On Jeopardy It's The Chunnel!
 

In a long-running debate on Fodor's many folks upbraid folks for using the word "Chunnel" for the Eurotunnel or Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Many Americans on this forum often use the word Chunnel yet some Americans say they never heard of Chunnel actually being used for the Eurotunnel - so yesterday on Jeopardy I was intrigued when the question came up something to the effect:

To go between London and Paris by train you go thru the ...............?

And the guest ringing in quickly answered "What Is The Chunnel?"

Jeopardy being a stickler for detail I wondered if they would accept such an incorrect answer and the host Alex Trebeck quickly said yes, "What is the Chunnel?".

Did Jeopardy get it wrong? Or is Chunnel the accepted term for the Eurotunnel Stateside? Obviously it is. End of debate. For those Americans on here who continually claim they never heard of the term Chunnel being used.... well that's what we call it in the colonies- get used to it.

And even in Britain the word Chunnel is often used as in this Independent headline:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ca...d-1353384.html

So on Fodor's the term Chunnel is perfectly acceptable for Americans and even Brits I guess!

End of debate!

Cheers!

It's called dumbing it down.

kerouac - what do French folk call the EuroTunnel? EuroTunnel? Curious!

The French call it the <i>tunnel sous la Manche</i>. EuroTunnel is the name of the operating company.

Jeopardy generally has a particular response they're looking for, plus one or two others that would be acceptable depending on the clue.

Lee Ann

LOL, I'm visiting Mom and was watching that episode. When the contestant used the dreaded C word, I immediately thought of Pal and the pedantic Fodorgarchs.

Jeopardy condenses digits, like a Smart phone using Twitter. Alex Trebek (note the condensed, correct spelling) was just doing his job. As a Canadian he grew up favouring British spellings of many words that demand that extra 'u'.

Hi, I think Americans who have traveled and esp to Europe call it the Chunnel. Sue

I think just the opposite. Except for Pal, I think anyone who has actually traveled on Eurostar call it Eurostar. Having watched Jeopardy for years, Elendi is right in how correct responses are determined. I realize that this topic has long lost its importance if it ever had any.

We should discuss the acceptability of using the name Frisco instead.

Who knew? Somebody gives people a "test" and in this case it happens to be on TV and they call it "Jeopardy." The more correct answers you come up with the more you win. The people who "administer" the "test" questions also have the "right" answers to those questions and, as with most "tests" there is usually only one.

To benefit the so-called "star" of the show who also shills for an "insurance" company which preys on "old" people and because this "star" is kind of around the bend age and hair-wise, they allow him some spelling leeway so he can, like Chris Matthews on MSNBC "correct" people while acting rather imperious.

And this, students is your pedant lesson for the day.

And Kerouac, YOU go to the head of the class for your suggestion of subjects to be "discussed." We could also add the possibility of giving Canada that absurd geographical appendage known as the "Upper Peninsula" of Michigan, too.

I think Americans who traveled 20 years ago may have called it the Chunnel. Anyone thse days who calls it the Chunnel is probably an octogenarian whose feet haven't touched Europe in decades. Elendi explains why it worked on Jeopardy - that doesn't make it the acceptable current term.

Jeopardy? Is what?

Is this on after Corrie? Or is the famous Wheel of Fortune.

Last night I was chatting to a couple who came back to UK through Eurostar, never meantioned the Chu word.

Get with the Zeitgeist

Jeopardy is what the US will be in if Trump gets elected. Or maybe if HRC gets elected.

telly I didn't nuderstand the post from Dukey at all - am I the only one ?

Belgians say Eurostar for the train, same as we say 'Thalys' when we go to Paris or Amsterdam, and we say 'tunnel sous la macnhe' indeed when taking the car.

But who cares about Belgians at Jeopardy ?
BTW, it is interesting to note that albeit we have imported nearly all the games from US, Jeopardy is not on French TV, or if it was, it didn't last.

I guess we are too intelligent for that. ehehe.
Oops - we have 'une famille en or' - where you have to give the answer most people interviewed (where ?) give. Like 'what is the biggest continent ?' answer : Australia (don't say Oceania, you'd lose).

>>I think Americans who traveled 20 years ago may have called it the Chunnel. Anyone thse days who calls it the Chunnel is probably an octogenarian whose feet haven't touched Europe in decades.<<

Bingo ;)

'En France, le jeu a été présenté par Philippe Risoli de 1989 à 1992 sur TF1.'

We are so smart, it didn't hold...

Note the UK paper the Independent using Chunnel in its headline- I guess folks who wrote that are 80-yr-olds who have never traveled in Europe.

Chunnel by the way was coined by British press I believe.

Whenever our friend brings this up, I'm reminded of poor Mr Dick in "David Copperfield" who couldn't prevent King Charies' head getting into his memorandum