“Wheel of Fortune” watchers were startled, amused, and a bit incredulous after the iconic game show featured a puzzle that some thought was downright “kinky.” While some saw the humor in it, others bemoaned the word choice, lambasting the family show over it.

“Wheel of Fortune” — a popular game show which debuted in 1975, where contestants solve hangman-style puzzles containing hidden phrases by guessing letters one at a time after spinning a prize wheel — left viewers stunned and in disbelief after one puzzle seemed to allude to something “kinky.” While many found it downright hilarious, others were none too pleased, scolding the producers for going too far on the iconic family show.

The puzzle, which was solved by contestant Adam Goodell, fell into a category called “before & after,” where the beginning (before) of one common phrase is combined with the end (after) of another sharing the same word. Goodell was left with the clue: “BR-S-ING — ON — ITALIAN SA-SAGE,” and he obviously understood that each word in the phrase related to the previous word in the puzzle by way of a popular phrase or word pairing to make up a new phrase.

An example of a “before & after” puzzle could be “Newspaper Article of Clothing,” where “Newspaper article” and “Article of clothing” — both being common phrases or word pairings — are combined into a new, nonsensical phrase. Another might be “Tickled Pink Floyd,” where “Tickled Pink” and “Pink Floyd” are smashed together into a new phrase.

Unfortunately for “Wheel of Fortune,” when Goodell unveiled the answer to such a puzzle on a Thursday night, many found the newly created phrase to be too risque. Combining “Brushing up on my Italian” and “Italian sausage” for the “before & after” puzzle, the answer was “Brushing up on my Italian sausage,” according to Fox News. And, even the game show host was aware of the possible connotation.

After Goodell correctly guessed the phrase, Pat Sajak looked surprised. “Yeah, that’s it,” he chuckled after the puzzle was solved. “It’s a grilling expression!” Pat added with a smirk. Goodell earned $2,450 for solving the puzzle and was able to advance to the bonus round, The Sun reported, but it was the flurry of comments on social media that made headlines as viewers expressed both bewilderment and amusement over the situation.

“I found the ‘Brushing up on my Italian sausage’ puzzle on #WheelofFortune tonight hilarious for some reason!” said one.

SLANG TERMS FOR PEOPLE R M N thoth (M) - 1 - may solve, or guess a consonant stile (R) - 1 - may solve, or guess a consonant wrong guesses: C, S, T. Created by Merv Griffin on Jan. 6, 1975, the concept of “ Wheel of Fortune” is based on Hangman. Each round of the game includes a category and blank word puzzle, with each blank corresponding to a letter in the answer and punctuation added as needed. This site is dedicated to helping teachers by providing Fun esl games for Classrooms, Powerpoint Game & Templates, Printable Board Games, Interactive Games for Classrooms, Games for ESL Kids & Adults, Grammar Games, Vocabulary Games, Reading Games, featuring Snakes & Ladders, Hangman & Wheel Games.ESL Online Games. Fredisalearns.com: is a multi-level English. Wheel of Fortune, a TV version of the popular game 'Hangman,' is the most successful syndicated prog.

Wheel Of Fortune Vs Hangman

“‘Brushing up on my Italian sausage’ may be one of the most lurid-sounding #WheelofFortune puzzles ever,” said another.

“Bruh what intern must [have] made the puzzle ‘brushing up on my Italian sausage’ I’m dead,” wrote a third.

With one viewer attributing the puzzle to an intern, another suggested it must have been devised by “Janice in accounting.” Yet another deemed the puzzle “kinky” as another user quipped, “I think the jokes write themselves.” Of course, not everyone was laughing. Some were seemingly deeply offended, with one such user saying their 85-year-old mother watched the program.

“This used to be a family show,” tweeted one commenter, who said you “can’t let kids watch it anymore,” with another echoing the same sentiments: “Come on #WheelOfFortune this is supposed to be a family show!” Others were quick to blame the kerfuffle on “sick minds” as one comment pointed to the real “problem” — and it wasn’t the show’s producers, letting a puzzle in pour taste slide, with whom they found fault.

Wheel Of Fortune Hangman

“#wheeloffortune it’s the sick minds out there that automatically see something bad in things. This is obviously a before and after puzzle. Brushing up on my Italian, Italian sausage,” the commenter suggested. So, is this the result of a “sick mind”? If so, does the sick mind belong to the creator of the puzzle, who allegedly went too far, or the “offended” viewer with the “kinky” perception of it? That’s something you can decide.

Since 1975, contestants on Wheel of Fortune have been buying vowels and solving puzzles to win a variety of prizes, from trips and cars to even $1 million in cash. But when it comes to the hangman-style word game, taking home the big bucks is a lot harder than it looks on TV.

It's so hard that only three people have won the $1 million prize since its debut in 2008 (via Closer Weekly). But even the luckiest wordsmiths can't escape the state and federal taxes that go along with their Wheel of Fortune winnings, no matter the sum. That means you might win $1 million on the show, but sadly that's not nearly how much you're taking home at the end of the day.

Sandwiched between two 'Bankrupt' wedges on the Wheel of Fortune wheel, contestants have a 1-in-72 chance at landing on the tiny green sliver that signifies the million-dollar mark, and even then, the large cash prize isn't guaranteed. Landing on the $1 million wedge only affords you an opportunity at the prize.

To win a million dollars on Wheel of Fortune you have to land on the million-dollar wedge twice

The first step in winning the million-dollar prize on Wheel of Fortune is landing on the prize sliver during regular gameplay. That's the easy part. You then have to win the game, and make it to the bonus round without ever hitting the bankrupt penalty wedge, which would immediately wipe out your million-dollar prize.

Here's where the show separates the lucky from the really lucky. As Time explains, once you get to the bonus round with the million-dollar wedge, one of the prize envelopes which contains $100,000 is replaced with the $1 million prize. The contestant then has to spin for a prize envelope, essentially requiring the individual to land on the $1 million wedge again. The envelope's contents are kept secret until the end, with the contestant either solving the puzzle or running out of time.

Wheel Of Fortune Hangman

That's a whole lot of spinning combined with a whole lot of luck. Which is probably why only three people have walked home with the rare prize. In some states, based on the percentage of income tax and the possibility of being put into a different taxable income bracket based solely on your winnings, a $1 million winner could end up giving half of the prize money right to the IRS (via NerdWallet). Still, going home a half million dollars richer wouldn't be a total hardship!