Pat Sajak enforces crossword puzzle ‘and’ rule on Wheel Of Fortune prompting outcry seeking change

Pat Sajak enforced a controversial crossword puzzle rule on Wheel Of Fortune sparking an online outcry for a change to the rulebook.

The 74-year-old host of the long-running game show reminded contestant David Pederson on Wednesday’s episode about the crossword puzzle rule that prohibits contestants from saying ‘and’ when listing the words.

Only a few letters remained unturned in the Catch Of The Day category when David informed Pat that he was going to attempt to solve the puzzle with $1,350 cash on the line and a Dick’s Sporting Goods prize.

‘Say everything, don’t add anything, go ahead,’ Pat clearly told David before he answered.

‘Sole, flounder, cod, and catfish,’ David said with a weak clap.

‘I’m sorry, that’s not right,’ Pat informed David.

Pat then told the next player Danielle that it was her turn and she took another spin and added the letter L before attempting to solve the puzzle.

She was also advised to ‘say everything, don’t add anything’ by Pat and she correctly responded, ‘Sole, cod, catfish, flounder’.

‘Yeah, that’s it,’ Pat said.

‘I thought that’s what you said,’ Danielle remarked turning toward David.

‘I know it’s always confusing and David did that thing that’s so easy to do, you added the ”and”,’ Pat said.

Wheel Of Fortune contestant Kristen Shaw in 2019 lost a nearly $2,000 cash prize and a trip to Nashville after she also added an ‘and’ to her crossword puzzle answer.

Crossword puzzles were added to the show’s format in 2016.

Some viewers protested on social media that the ‘draconian rule’ needed to be changed.

One viewer called it the ‘dumbest rule ever’ 

Others, however, pointed out that Pat clearly stressed the rule beforehand and players must abide by the rules to win.