A ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant lost out on $10,000 because she said this three-letter word

A “Wheel of Fortune” contestant lost almost $10,000 because she said the word “and.”

The incident happened this week during a crossword game that requires contestants to list each word that appears in the puzzle as their turn comes around.

“Say everything, don't add anything, go ahead,” host Pat Sajack said as contestant Kristen Shaw’s turn came around. Shaw was competing against Bryan Idler and Jessie Pankow.

“Right, football, left and Sally," Shaw replied. But that was wrong due to a rule technicality.

Because Shaw’s answer included the word “and,” her final answer ended with “and” instead of the correct answer, “Sally.” The flub cost her $1,950 and a trip to Nashville worth $8,000.

Idler won the round after realizing the mistake, totaling $3,550.

Social media users did not take the incident lightly.

"The 'and' rule is garbage,” @Drone637 said on Twitter. “She deserved Nashville!"

"Utterly ridiculous that you didn't give credit to Kristen for the ___ field puzzle because she said 'and' before the last word of the list," @NeuroVixen tweeted. "Functionally no different from the pauses you allow. You know she knew the puzzle @WheelofFortune. Not cool.”

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Even host Pat Sajak, who missed a few tapings of the show due to his battle with an intestinal issue, seemed to feel bad for Shaw. “Most times, I caution people not to add anything, and then you maybe didn't even hear yourself say it, but you threw an ‘and’ in there with the last thing and we have to go by the rules,” he said.

“And the rules are that Bryan gets that money."

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Shaw still won a third-place cash prize of $3,000. Idler went home with a total of $10,550 and Pankow ranked first, winning the grand prize of $16,728.

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*On 11-22-19 this article was corrected to accurately note Sajak's intestinal issue.