If there’s one thing Wheel of Fortune viewers want, it’s sensible puzzles.
But a recent Bonus Round puzzle had fans of the show in an uproar because they felt one of the words used in a phrase was too outdated.
A contestant named Zoe got a chance to try and solve a puzzle during the Bonus Round and opted for the “Event” category.
Zoe’s letter choices, along with the customary ones provided, weren’t enough to give her much to work with.
After all of the consonants and vowels were revealed, Zoe was left to solve a puzzle that read, “_ _ _ _ L O _ S / S H _ N _ _ _.”
Host Pat Sajak prepared Zoe before her 10-second countdown began, telling her, “Alright, ‘Event’ is the category. Ten seconds. Take your best shot. Good luck.”
As the timer counted down, Zoe was clearly baffled, and she hadn’t made any guesses by the time the buzzer went off.
Wheel of Fortune contestant is stumped on the Bonus Round puzzle
“How close were you to saying ‘Fabulous Shindig?'” Pat asked, revealing the answer.
Zoe was “not anywhere close” to guessing the correct answer, admittedly, and Pat consoled her by saying, “The letters just weren’t there for ya.”
Pat then revealed that Zoe’s loss cost her $40,000.
Although Zoe was a good sport about her loss, Wheel of Fortune viewers at home weren’t as easygoing about it.
Wheel of Fortune viewers are fuming over the ‘stupid’ puzzle word ‘shindig’
Zoe’s Bonus Round was shared as a clip on Wheel of Fortune’s YouTube page in a video captioned, “That feeling when you get all the way to Bonus Land and the letters don’t cooperate. Can Zoe work a miracle?”
In the comments section of the video, Wheel of Fortune watchers sounded off, claiming the term “shindig” is too outdated to be used on the show present day.
“That was a stupid puzzle,” griped one commenter. “Fabulous Shindig really, that is not a good puzzle to me.”
“That is the worse puzzle ever to me,” the comment continued. “Wow what tough, tricky & worse puzzle ever in history.”
One irked viewer accused the show’s writers of “grasping at straws” and called Zoe’s puzzle “one of the worst of the worst!”
Another YouTube user added that their mom asked about the definition of a shindig, to which @erikdraven1731 replied, “Which hasn’t been used since the 1950’s.”
In case you were wondering, the definition of “shindig” is “a party, usually one that’s big, loud, and noisy,” per Vocabulary.com, which leads us to wonder: would you have guessed “Fabulous Shindig?”
I agree. That is a horrible puzzle. Who in the world uses the expression “Fabulous Shindig?”