If you’re an avid Jeopardy! fan, you’ve definitely watched at least a few episodes that feature the “Before and After” category. It’s a punny and popular category that’s been used in many contexts throughout the years.
So what is “Before and After”? Essentially, the category’s questions call upon players to “mash up” two terms that each clue hints at.
Each “Before and After” answer will combine two trivia facts that share a common word or phrase. These trivia tidbits could each be from the same category, such as movie titles, literature, or famous figures’ names, or they could come from completely different sectors of knowledge, such as history, geography, and sports.
After buzzing in for “Before and After,” a contestant must connect the terms that the questions hint at using the word or phrase that they share. The answer will contain unique words before and after the shared word or phrase in the middle, giving the category its name.
Did we lose you already? Not to worry, we’ll dive deeper into what makes a standard “Before and After” clue. After our explanation, you can take a stab at an arsenal of “Before and After” questions—52 of them, to be exact. Ready to go?
How Does the Before and After Category Work?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of “Before and After,” let’s talk about the history of the category. “Before and After” actually didn’t originate on Jeopardy! at all! It was created for Wheel of Fortune all the way back in February 1989. Soon after, Jeopardy! adopted the category, and it’s remained a mainstay ever since.
We touched on its structure earlier, but here’s a further explanation: two trivia facts are hinted at in conjunction with one another. Usually, this is done by stating the first fact and then adding the second fact as a descriptor of it, as in “x, whose y is z” or “a that’s part of b.”
It’s important to note that these descriptors don’t actually truthfully apply to the first trivia fact—they serve solely as a hint to the second one. These two are just connected in this way to dole out the clue in a fun and efficient manner.
Once the clue has been read, contestants must think of potential answers that share a common word. Sometimes, they may share two or more words, but that would be an awfully tricky answer! The last word of the first piece of trivia will be the same as the first word of the last piece of trivia, so it can be read as one single answer without repeating the shared word.
The “Before and After” category is often modified to reflect a creative theme. Some variations on “Before and After” include “Before and After At the Mall,” “Before and After Goes to the Movies,” and “Before and BAFTA.” There’s even a “Before, During, and After” variation in which three trivia facts are combined to make one single long pun.
Want to watch for yourself? Here are a couple of segments featuring the “Before and After” category from the official Jeopardy! YouTube channel:
Example “Before and After” Questions
Know Your World History?
Question: Conflict between the U.S. & the Soviet Union from the 1940s to the 1990s that’s a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells.
Belle of the Terrifying Ball
Question: Movie where the monstrous Lester Burnham locks up Belle, who finds an enchanted rose.
Soap Opera Star Wars
Question: Han Solo’s freighter is a 1980s primetime soap set at a vineyard & starring Jane Wyman.
Pick a Date, Quiet Wolf
Question: Ned Stark faces a trio of women & asks them questions in order to select one for a night out.
This Soap Wasn’t Always So Happy
Question: Like sands through the hourglass, Richie & Fonzie get caught up in the soap opera set in the fictional town of Salem.
Here’s to You, Intergalactic Mrs. Robinson
Question: The Robinson family can’t find the way home in the cosmos but are helped by a galactic cartoon hero & his sidekicks Jan & Jayce.
Lions and Tigers and Linus and Lucy, Oh My!
Question: Snoopy’s owner who’s a large forest-dwelling ursine creature.
Hot Diggity Constellation
Question: A frankfurter within Canis Major.
Careful Not To Burn Your Hands!
Question: Protective glove used to handle hot items on the stove that was the 2012 Republican nominee for president.
A Legendary Actor Meets a Legendary Monument
Question: A 2-time Oscar-winning actor is honored by a 554-foot obelisk.
Cartoon Poultry Science Fiction
Question: Asimov’s 1950 classic tale that gave us the 3 laws becomes a poultry-titled animated show on Adult Swim.
Cinema Verité, Baby
Question: Milan Kundera’s “Unbearable” novel turns into a 1999 film about literally getting into a real-life movie star’s head.
Another Classic Film Mashup
Question: Movie in which Morgan Freeman chauffeurs Catherine Bach in her short shorts, perhaps in the General Lee.
Marvel’s Making Stage Plays Now
Question: Tony Stark builds an armored suit to help Thomas More stand up to the king in Robert Bolt’s play.
Latitude, Longitude, and Long Jump
Question: Geographic latitude separating the 2 Koreas that’s a gymnastics apparatus.
Some Would Say She’s a Babe
Question: The Sultan of Swat makes it to the Supreme Court
Give Me a Fleece Hoodie and a Calculator
Question: Maine outdoor clothing company that moonlights as a number cruncher.
Paint Me, Please—But First, Let Me Find a Suit
Question: Colorful painter of boxing matches & 5 Olympiads who is also an upscale department store founded in Dallas, Texas.
Somewhere, Beyond the Mattress Aisle
Question: The 20% off coupons an alliterative home store mails out include the lyrics “My love stands on golden sand”.
Easy Before and After
Know Anything About the White House?
Question: Hillary Clinton’s former job that’s an annual piece of presidential oratory.
This President’s Going to Shake It Off
Question: 12th U.S. president who topped the pop charts with “Shake It Off”
Chrissy Teigen’s Husband Meets the Rocket Man
Question: Talented singer & pianist who can do a mash-up of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” & “All Of Me”.
Battle of the Sitcoms
Question: Sofia Vergara dumps Ed O’Neill for Michael J. Fox & forms a new home.
Scout’s Honor, Magician’s Secrets
Question: Night sack for a snoozing Boy Scout that’s the set of skills available to someone like a magician.
Equestrian Emeralds
Question: Horse racing’s biggest trio of events that the queen only wears on special occasions.
Bait, Hook, Track and Field
Question: Angling necessity that’s a high-flying track & field event.
Entertaining the People of the (Royal?) Court
Question: Our nation’s top judicial body employs this professional fool.
Indoors and Out of Doors
Question: Government body that protects the great outdoors & brings color & fabric swatches for the indoors.
How Many Shades, Again?
Question: A steamy E.L. James book becomes Canadian football’s biggest team prize.
Camelot, Where All the Women Are Strong, All the Men are Good-Looking…
Question: The woman who gave King Arthur his sword moves to Garrison Keillor’s fictitious town.
If Only Robin Scherbatsky Was a Nun
Question: CBS sitcom about Ted Mosby’s search for the nun who founded the order of the Missionaries of Charity in India.
A Great Queen Versus the King of All Media
Question: The fifth wife of Henry VIII raises eyebrows as a shock jock & the “King of All Media”.
Racing to the Royal Throne
Question: Top equestrian trio of races that are next in line to be the reigning monarch.
The Lemonade Springs Where the Bluebird Sings in the…
Question: Southern state capital confection that’s made of crystallized sugar.
It’s Debatable Whether or Not These Two are Royalty
Question: Much-married CNN talk show host who took a shine to Fay Wray.
Anyone for Brunch?
Question: Breakfast dish with Hollandaise prepared by a traitor.
Maybe Don’t Gift This at the Office
Question: A lingerie chain known for its “Angels” that picks names at random to give Christmas presents.
You Could Maybe Buy a Chemistry Textbook Here
Question: Bookseller made up of argon, neon, xenon, helium or radon.
Difficult Before and After
Donald’s Nephews Have a Fright
Question: Stories of Huey, Dewey & Louie as they enter a horrifying world on HBO with a decomposing host.
Irish Hills or Californian Beaches?
Question: Film in which a kid in a Welsh coal-mining family like totally falls for a 1980s Southern California chick.
This Military Genius Could Be a Little Salty
Question: 18th century Prussian king & military genius who is a large body of water in northern Utah.
Get Ready to Putt, and Aim for the Sky
Question: Celestial body of extremely intense gravity that scores an ace in golf.
Tony Stark Goes Under the Sea
Question: Billionaire superhero & inventor of a miniature Arc Reactor/jellyfish relative of the gulf stream.
Joyce Opts Not to Set His Alarm
Question: Experimental James Joyce novel requested from the hotel front desk to rouse you from sleep in the morning.
Ordering Breakfast for 435, Please!
Question: A disaster-defying breakfast chain that serves pancake alternatives to 435 members.
Get the Coffee Brewing
Question: Coffee maker with a plunger that holds briefings for journalists.
Justice for the Mute
Question: The Supreme Court justice known for not speaking becomes the reclusive “Lot 49” novelist known for not speaking.
A Famous Book and an Infamous Super Bowl
Question: C.S. Lewis’ Narnia book that showed off a little too much skin at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
Où est McDonald’s? Allons-y!
Question: Artistic Left Bank region of Paris that’s a meaty McDonald’s burger.
A Question for the Dudes
Question: Late summer arts festival in the desert that’s a basement hangout with TV & beer.
Watch Out for a Gust of This!
Question: A hardbound copy of Margaret Mitchell’s book is thrown through the front window of your car.
Too Much Information from the Baltimore Sun
Question: Hemorrhoid remedy for an old Baltimore Sun essayist.
Thanks for reading our explanation of the “Before and After” category and trying out these questions! Have any “Before and After” question ideas of your own? Drop them in the comments section below!
And for more deep-dives on Jeopardy! categories, check out our article on Potpourri!
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