this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2026
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No Stupid Questions

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I've been watching a lot of it recently. It bugs me when someone gets the spirit of the answer right, but they don't get the point. For example, there was a question asking what scents might remind someone of their partner. The contestant answered "wood". Now anyone who knows scents and fragrance knows that sandalwood is a very popular scent. That's obviously what he meant by that, but he doesn't get the point. Later, someone does get the answer of cologne/body spray.

(It would be cool if anyone could help with my actual question, which is the title of the post. Lol)

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[–] BassTurd@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I don't think I would have ever jumped from 'wood' to 'cologne'. Yes scents like cedar and sandalwood exist, but they don't smell like wood, imo. The smell walking through the lumber section in a hardware store, or cutting/splitting wood, or being in a woodworkers shop is quite different from the smell of sandlewood.

That said, there have been other instances where I thought the contestants have been screwed by the specificity of an answer, whether they were too vague or too specific.

Edit: This is the second time in a couple of days that I've linked to a Pete Holmes clip, but this is one that definitely toes the line during a celeb match.

https://youtube.com/shorts/KJiSaYcorQE

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Just a heads up, your link includes your profile. Delete everything after "?" to remove it sourcing your page.

[–] BassTurd@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Appreciate the heads up

[–] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 27 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I don't buy into "wood" obviously meaning "sandalwood." If you have lived with carpenters, they smell like fresh timber and sweat. So if that wasn't an option, I don't think the contestant was specific enough.

[–] Godnroc@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

Walking into a workshop after cutting a bunch of stuff. I may actually wear cologne if that was on offer.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

softwoods (i.e. conifers) often smell VERY nice, take christmas trees for example where you can literally pay extra these days for a species that has the expected scent.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I dont think you understand the game

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What am I misunderstanding?

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It’s not about correct answers to the questions, it’s about guessing what other people answered in a survey.

Aside from that, they have judged that decide on the fly if the answer is close enough to the surveyed answers.

No, I know what the game is. A lot of our wires our just getting crossed and people are misunderstanding my words. It's okay, though.

[–] aSaabD00d@lemmy.today 6 points 2 days ago

Having seen hundreds of episodes, only thing I've noticed is they'll stop and figure it out on the spot. I haven't noticed any time where they came back a few turns later and add points but that doesn't mean they haven't. I see them do that on other game shows on GSN.

[–] gastroglizzy@piefed.social 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's not about the "spirit" of the question because there is no right/wrong answer. You're meant to guess what 100 other people gave as their answer.

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club -2 points 3 days ago (4 children)

I'm saying there's room for leniency, and I feel like they should err on the side of "yeah, I get what they mean".

[–] paraplu@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

Maybe reframing it would help: the game is to guess the most likely word from those polled, not the most likely concept.

You're describing a different game, which might be better suited for playing at home, and probably makes for worse TV.

[–] bhamlin@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

That's just it, it isn't that at all. The points for and even existence of answers is dependent on what people polled before answered. So unless they're making up the polling results, there isn't really leeway here.

If the question was "what is 2 + 2?" and literally no people polled responded with "4" then that wouldn't be an response that would get anyone points.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

But what kind of wood? Generic shop class sawdust? Pine (yellow? White?), Cedar. Juniper.

sandalwood is very specific, and of course “yeah that’s what they meant”…. Because of course they meant the right answer. If the right answer bad been cedar, I bet they would have meant that instead.

There’s no way to know either way, so they go to specific answers as the standard. Otherwise people will cheat.

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Yeah, I guess I didn't think about that. If you hard with being lenient, then everybody has to get that same treatment, and the leniency would probably become more extreme.

[–] blartcap_@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Where did you get the idea that Family Feud rules have any leniency to allow giving out points for creative or unusual answers?

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm saying they should. Also, the leniency I'm talking about is in the interpretation of the answers.

[–] blartcap_@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 days ago

It's a poll. If enough people respond with an unorthodox answer, it will be on the board. Awarding points outside of the poll goes entirely against the game.

[–] spongebue@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ehhh, that's a stretch. Wood is its own thing that has its own scent. I don't think they should be turning wood into some kind of liquid product that may or may not smell like wood.

Kind of like if they asked about a food kids like to eat and someone said vanilla. I wouldn't expect a kid to drink vanilla extract or scrape up a vanilla bean to eat straight, and I definitely wouldn't give them "ice cream" if that was on the board.

Also, pretty sure these game shows have judges working behind the scenes. Other commenters blaming Steve Harvey don't seen to realize he's just a messenger/presenter

[–] LilB0kChoy@reddthat.com 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

wouldn't expect a kid to drink vanilla extract

You should expect an adult might. Specifically an alcoholic.

[–] spongebue@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You know, it may have helped if I wrote the part in my head that the theoretical question was "what are foods kids eat?"

I would definitely okay that answer if "ice cream" was on the board.

[–] usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago

In my limited exposure you the show, they actually seemed quite lenient.

[–] crandall@lemmy.today 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's not "is your answer correct?", it's "did anyone in the survey say that?"

[–] MichaeleanDouglasse@thelemmy.club 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm not saying that, either. Besides, no body has helped me with my actual question. Lol I was asking for examples, if any exist, of points being given in retrospect. Not that I kind the discussion. I'm just saying no one has helped with my actual question.

[–] crandall@lemmy.today 3 points 3 days ago

I see, I see. TBH I think wood > cologne is a bit too far of a leap, but I think they are slightly lenient with something more like perfume > cologne. I've never seen them go back and change points. But I haven't watched that much of it to know for certain.

[–] HoneyMustardGas@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

Depends on Steve Harvey's mood.

[–] wolfeh@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 days ago

If you're a Christian, Steve Harvey will probably give you the point. If not, you're screwed. That guy has some weird feelings about people who don't share his faith.