Jeopardy! fans baffled by Mayim Bialik's 'weird' pronunciation of furniture chain before 'tough' fin

MAYIM Bialik has caused Jeopardy! fans to hit the rewind button over how she pronounced the brand Ikea on Friday's episode.

While the episode ended in a brutal tongue-twister triple-stumper Final Jeopardy, fans just couldn't get passed Mayim's take on the furniture chain.

Erica Rapheal, an epidemiologist from St. Paul, Minnesota, faced Ben Goldstein, a content marketing specialist from Dexter, Michigan, and Suzanne Goldlust.

Suzanne is a marketing manager from Reston, Virginia, and was the one-day champ with $18,700.

Kicking off the Double Jeopardy! round, Suzanne chose the $400 clue from the category "That European Language."

Mayim, 47, read what was displayed: “Spoken in the very first Ikea store."

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However, the actress pronounced the furniture chain as "ee-kay-ah."

Ben got the clue correct as “Swedish,” nonetheless.

'NEVER HEARD IKEA LIKE THAT BEFORE'

Fans on Reddit stopped in their tracks since many had never heard the Swedish furniture chain be pronounced that way in the states.

One person wrote: “Do I pronounce IKEA wrong or did Mayim say it weirdly?”

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Another replied: “It's pronounced Swedish: I-kê-a and English: aɪ-ki-a."

“Mayim somehow found a third pronunciation.”

A third wrote: “According to this video she said it properly the Swedish way,” linking to a youtube video.

"Did she just say “eyekayaha” for IKEA" tweeted another fan.

"Never heard Ikea pronounced like that before," wrote a fifth.

"I didn't know Ikea was pronounced like that lol" wrote a sixth.

"I doubt it but have I been pronouncing IKEA incorrectly?" wondered a seventh.

'HEARTBREAKING ENDING!'

Going into Final Jeopardy, the bespectacled Erica was in the lead with $11,000, while Ben had $8,600, and Suzanne had $3,000. 

Final Jeopardy! under "American Geography" read: "Native Americans called it Okwa-ta, or 'wide water'; Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville would rename it for a countryman."

No one could guess Lake Pontchartrain, which is in Southern Louisiana- and some felt there wasn't enough of a hint in the already difficult clue.

Suzanne guessed Lake Erie and was incorrect.

Ben guessed Lake Champlain and dropped $2,402.

Erica guessed “What is: St Lawrence” and look crushed as her wager of $6201 was displayed.

That meant Ben enough for a come-from-behind win at a mere $6,198, but the low score didn't effect his high morale as he rocketed his fist into the air looking thrilled.

One Reddit user ripped: “Tough FJ. I hit pause and eventually got to the right answer, but not within 30 seconds.

"Am I missing a hint, or is there not much to go on other than 'name a large body of water in America that has a French name' (assuming you don't know the specific history of its name)?"

Another wrote: “I did consider Lake Pontchartrain briefly, but there were just too many red herrings for Lake Champlain, especially if you are a Canadian."

A third wrote: "Heartbreak for Erica. She was unlucky to get that tough Final Jeopardy from the lead not having a lock or at least a crush [game]. I did love Ben's reaction to winning!"

"A key hint is the clue names the founder of Louisiana," defended a fourth- though that is arguably a lot to do in 30 seconds.

SPRING SLUMP?

Ken Jennings and the actress are the co-successors to the late, great Alex, who passed away from cancer at age 80 in 2020.

Mayim is finishing out the regular season until the summer- barring the last week of the season when Ken is subbing back in as Mayim is supporting the WGA strike.

In the past few weeks, there have been some hard-to-watch moments including the Lord's Prayer being completely whiffed and an episode nearly resulting in the most unanswered clues ever (23).

Fans don't know if it's the difficulty level, the contestants, lack of Ken or all three.

One fan penned on Twitter: "I don't know if anyone here watches #Jeopardy but I sure miss Ken Jennings."

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Another joked: "Did #Jeopardy have a rule change recently? Lately it seems like it's just Mayim reading the clues, followed by…Mayim reading the correct responses."

"Scores of recent episodes have been very low," wrote one more.

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