‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show for ‘Worst Puzzle Ever’ After Cancer Survivor Loses Car
Even the contestant was confused. Wheel of Fortune fans bashed the Bonus Round puzzle after a contestant lost a car.
David Shepard, from Atlanta, Georgia, played against Paula Rowland, from Bay Shore, New York, and Cayden Gonzales, from Deshler, Nebraska, on Thursday, September 17. Shepard, an oncologist and cancer survivor, and Gonzales, who plays the violin, guitar, piano, and pipe organ, each solved two Fortune Frenzies, earning $2,000.
The first puzzle had all three contestants solving letters, but Shepard solved “Dessert Before Dinner,” banking $12,001. He also won a trip to Chicago, Illinois.
Gonzales solved the Crossword Puzzle in the category “____ Card” — “Face, Birthday, Wild, Credit.” He got $1,000 for that solve since most of the letters were solved by the time he solved it.
He also solved the Prize Puzzle — “Cultural Treasures” — for a trip to the Philippines. This gave him the lead with $17,948.
Rowland, who has a sandwich named after her, solved all three Triple Toss-ups, giving her $10,000. Shepard solved the final puzzle — “Plank It Till You Make It.” This put him back in the lead with $19,751.
Rowland ended with $10,000. Gonzalez took home $17,948. Shepard chose “What Are You Doing?” for his Bonus Round category.
Wheel of Fortune gave the game show contestant “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Shepard chose “G,P,C, and I.”
The puzzle then looked like “I_E_TING.” He didn’t solve anything, but the puzzle was “Ideating.” Sherpard had the Audi inside of his envelope. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ideating means “to form an idea or conception of.”
Fans reacted to the puzzle on Reddit. “Wtf is Ideating?” one asked.
“Beat me to it. One of the worst puzzles ever. Is that even a real word?” another replied.
“The. Worst. Answer. Ever.” a third added.
“Who the f$#@ has ever used that word in the USA???” one fan wondered.
“That was absolute nonsense,” a fan commented.
“They obviously wanted to save money today with a final puzzle like that!!” a Reddit user said.
“They should be sued. They screwed him out of a $50K Audi,” one last fan commented.
Have you ever heard that phrase? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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C
I have degrees in English, usage, vocabulary etc. and outside of a textbook have never known anyone to use that word. Epic fail by clue writers.
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M
Used in things like web development a lot.
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S
An obscure term, for sure. And, anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the Lindsay Clancy trial is familiar with the term & concept of "suicidal ideation".
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W
No regular person would ever use that word. May be by psychiatrists. That was a dirty move by the game show!
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M
Web pros.
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M
I thought it was just me that had no clue what that word was! What a poor choice to put as an option for the final puzzle! This contestant should have another chance!
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M
I took one look at it and new what it was. It isn't a crazy word for 2026.
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P
Those puzzle writers were idiotiating.
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W
I sat there stunned! Who came up with this puzzle?!. Ideating!? Even typing this spell check tried to change the word
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C
I've seen the word used, primarily by mental health professionals discussing people who might be considering self-harm or other violent acts. So it's really an unfortunate choice on several levels.
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K
I was a legal secretary for almost 42 years and never heard that word in my life. The writers should only use words that the general public would use, not a word from an unabridged dictionary.
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L
I thought interabang was obscure a while back, but this was inexcusable.
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M
That was a rip off! Come on Wheel!!! I have never heard of that word!!
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F
I was screaming at the TV 📺 over that word. So unfair. Wheel owes the contestant a car.
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C
The show obviously wanted to hang on to that Audi.
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A
It was absolutely ridiculous. They owe that man a car!
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D
First of all, it's not a phrase. It's a word but one I've never heard anyone use. That word puzzle was quite a stretch. That contestant deserved better and deserved to win the big prize. Do better Wheel of Fortune!!!
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L
Never heard of the word. This is making sure the contestant wouldn’t guess the word.
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K
unfair response from TV show for the jackpot win
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K
That was a setup to lose! Awful word- if it really does exist but c'mon - that was a slap in the face!!! Totally wrong!
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E
Fed up with Wheel of Fortune and watched it for many many years but they just are not worth watching! Getting such ridiculous words that NO ONE ever heard of before and keeping the money so no one gets much ever! The million dollars is just a joke like at a carnival trying to get a prize and it is rigged! FED UP
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M
I think you should give him the car, NOT a second chance or a little more money. Might as well used the final answer " Antidisestablishmentarianism " !!
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B
I would like to know how many hits Google received on the definition of *ideating? I even had to asterisk the word here because the comments field box changed the word automatically to dating. That says it all! Shame on you Wheel of Fortune!!
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S
Ideating is a”term of art”, meaning that it is used in a particular field (in this case, psychology or psychiatry) with a particular, specialized meaning. I’m a psychologist, so I know the term, but I was far from being able to solve the puzzle. Even as a term of art, the word is used much more often in its noun form, ideation. I can’t think of an example of the gerund form (ideating) ever being used. The writers should do more than just opening a dictionary at random and choosing whatever word comes up. They should make sure that the word is actually used in common contexts and that you don’t need a specialized degree to solve it.
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B
College educated 73 yr old who worked in psychiatry. Never heard that word. Might be in the Joe Biden dictionary
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S
Thats a problem if you never heard the word and you worked in psychiatry. 🤔🤔🤔🤔
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6
Yup!! I thought the same thing, who the hell ever heard of this word?!! They should give him the car anyway!! Just on principle! They didn't plan on anyone solving that puzzle
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M
I really didn’t wanna have to click to find the answer. Glad I’m not the only dummy.
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0
Its a crossword puzzle word. It's the only place I've ever seen it
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I
Anybody ever hear the term "suicidal ideation"? "Ideating" is simply the action verb version of the noun "ideation". We sometimes used these words at work. But then I worked in IT around a lot of smart people, so...
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C
Very common word in corporate settings. But still a poor word choice for this show.
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N
It's academese. You see IDEATE in crosswords occasionally, the four vowels and two frequently used consonants make it a good fit.
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G
Sorry, but I got that answer immediately. That word is commonly used in corporate brainstorming sessions or any kind of marketing, social media strategy, advertising, etc. ideation is common too of course. Granted, I’ve heard it mostly at work but easily for the last 15 years.
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M
Every shrink in the world knows the term "ideation", and sadly in the context of "suicidal". Likewise, almost every parent of a patient of these shrinks will have read this word in their Doctors' reports to the school districts. Therefore, almost every parent in the nation who cares about their children's education will have encountered this commonly-used term.
It's *Wheel of Fortune* viewers who are sadly out of touch with a decent vocabulary and usage.
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