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One Wheel of Fortune puzzle was so “tough” even host Ryan Seacrest had to say something.
During the bonus round of the Monday, November 18 episode of Wheel of Fortune, Joey Sweet, a program director for teens from Oceanside, California, missed out on the $40,000 prize.
The category for the three-word puzzle was “phrase,” and Sweet chose C, D, M, and A, with “F” as the additional letter he was awarded due to his Wild Card wedge.
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The nearly-completed puzzle then read, “CA_ED’ ‘_ _’ ‘_AND.'” Sweet guessed “Cleared in hand,” but appeared to be at a loss for what else the answer could be. The timer ran out, and the answer was revealed to be “Carved By Hand,” to which Vanna White threw her hands up in disappointment.
“You were on the right track. This is a tricky one,” Seacrest, 49, said off-screen as he comforted the contestant. After Seacrest opened the gold prize card and revealed the prize Sweet had missed out on, he once again remarked on the puzzle’s difficulty. “Tough one,” he said, adding, “Even with the head start” (referring to the Wild Card wedge).
Sweet, however, remained in good spirits about the loss, simply telling the host, “It’s okay!” He left with a prize package that included $16,150 in cash and a prize trip to Mexico.
A video of the moment was added to YouTube and many fans took to the comments to share Seacrest’s sentiments about the puzzle.
“I wouldn’t have gotten that unless I picked the right letters. Tricky one indeed,” one person commented.
Another person pointed out that “By is a tough word for the Bonus Round,” and many other commenters agreed. Fans also took to X (formerly Twitter) to share this sentiment, with one person posting, “To be fair, “By” is a difficult word to think of when you think of 2 letter words on Wheel. #WheelOfFortune.”
This contestant’s miss comes a week after another’s gaffe went viral. Will Jordan, a veteran police officer and former coast guard from Newington, Connecticut, gained attention for guessing “Treat yourself a round of sausages” on a puzzle for which the correct answer was “Give yourself a round of applause.”
