On the November 18 episode of Wheel of Fortune, contestant Joey Sweet, a program director from Oceanside, CA,
missed out on a $40,000 bonus round prize after misreading a nearly solved puzzle. The category was “phrase,”
and the board showed: “CA_ED’ ‘_ _’ ‘_AND.” Sweet guessed “Cleared in hand,” but the correct answer was “Carved by hand.”
Host Ryan Seacrest, puzzled by the miss, offered kind words: “You were on the right track. This is a tricky one.”
Even Vanna White was visibly disappointed. Despite the mistake, Sweet stayed positive and walked away with over $16,000 in cash and a trip to Mexico.
The moment went viral, with fans online noting how hard it is to guess two-letter words like “by” in the bonus round.
One viewer wrote, “To be fair, ‘By’ is a difficult word to think of.”
This mishap came a week after another viral mistake by Will Jordan, who guessed “Treat yourself a round
of sausages” instead of “Give yourself a round of applause.”
Despite the blunders, Wheel of Fortune continues to entertain with its unexpected moments.
