Pat Sajak Grows Impatient With ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant: “Solve the Darn Puzzle”

Is Pat Sajak feeling alright? After a string of interesting on-air antics, the longtime Wheel of Fortune host recently got impatient with a contestant who was having trouble solving a puzzle.

During Wednesday (Mar. 22) night’s episode, Sajak felt as though a contestant, Nicole, was taking too long solving a puzzle. She was playing against competitors Corey and Vanessa.

The round was “Same Names” and by the time it was Nicole’s turn to guess, only six letters were missing from the four-word answer.

The stakes got higher after she correctly guessed the letter “c,” which was on the board in three different places, and spun the wheel, revealing that she was competing for a trip to Hawaii. 

Rather than taking a stab at the puzzle, Nicole continued to spin and guess two more times, adding a “p” and “y” to the answer. 

Finally, she decided to solve the puzzle. “Oh, I’m going to solve,” Nicole exclaimed to Sajak’s relief. The 76-year-old host replied, “Please, solve the darn puzzle!” 

She correctly guessed “coconut and cough syrup.” 

Sajak continued to shade the happy winner, telling her, “It’s a horrible moment when you know that everyone in America knows what this is – why don’t I? But you got it.” 

Before moving on, Sajak took one more jab at Nicole. “We appreciate you pretending that you didn’t know what it was until the end. You increased the drama, that was great.” 

We get it, Pat. 

The host went viral yesterday (Mar. 22) for playfully tackling a winning contestant — who previously revealed that he is a professional wrestler — at the end of the game show. Sajak has clearly been feeling a little kooky lately. 

Wheel of Fortune airs on weeknights at 7/6c. Find local listings on the Wheel of Fortune website.