGE $1,000:
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
a musket
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HUNTING & FISHING $1,000:
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archery
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THE SECRET OF HOMONYM $1,000:
bore
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
GEOLOGY $1,200:
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discharge
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FIREARMS IN SHOW BIZ $1,600:
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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Velvet Revolver
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WORD ORIGINS $2,000:
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Source: Aliaksandr Bukatsich / iStock via Getty Images
blunderbuss
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
HOUSE PROUD $0:
Source: benedek / iStock via Getty Images
shotguns
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Source: 24/7 Wall St.
LITERARY FIREARMS $0:
Source: United Artists / Getty Images
James Bond
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