“Big Apple” answer on “Final Jeopardy!” (2009)
The etymology of “Big Apple” was used on the television game show Jeopardy! as a “Final Jeopardy!” question on July 1, 2009.
The answer:
“A 19th century gambling term meaning a desirable prize, its use in reference to NYC stems from a 1921 newspaper sports column.”
The question (as correctly answered):
“What is the Big Apple?”
“Big Apple” would be asked on Jeopardy! again. “This nickname was first used in connection with New York City in the 1920s” was on the show on April 21, 2022.
Wikipedia: Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of questions. The original daytime version debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, and aired until January 3, 1975. A weekly nighttime syndicated edition aired from September 1974 to September 1975, and a revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, ran on NBC from October 1978 to March 1979. The current version, a daily syndicated show produced by Sony Pictures Television, premiered on September 10, 1984, and is still airing.
Both NBC versions and the weekly syndicated version were hosted by Art Fleming. Don Pardo served as announcer until 1975, and John Harlan announced for the 1978–1979 show. Since its inception, the daily syndicated version has featured Alex Trebek as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer.
Jeopardy! Archive
Show #5728 - Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Contestants
Michael Huntington, a waiter from Kansas City, Missouri
Tiffiny Fisher, a data analyst from Beaverton, Oregon
Nina Ginocchio, a school librarian from Park Ridge, Illinois (whose 1-day cash winnings total $19,200)
Jeopardy! Round
(...)
Final Jeopardy! Round
PHRASE ORIGINS
A 19th century gambling term meaning a desirable prize, its use in reference to NYC stems from a 1921 newspaper sports column
Tiffiny What is the Big Apple?
$7,400
Nina What is The Big Apple?
$4,000
the Big Apple
Twitter
David Lee Williford
@Dalewild
The “Big Apple” is an archaic gambling and sports term meaning a big prize, first used in reference to NYC in the 1920’s.Yes, Jeopardy’s on!
7:37 PM - 1 Jul 2009
GQ
The Only Gym You Need Is a Jump Rope
BY JAY WILLIS
November 6, 2017
(...)
Think about it this way: If you start at the beginning of Double Jeopardy, you can be done and ready for the rest of your night by the time Alex Trebek gives the category for the last clue, and out of the shower in time to find out which contestants got Final Jeopardy right, and who had no idea that the phrase “the Big Apple” was originally an 18th-century gambling term used to describe a desirable prize, and was thereafter popularized as a nickname for New York City in the 1920s by a sportswriter for the New York Morning Telegraph. Lesson learned!