‘Wheel of Fortune’ Puzzle Stumps Viewers as Even the Host Calls It Tricky
A contestant’s recent misstep during the Wheel of Fortune bonus round left even the show’s host, Ryan Seacrest, completely baffled.
During the November 18 broadcast, Joey Sweet, a program director hailing from Oceanside, California, came painfully close to securing a $40,000 cash prize. Facing the category “phrase,” Sweet was looking at a nearly finished puzzle when he submitted his final answer.
After using his Wild Card for an additional “F” and selecting the letters C, D, M, and A, the board revealed “CA_ED’ ‘_ _’ ‘_AND'”. The young player’s guess of “Cleared in hand” initially felt plausible, but the clock expired without a winning response. The actual phrase was “Carved By Hand”—a challenging combination that left both Sweet and the viewers feeling exasperated.
Even Vanna White, who was eagerly standing by for a victory, threw her hands up in frustration following the missed guess. Seacrest, who has been at the helm of the show since 2021, immediately stepped in to offer some comfort. “You were on the right track. This is a tricky one,” he assured Sweet. The host then opened the golden envelope, revealing the $40,000 prize that had just slipped away, adding, “Tough one… Even with the head start,” acknowledging the advantage of Sweet’s Wild Card wedge.
In spite of losing the major jackpot, Sweet maintained a positive and polite demeanor. By cheerfully exclaiming, “It’s okay!”, he proved to the crowd that the difficult puzzle wouldn’t ruin his mood. He still walked away with a highly respectable consolation prize, taking home a vacation to Mexico and over $16,000 in cash.
The perplexing moment quickly became an internet sensation once footage of the episode was uploaded to YouTube. Viewers flooded the comments section, agreeing on the puzzle’s high level of difficulty. “I don’t think I would have solved that unless I chose the right letters. Tricky one indeed,” one watcher observed. Another commenter highlighted that the word “By” frequently proves to be a stumbling block in bonus rounds, a sentiment shared by many. The conversation spilled over to social media, where a user on X (formerly Twitter) noted, “To be fair, ‘By’ is a difficult word to think of when you think of 2-letter words on Wheel. #WheelOfFortune.”
This specific mishap arrived just on the heels of another highly circulated clip from the prior week. In that episode, Connecticut police officer Will Jordan gained internet fame for his amusingly incorrect guess, “Treat yourself a round of sausages,” when the actual phrase was “Give yourself a round of applause.” As these entertaining slip-ups continue to amuse people online, it’s clear that Wheel of Fortune reliably provides surprising television moments.
Sources: Newsweek