Thursday night's episode of Wheel of Fortune left viewers frustrated as one contestant failed to figure out one of the answers despite coming spectacularly close.

Tina Meier-Nowell, from Portland, Oregon, was doing well in the competition, winning over $30,000 in cash and a holiday, but made a blunder during the Bonus Round. She struggled to provide the answer that many people watching at home thought was obvious.

Meier-Nowell picked "Event" as her Bonus puzzle category, along with the additional letters "D, P, M, and O," to go with the customary "R, S, T, L, N, and E." This left her with a board that read, "M _ _ OR _ L _ _ _ RD."

As seen here on YouTube, Meier-Nowell almost immediately answered, "Minor Blizzard," which was close but not correct. As the 10-second timer ran down, she kept repeating her original guess until her time was up.

"You've got to think bigger," host Pat Sajak—who has helmed the show since 1981—said, as co-host Vanna White revealed the correct answer as "Major Blizzard."

Wheel of Fortune has passionate viewers, as those who were shocked Meier-Nowell didn't get it have vented their frustration on X, formerly Twitter.

"#WheelOfFortune this game is frustrating to watch! How do you say 'Minor Blizzard' and then 'Major....' blah blah blah without saying 'MAJOR BLIZZARD'??????!!!!!!" one person wrote.

"Ugh W of F [Wheel of Fortune] final puzzle guessed minor blizzard but it was major blizzard," said another.

"Since when has a MINOR BLIZZARD ever occurred?!!?" someone else asked.

"Minor Blizzard?!?!?!?" a fourth person added alongside a gif that asked "WHY?"

"I'm guessing they don't have major blizzards in her area..." a fifth person theorized.

While people online might be annoyed by the mistake, Meier-Nowell accepted it with grace and laughed. Sajak didn't take the loss as easily as she did, however, as he said: "I'm not laughing. I feel terrible. You had exactly the right idea but the wrong key."

He then revealed that Meier-Nowell had lost out on $40,000. Despite this, she still walked away with $31,310, which Sajak said was "nothing to hang your head about."

Newsweek contacted Sony Pictures Television, which owns the game show, via email on Friday to comment on this story.

Even though he's hosted the show for decades, Sajak can still surprise fans with his presenting style.

On Tuesday's episode, contestant Angela won big and took home $11,900.

The excited hopeful was overwhelmed by her win but what shocked viewers was the way that Sajak told the winner to be quiet. The star was blasted online after he told her to "shut up" close to her face, to which she responded with laughter.

In his defense, a fan said it was linked to a reference earlier in the show: "Didn't he tell her that jokingly as a response to her saying it when she got excited, or did I miss a different time?"

Another TV viewer backed their statement: "Yes, I was sad for her at first, and his joke fell a little flat, but SHE said that to HIM when he walked up to her, and he continued the joke, though it is a 'blink and you would have missed it' moment."

In 2023, Sajak announced that this season of hosting the popular game show would be his last.

Uncommon Knowledge

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