new word for me: kayfabe

[darkoshi]

Wiktionary: kayfabe
(professional wrestling) The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.
(figurative) Similar fakery or suspension of disbelief in other contexts.

Wikipedia: kayfabe

I came across the term on this page:
James Holzhauer Delivered the Greatest ‘Jeopardy!’ Burn of All Time, which reposted one of James' tweets:
Thanks to kenjennings and bradrutter for a hell of a match. Ken and Brad are great jeopardy players but even better people, and have been incredibly good sports about my kayfabe feuding and trash talk.

That confirms suspicions I've had after hearing those type of contestant interactions a few times on Jeopardy, that (while amusing) they were likely to have been scripted.

Comments

[lhexan]

Oh, that's a useful word, thanks for sharing it.