KEY POINTS
- “Wheel of Fortune” contestant Angela guessed the bonus puzzle “joining the fray” incorrectly
- A number of viewers slammed the show, calling Tuesday night’s bonus puzzle “ridiculous”
- Others argued that it was a well-known phrase
“Wheel of Fortune” has once again sparked debate online after a contestant missed out on a huge prize over what some have deemed a “ridiculous” bonus puzzle.
On Tuesday night’s episode, contestant Angela was seven letters away from guessing the bonus round puzzle correctly.
After guessing the letters “M, H, D and O” to add to the “What Are You Doing?” category, she had 10 seconds to solve the puzzle, “_O_N_N_ THE _R__,” the New York Post reported.
“Joining the cramp, joining the cra-, oop!” Angela said, before eventually guessing “joining the brag” as her final answer.
Host Pat Sajak, 76, revealed the answer after the time ran out, saying, “Joining the fray.”
Some “Wheel of Fortune” viewers immediately took to Twitter to express their confusion and slam the show for giving the contestant a bonus puzzle that they said they’d never heard of before.
“Angela on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ got a piece of CRAP bonus round. I have NEVER heard of ‘joining the fray’ before in my ENTIRE life. Can we get some kind of sponsor to give this woman a prize?” one wrote. “What the hell kind of puzzle was that??? Come on now. Ridiculous!”
“@WheelofFortune WHAT THE HECK IS ‘JOINING THE FRAY’? I’m intelligent, but that is stupid,” another added.
“Angela, you had one hell of a night. Joining the fray, who the hell ever comes up with something like that? That’s freaking ridiculous. BOOOOOOO [‘Wheel of Fortune’] for that,” a third user said.
But others pointed out that “join the fray” is a well-known idiom that means “to become a part of an ongoing fight or argument” or “enter into some competitive endeavor,” according to The Free Dictionary.
“Saw an article saying people thought the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ bonus round puzzle yesterday was bogus. People who have never heard the phrase ‘joining the fray’ need to broaden their horizons. It’s a legit phrase. Read more, or watch stuff that isn’t TikTok,” one commented.
“It’s not stupid just because you haven’t heard of it. Intelligence would have led you to Google it,” another wrote.
“‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans b–ching about a puzzle that had the phrase joining the fray. Saying they had never heard it before in their lives. These people should have done a lot more reading in their lives instead of sitting in front of a television,” a third person opined.
Despite losing the $45,000 grand bonus prize, Angela was a good sport.
“Not a problem,” she said, as the host showed the large sum she missed.
The contestant still left the game show with $20,563.
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