family fortunes Wrong Buzzer

📖 What is the “family fortunes Wrong Buzzer” sound?

This clip is the short computerized error tone from the British quiz show Family Fortunes, played whenever a contestant's answer does not match one of the survey responses on the board. It lasts under two seconds and consists of a flat, buzzing electronic tone with a descending pitch, sometimes described as an 'uh-uh' sound, generated by the show's on-set computer system. On the program itself it functions as an immediate, unambiguous signal that a guess was wrong, cutting off the host or contestant mid-thought. Outside the show, the clip has become a standalone meme sound effect, widely uploaded to soundboard sites and short-video platforms as a quick way to mark any kind of mistake, bad take, or failed attempt. Its recognizability comes from decades of British television reruns and its constant reuse in gameshow parody clips, making it instantly readable even to viewers who never watched the original broadcast. Because the tone is so short and distinct, it works well layered over reaction footage, stitched into compilation videos of blunders, or dropped into voiceovers as a punctuation mark for incorrect statements. The sound's meaning has stayed close to its television origin: it almost always signals 'wrong,' 'fail,' or 'that didn't work,' regardless of context. Its online popularity is driven largely by soundboard culture and meme editors rather than any single viral moment, and it continues to be used chiefly as a comedic stinger for calling out errors.

🧭 Where it comes from

Origin: Family Fortunes (UK game show) wrong-answer buzzer, popularized as a soundboard clip on sites like Myinstants — documented

The sound comes from the British game show Family Fortunes, where it plays whenever a contestant gives an incorrect answer on the show's computer, nicknamed 'Mr Babbage' by original host Bob Monkhouse. The exact year the buzzer tone was first used on air is not stated in available sources, so the year is left blank.

🎬 How to use it in your edits

Drop it right after someone gives an obviously wrong answer in a trivia or reaction clip to underline the mistake for comedic effect. It also works well as a quick stinger layered over a freeze-frame of a failed attempt, blooper, or awkward silence in edited videos.

Download the file above, then import it into CapCut, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve — or straight into TikTok / Instagram. The sound is free for your videos.

💬 Questions about this sound

ℹ️ Sound details