She was close. But as the saying goes, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
On an episode of “Wheel of Fortune” last week, a contestant barely missed out on solving a puzzle after she gave a broken English version of the phrase.
The show has had a history of brutal defeats for contestants who couldn’t quite offer the right answer.
Whether it was the college “Wheel of Fortune” episode where a student lost his chance at $1 million over not being able to pronounce Achilles or the contestant who confused flamenco and flamingo, getting the answer exactly on the dot is important.
That same demand for precision persists today.
During a show that aired Thursday, most of the letters for the phrase “knock it out of the park” were visible on the board. Player Amanda Morris proudly declared she’d like to solve the puzzle.
However, she couldn’t quite muster the correct words.
Pat Sajak and Wheel of Fortune are one of the last strongholds of the English language. pic.twitter.com/PdlydkzT8X
— Brosa Parks (@Parabellum2021) May 17, 2024
Was Sajak right to refuse this answer?
Morris provided the answer of “knock it out the park,” omitting the crucial preposition “of.” Host Pat Sajak informed her she was unfortunately not correct and called on the next contestant.
Kerry Ruiz, the game’s eventual winner, pronounced the phrase correctly.
Some users on social media were upset the game show didn’t give Morris some leeway.
“That’s messed up, they should of given it to her!” one user wrote.
That’s messed up, they should of given it to her! https://t.co/i7tT6pS2vL
— Palo Azul (@ReubenFlorez) May 18, 2024
However, the majority of users praised the show for enforcing grammatically correct English.
“Pat Sajak is a national hero,” one user wrote.
Pat Sajak is a national hero. https://t.co/rx0BfqJa6r
— JD_DIZZO (@JD_DIZZ0) May 17, 2024
“Thank you, Wheel of Fortune, for preserving the English language,” another watcher posted.
The way I laughed 🤣💀
Thank you, Wheel of Fortune, for preserving the English language. https://t.co/Kt7Qcvrzja
— Hillbilly Homemaker (@hillbillythings) May 18, 2024
While perhaps in other aspects of life forgetting a single word can be glossed over, puzzles and games wouldn’t be right that way.
What if Wordle gave you the right answer for only getting four letters? If a jigsaw puzzle was complete with 99 percent of the pieces?
There’s a right and a wrong solution; unfortunately, this contestant gave the wrong one.
