‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Baffled After Contestant Misses Out on Prize Despite Seemingly Solving Puzzle

CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE - Melissa Joan Hart, Tituss Burgess and Lacey Chabert Hosted by pop-culture legends Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune takes a star-studded spin on Americas Game®. Season two continues with an all-new episode SUNDAY, OCT. 17 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images) CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Several Wheel of Fortune fans were confounded Tuesday night (Jan. 30) after a contestant lost out on their bonus round prize despite appearing to solve the puzzle correctly.

Megan from California was presented with a two-word puzzle in the “living thing” category. She was given two letters in the first word, “P_N_,” and three letters in the second, “_RC__D.”

With 10 seconds on the clock, it appeared that Megan was immediately able to puzzle out the second word but was having trouble with the first. She mumbled her initial guess, which many people online thought sounded like “pink orchid.” When the clock continued ticking down, she threw out the phrase “pony orchid” before the buzzer announced the end of her allotted guessing time.

Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White stood by as the puzzle revealed itself to be “pink orchid.” White’s co-host, Pat Sajak, suggested Megan “might have been overthinking” the answer. He seemed to sympathize with the contestant when she realized what the first word was.

Related: 'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Drag Contestant for Missing Obvious Bonus Puzzle: 'How Did You Get It Wrong'

“I’m sorry that didn’t work out for ya,” Sajak told Megan. He then revealed that she had missed out on $40,000 in that bonus round, though she still ended the game with $14,007.

“I know, that would have been awfully nice,” Sajak said. "But she had a good night!”

When a clip of Megan’s bonus round popped up on YouTube, the confusion surrounding her first guess became apparent.

"I heard ‘think’ or ‘pink’ orchid,” one YouTube user commented.

“I thought she said it the first time,” another YouTuber agreed.

“She said ‘some’ then ‘pink’ orchid,” one user explained. ‘When you listen the some and pink are said so rapidly back to back it would initially be hard to hear the pink. But she absolutely solves the puzzle at the beginning and should be granted her prize.”

Others disagreed and said that playing with the volume or speed of the video clip or observing it carefully could reveal what she actually said.

“It took me a few times watching but it looks like she said ‘something orchid,’” one person suggested.

“She definitely said ‘something orchid,’” said another fan. “Lip readers can confirm.”

As many people pointed out, Megan likely would have corrected Sajak if she had solved the puzzle correctly.

“She definitely said something orchid,” one person wrote. "She would have reacted differently if she knew she said pink.”

“She didn't contest it!” another concluded.

Next: 'Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Fume After ‘Frustrating’ Misstep Costs Contestant Bonus Round