‘Wheel of Fortune’ fail declared ‘biggest choke’ in show’s history

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Yet another Wheel of Fortune contestant is going viral for flubbing a seemingly easy answer that cost her a trip to Antigua and $650.

Airing during the show’s Teen Week, 10th grader Khushi was trying to finish a phrase in the “Food & Drink” category, with the answer being “FRESH TROPICAL FRUIT.”

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With the puzzle almost solved, Khushi just needed the “S” and “H” to complete the answer. After guessing “H”, the teen was stumped with the final missing letter.

“Solve it or spin it or… but do something quickly,” host Pat Sajak urged as the clock ran down, which led Khushi to take another spin.

Clearly stumped and confused, when it came time for Khushi to give her answer she said, “I’ll go with a … ‘G’,” which would have spelt “FREGH.”

“What?” someone in the audience could be heard yelling in response after the buzzer squawked.

The next contestant, Julianna, capitalized on the fail and immediately went for the solve. “FRESH TROPICAL FRUIT,” she confidently bellowed. Julianna won $650 and the trip to the island of Antigua.

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“You know when that happens and you’re sitting at home, you’re saying, ‘How in the world can that (not be solved)?’” Sajak said as he tried to defend Khushi. “But, you know, sometimes it’s a word that just doesn’t want to come into focus for you.”

But on social media, Khushi’s fumble had followers scratching their heads.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single audience member audibly have such a violent reaction on Wheel of Fortune, as this lady did when a poor contestant called a G in ‘Fresh,’” one person wrote on Twitter.

“This may have been the biggest choke in all of Wheel of Fortune history,” another observed.

A third watcher declared that Khushi’s screw up was on par with a contestant who was one letter away from solving “A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE” in 2017. Instead of choosing “M”, Kevin decided to go with “K” spelling out “A STREETCAR NAKED DESIRE,” quickly going viral in the process.

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“Shades of ‘A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ and the guy (who) guessed ‘K’,” they wrote.

“I was screaming at the TV,” a fourth person chimed.

Khushi’s miss is just the latest in a series of Wheel malfunctions.

Last April, fans were miffed after Chris Davidson lost out on a trip to Puerto Rico after he made a rookie mistake when he went for the solve.

Davidson added an “a” when he gave the correct answer “FROZEN CONCOCTION.”

“Chris knows what he did,” Sajak said “He threw in that article. He threw in the ‘a’ in front of it, and we can’t accept it.”

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Just the month prior, Wheel made headlines for a variety of mishaps, including an episode in which three players couldn’t solve “RENTING A PEDAL BOAT” with just a few letters missing.

Another trio of contestants also failed to answer another seemingly easy phrase: “ANOTHER FEATHER IN YOUR CAP,” which forced Sajak to leap to their defence.

Fans also tackled Sajak after he insulted a contestant’s introduction story during another recent episode.

“That may have been the most pointless story ever told,” the longtime television personality said sarcastically.

Earlier this month, contestant Ben Tucker became a Wheel fan favourite when he sparred with Sajak after the host mocked him for failing to guess “TAKING A QUICK JOG” in the Fun & Games category.

“Wow, that was so unclose. Yeah, you just didn’t have the letters,” Sajak, 76, jabbed when Tucker’s time was up and the answer was revealed.

“See, I don’t consider jogging fun and games,” Tucker shot back, quickly earning praise on social media.

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