‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Butchers Recipe With Infuriating Wrong Answer

Wheel of Fortune viewers are no strangers to embarrassing fails, but a recent wrong answer may be among the most infuriating, or relatable, fails yet. On the March 1 episode of the long-running game show, contestant Angie Gautney, a teacher from North DeLand, Florida, nearly missed out on a $7,300 prize after she attempted to solve a puzzle in the “Food & Drink” category with just two missing letters.

Gautney had already earned over $6,000 when she attempted to solve the puzzle “Warm toasted ba_els with lo_ and cream cheese.” Confident that she knew the answer, Gautney declared she was ready to solve the puzzle, though she completely failed instead. Although she correctly guessed the third word in the puzzle was “bagels,” it was the fifth word and that second missing letter that proved to be more difficult. Gautney guessed the answer, “Warm toasted bagels with low and cream cheese,” earning her a “no, not right” from host Pat Sajak as the incorrect buzzer rang. The correct answer? Lox, a brined salmon that originated in Scandinavia, which another contestant correctly guessed, prompting Sajak to quip, “Yeah, that’s a much better recipe.”

Gautney’s incorrect answer prompted a flurry of responses from viewers, some of whom were perplexed by her guess. On Twitter, one person wrote, “Omg on wheel of fortune someone just guessed warm toasted bagels with LOW and cream cheese instead of lox that is so embarrassing I would never show my face again.” Another person commented, “the absolute verbal abuse my mom and I screamed at this lady on wheel of fortune who didn’t know what lox was.”

However, it seems that Gautney was not alone in her confusion. Several Wheel of Fortune viewers sympathized with her, with one person asking on Twitter, “What is Lox? Never heard of it. I’ve seen much worse Wheel of Fortune screw-ups.” Another person admitted, “Look, I don’t think I would have solved that like come on people I never heard of LOX before really?”

Thankfully, Gautney took it all in good stride. In a Facebook post shared ahead of her episode, per the New York Post, the teacher even seemed to poke fun at herself, sharing that there would be “a few embarrassing moments.” Despite the embarrassing fail, Gautney walked away from the show with $7,300 in prize money.