Wheel of Fortune contestant flubs puzzle pronunciation

A nationally syndicated game show with money on the line is an unfortunate place to have a slip of the tongue, but such was the case for one player on Monday’s Wheel of Fortune.

The contestant, named Jonny, was sitting pretty when he filled in the final letters of the puzzle, “Flamenco Dance Lessons”; all he had to do was read the completed puzzle out loud to solve it and win $7,100. Unfortunately for Jonny, a pronunciation error cost him the cash — he said “flamingo” instead of “flamenco.”

Much to Jonny’s apparent dismay, host Pat Sajak then allowed fellow contestant Ashley a shot at the solve, awarding her $1000 for reading the puzzle correctly. Jonny looked confused and stricken as Sajack explained the mispronunciation and promised to review the play during the commercial break.

The powers that be at Wheel upheld the ruling on Jonny’s flub, although they did retract the $1000 awarded to Ashley.

Though the incident is a bit embarrassing for Jonny, he can rest easy knowing that, at least, he’s not the guy who guessed “A Streetcar Naked Desire,” another (even more embarrassing?) Wheel of Fortune fail that went viral last year.

Watch the Wheel of Fortune clip from Monday’s show above, and decide for yourself which is the most cringe-inducing flub.