‘EPIC FAIL’: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans mock contestant’s goofy guess

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With Wheel of Fortune back for its 41st season, armchair watchers at home will have months to mock the inexplicable guesses of some contestants.

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On a recent episode, a woman named Jessica Washington provided viewers with some intended laughs when she flubbed her chance to solve an answer in the “What Are You Doing?” category.

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With only one letter remaining, the answer on the board read: “DINING IN THE DINING _AR.”

“I’d like to solve, Pat,” Washington said with a cautious smile, guessing, “Dining in the Dining Jar.”

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“Car. Car. C.A.R.,” one person raged on X, with another jokingly endorsing the response by sharing a clip of a dog with its snout in a jar and the caption, “Checks out.”

“Folks like this deserve to be destitute,” one fan dismissed, as another exclaimed, “These people are morons!”

“New season of Wheel of Fortune, but still some unfathomable responses,” a fifth viewer swiped. “When have you ever heard the term, ‘Dining in the Dining Jar’ before tonight? An epic of epic fails.”

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“Bless her heart,” Star Trek actor George Takei joked.

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After Washington’s miss, the next contestant guessed correct — “Dining in the Dining Car.”

“There might be a C up there somewhere,” teased Sajak, who will depart the show at the end of this season.

But Washington was a good sport about her blunder, writing on Instagram, “This was an experience of a lifetime filled with laughs.”

Still, it remains to be seen where Washington’s error will rank on the pantheon of Wheel mistakes.

Earlier this year, 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 spelled “FREGH.”

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

“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.”

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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.

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X: @markhdaniell

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