'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses over technicality and fans aren't having it
Wheel of Fortune fans got a reminder of one the most disliked game rules on Wednesday. While the show has been on the air for more than 37 years, the crossword puzzle format was only introduced in 2016. And since its inception, one rule has been the bane of both contestants and fans. On Wednesday's episode, David Pederson became the latest contestant to learn the rule the hard way.
The crossword is a categorical list, often consisting of four words. When contestants answer, they are not allowed to say "and" before the last word on the list. Given the common use of the conjunction, this rule occasionally costs contestants wins even though they clearly solved the puzzle.
In Pederson's case, he answered, "Sole, Flounder, Cod and Catfish.” Host Pat Sajak replied, "No, sorry. That's not right," and another contestant was able to solve the puzzle, without the "and." Needless to say, fans rushed to social media to express their distaste for the rule.
They need to fix that freakin' "and" rule for #WheelOfFortune crossword puzzles. Come on.
— MitchO (@MitchO) March 31, 2021
The “and” rule during crossword puzzles is the dumbest rule since the “you must wear a shirt” rule at Applebee’s. #wheeloffortune
— Wheel Watcher (@wheelwatcha) March 31, 2021
@wheeloffortune really needs to do away with penalizing contestants who add “and” when solving the crossword puzzles. #wheeloffortune
— Marlene Sanges (@msanges) March 31, 2021
There’s nothing colder than @WheelofFortune dinging folks for adding the “and” when solving crossword puzzles
— Bill Landis (@BillLandis25) March 31, 2021
Another contestant losing out on money because they said AND on the crossword puzzle. @WheelofFortune just change the dumbest rule ever and allow this.
— Aaron Boots (@aaronbotas) April 1, 2021
Perhaps the show will adopt a more forgiving nature, much like Jeopardy! letting contestants slide when they don't answer in the form of a question? But until that day comes, fans are going to continue to gripe and complain when the rare format makes an appearance. And don't feel too bad for Pederson, who went home with $1,000 and some great memories.
Wheel of Fortune is a syndicated show which airs weekdays. Please visit the show’s site for local listings of time and channel.
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