One of the funniest memories from Family Feud that has been all over the Internet for decades is the story of the man who gave a puzzling response to naming a fruit that starts with “A.” It was for a steal and after listening to his family members shouting suggestions like “apple” and “apricot,” he said he was going to go on his own and guessed “arange.” The thing is, there are hot debates online about this moment. Some fans swear they recall seeing this very episode and others think it’s an urban legend that never really happened. There’s no video evidence of it online to verify, so the debate continues.
However, that wasn’t the only funny fail moment on Family Feud (or rumored moment). There have been many over the years. Most times, they involve the contestant’s response. But sometimes, current host Steve Harvey’s reaction and commentary thereafter is what makes the fail so memorable. Not surprisingly, many of these moments have gone viral.
Family Feud (1976)
TV-G
Game Show
- Release Date
- July 12, 1976
- Cast
- Richard Dawson , Gene Wood , Johnny Gilbert
- Main Genre
- Game Show
- Seasons
- 9
- Creator(s)
- Mark Goodson
10 What Gets Passed Around? (2011)
When Harvey asks the two players to buzz in and answer what’s something that gets passed around, the contestant, Chris who rang in first, is trying to think quickly. His immediate answer is “a joint,” and he instantly begins laughing at himself. Harvey goes quiet then tells Chris he didn’t know what 100 people he thought they were talking to at “some nice little mall across good ‘ol America. But I’m pretty sure the people didn’t tell the survey people ‘hey, an illegal drug!”
What makes the presumed fail so funny, however, is that Harvey was wrong, and the answer was indeed on the board. Harvey couldn’t believe his eyes, pacing around the stage, then declaring “this is when you know we’re going to Hell.”
9 The Lower Front (2015)
Harvey is working his way down the line of family members when he gets to good old Larry. He asks the question: what would be the first part to touch on a woman? Larry declares, “that would be the lower front,” then mutters, “or the vagin*” under his breath. Harvey was in stitches at the response and the implication that the very first part a person would touch on a woman would be her most private one.
The answer wasn’t on the board, which Harvey seemed mockingly puzzled by. But it was also Larry’s reluctance to say the word, a natural part of the female anatomy, that was a fail. His version of saying it was hysterical, and something he’ll likely never live down.
8 "My Wife, Steve" (2015)
This one is even racier. The question was what was the last thing the person stuck their finger in. Kevin, there with his family (including his wife), thought for a bit before replying “my wife, Steve.” Harvey is taken aback, mouth agape while the rest of the family members clap and laugh hysterically. Kevin puts an arm around his wife, who declares that it’s a “good answer.”
Harvey reveals the board, and it’s clear this answer is far too risqué for the survey. The G-rated answers that were already revealed included nose, ear/cat’s ear, and mouth/teeth. Harvey then approaches Kevin to say he’s heard a lot of good answers, but this one is his favorite answer of all time. He then asks the wife the same question and glances at Kevin who, wide-eyed, says “no sir!”
7 Congratulations, It's A Gerbil! (2015)
A perfect example of how the pressure of the game and answering quickly can get to a player, when Darci is asked to name something a doctor might pull out of a person, she quickly replies “a gerbil.” She immediately winces and shakes her head no because she knows the answer is completely ridiculous. But it’s too late to take it back.
“I didn’t say that,” she tries to backtrack, then notes that she, “heard about something like that once.” Harvey imitates her over and over again, floored by the item she chose. Not surprisingly, the answer is not on the board, and the other player is able to steal with the more logical answer of “a baby.”
6 "PORK LAWN!" (2012)
While it might initially sound like this situation is poking fun at the woman’s accent, it isn’t necessarily that. It’s the fact that she screams her response, and though she’s saying “loin,” it sounds a lot like she’s saying “lawn.” She’s very passionate about the answer and confident that it’s on the board, but Harvey can’t help but rib her for her pronunciation.
When Harvey gives her a blank stare, she spells out “L, O, I, N” then repeats it. “I thought you said ‘lawn’ like the grass outside,” Harvey laughs. It was on the list, at least, so this response wasn’t a complete fail, but it was totally funny, and just adds to the litany of hilarious responses in the show's history.
5 Blame My Parents
2010
The situation wasn’t a player fail but rather Harvey’s misunderstanding that caused him to laugh hysterically at his own fail. He was unsure how to pronounce the contestant’s name, Riccini, and he had a conversation with her about the difficulty he was having. He asked her if a lot of people have trouble with her name and she said “yes, blame my parents.” He seemed taken aback and asked her to repeat what she said. “Oh god, I didn’t know what you said,” he declared, looking physically ill.
Harvey then started to laugh uncontrollably and said “I thought she said my Black ass parents.” He almost keeled entirely over from laughter and couldn’t contain himself for a good minute.
4 "He’s White" (2015)
Harvey asks Bill, the head of the family, what’s something women said their husband has in common with the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Bill thinks for a minute then says, “He’s White.” Harvey walks away with the card in his hand, the other hand in his pocket, unable to believe what he has just heard. Meanwhile, the women at the end of the panel move up to high five Bill at his fantastic answer.
“That’s the best answer I’ve ever heard,” Harvey says. “I love real answers.” There was only one spot left on the board to guess the final remaining answer. But that certainly wasn’t it.
3 It’s A Dirty Job (2012)
During the final round, Rocco has his work cut out for him if he is going to get enough points to get his family to the win. As the second one, he needed to make sure not only that he gave great answers, but that he didn’t repeat the first person’s answers. The pressure was on.
When Harvey asks the last question, name something that’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it, Rocco repeats the first person’s answer, ‘plumber.” He gets the buzzer and thinking quickly before the timer runs out, he blurts out “a gynecologist.” Rocco purses his lips and realizes how awkward the moment is. His family and the audience clap, while Harvey quietly asks him if he’s married. He says he will be in a couple of months. “I think you better check with her after this one,” Harvey whispers. “You stunned the world with that one right there.” For the record, not a single person gave that response.
2 Another Word For Naked (2013)
Harvey asks Arvell to give him another word for “naked.” He says “nekkid.” Harvey is confused because it sounds like he said the same word. So, Arvell literally spells it out for him: “N, E, K, K, I, D” he says, points at the board, and shouts “bing!” as if he’s expecting to see the spot flip and the answer shows up on the board. Harvey asks him if he thinks just because he’s spelling the word differently, it will be an answer. “You can’t possibly be trying to pull that off on national TV,” he asks the young man, pointing out that some of his family members on the panel are teachers, for goodness sakes.
Of course, while “nekkid” is slang, it’s not an actual word. “I’ll bet you said ‘nekkid’ in one of your comedy routines,” Arkell tells Harvey.. Hands on his hips, Harvey replies, “you’re on Family Feud! This isn’t a comedy routine!” Arvell is given a second chance since he technically gave the same word. He says “scantily clad” and Harvey gets even more visibly frustrated. “How does scantily clad mean you’re naked?! If you’re scantily clad, you have on a little bit of clothing! You’re not naked!” The man had not one but two chances to answer and failed both times.
1 The Worst Fast Money Round In History (1976)
Family Feud has had its share of Fast Money bombs, but there was one that was so epic, it still ranks today as one of the funniest fails in game show history. Let's take a trip to the Richard Dawson era where, in 1976, the worst family ever to play Fast Money arrived. The Bobs of the family (Bob Jr. and Bob Sr.) decided to try and bring home the money, but they brought home the laughs instead.
Bob Jr. went first, and he gave us such classic answers as "Frog" to the question "Name a three-letter pet," to answering "Snow" to "Name something that comes with a summer storm." He only got 28 points, and that failure would have been epic in itself. Then, Bob Sr. came along, giving the classic answer of "Alligator" to the same three-letter pet question. It was so bad that Dawson, at one point, asked Bob Sr. if he was doing narcotics, and insisted that the last answer counted, even though he was a full two seconds late getting it in. Miraculously, the Bobs ended up with 83 points and taking home $415; but what this family ultimately provided us will forever be priceless.
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