After a recent episode disappointed fans with an unfamiliar phrase in the bonus round, Wheel of Fortune is facing criticism. In the Tuesday night broadcast, competitor Angela was on the verge of winning an extra forty-five thousand dollars. However, a lot of viewers were annoyed by the game’s use of an uncommon idiom.
The “What Are You Doing?” puzzle was only seven letters away from being solved by Angela. The puzzle read “_ O _ N _ N _ THE _ R _ _” after she had filled in several letters. Angela tried other alternatives, such as “Joining the brag” and “Joining the cramp,” but time ran out before she could correctly guess in the allotted ten seconds.
Host Pat Sajak, 76, revealed the correct answer: “Joining the fray,” a phrase that means participating in a conflict that has already begun. Although Angela had a strong showing and earned $20,563 in total winnings, the $45,000 bonus slipped through her fingers.
Fans of the show were quick to vent their anger with the puzzle’s difficulty and the esoteric nature of the word. “I have never heard of ‘joining the fray’ in my entire life,” one spectator wrote in a tweet. Was that any sort of puzzle? Horrible! Similar annoyances were expressed by others, who called the puzzle “impossible” and criticized the usage of such a strange expression.
A third viewer chastised the show’s puzzle creators, labeling them “snooty crossword puzzle people” who “need to take their expectations down a peg,” while another added, “I had to make sure I wasn’t the only one thinking ‘What the heck is that?!'”
Despite the backlash, some fans defended the phrase
, arguing that it’s a valid idiom and the complaints were exaggerated. “Just because some viewers don’t know it doesn’t make it invalid,” one defender commented, adding that there are “judges behind the camera double checking answers.”
Viewers are still divided on the puzzle debate; some even wonder if contemporary audiences are less used to earlier terms. One fan questioned, “Do people not read anymore?” in reference to famous works of literature like The Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare.
In other Wheel of Fortune news, Sajak recently received a lighthearted reprimand from co-host Vanna White, 66, when he disclosed an annual trick he does on his wife. It’s evident that Wheel of Fortune continues to keep viewers on their toes given the recent turbulence surrounding the show.
Requests for comment have not yet received a response from the show’s representatives.
