Watching a game show from the comfort of home is easy. Being on one is a totally different ball game. The lights, the cameras, the pressure. It’s enough to make anyone’s brain freeze up. And is there any game show that allows contestants to royally embarrass themselves on national TV quite like Wheel of Fortune? There’s always someone going viral for taking a big swing and missing on a phrase that seemed pretty apparent to the casual viewer. And when you take a big loss on aWOF word puzzle, there are a lot of folks shaking their heads at home. More than 8 million people watch the game show every night. Yikes.
One rather notorious of the wheel was Gishma Tabari from Encino, California, whose fantasy-inspired whiff of a common phrase back in 2023 earned her a lot of groans and some support from those who thought her imagination was inspiring. The 3-word puzzle read: “TH _ _ RITI _ S _ GR _ E,” and Tabari offered the answer, “The British Ogre.” The guess surprised host Pat Sajak, who responded, “Uh, no.” Tabari must have missed that there was a space between the R and the E in the puzzle, so ogre would have had to be spelled with 2 Rs.
She also probably wasn’t aware that England isn’t a place known for its ogres. The correct answer was: “The Critics Agree.”
The answer inspired a lot of activity on X, where people couldn’t believe someone could come up with such a fanciful answer to a puzzle with such a straightforward solution.
First the British Ogre than a P?! This show never fails to LOL with contestants #wheeloffortune — Jennifer (@capzie) December 13, 2023
This girl guessed “The British Ogre” on wheel of fortune and the second hand embarrassment was overwhelming. She wouldn’t even look at the camera for a sec?? I feel bad but man that shit was funny— Thumser (@JeffreyThumser) December 13, 2023
One person even created a lovely image of what could be the British Ogre.
Although…not everyone had a problem with the guess.
“OK, the puzzle was clearly THE CRITICS AGREE but to be honest I prefer THE BRITISH OGRE because the puzzles could use some more wacky originality sometimes.#WheelOfFortune“— Pasha Paterson (@zer0bandwidth) December 13, 2023
On the bright side, the incorrect guess is an opportunity for the world to learn that ogres aren’t a significant part of English folklore. Sure, there are characters in English myths and legends that have ogre-like qualities, such as Grendel from “Beowulf,” the monstrous creature that terrorizes the mead hall of King Hrothgar. There’s also the Boggart, a mischievous spirit much like a hobgoblin and trolls, which appear in some English tales although they originate in Scandinavia.
If you’re looking for ogres in Europe, France is the best place to go.
The word ogre is of French descent and comes from the name of the Etruscan god of the underworld, Orcus. Orcus is a large, ugly, bearded giant who enjoys consuming human flesh. Ogres are primarily known for eating children, which they believe will give them eternal life.
As for Wheel of Fortune, the show will undergo significant changes over the next few years. The show’s host, Pat Sajak, 76, stepped down from the show at the end of the 2024 season after hosting it for 41 years. In September 2024, radio host and “American Idol” emcee Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting spot.
Although, it was just announced that Sajak would be making a special guest appearance on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, performing what he called “Final Spin.”
And in case you’re wondering how Tabari is doing: on her Instagram she wears her “Wheel of Fortune Flub Girl” title with pride, declaring she is “British Ogre for life.”
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
One of the struggles people have with learning English as a second language is the number of silent letters our language uses that don’t seem to have much rhyme or reason. We are certainly not alone in using letters we don’t pronounce, of course—French is famously filled with them, and Danish words apparently make liberal use of them as well. However, there’s no question that silent letters can make language learning confusing for non-native speakers (and often for native speakers as well).
British comedian Michael McIntyre did a whole bit demonstrating what English would sound like if silent letters weren’t silent. What if we pronounced the “b” in “subtle” or the “h” in “hour” or the “l” in “talk” and “walk”? When we start to pronounce the silent letters, we quickly see how many commonly used words have them, and the effect is both eye-opening and hilarious.
When you speak a language that uses silent letters, you may not realize that there are languages that don’t. For instance, this comment on the video—”As a Finn, I’m relieved to finally hear properly spoken English”— only makes sense when you know that Finnish is a strictly phonetic language, meaning the letters you see spelled out are pronounced the same way consistently. Spanish is pretty consistent with phonetics, especially compared to English, and Italian and Greek are as well.
So why does English utilize so many silent letters? As Merriam-Webster states, “Our language is a glutton, and it has taken words from an enormous number of other languages. Since we have words borrowed from languages that have different sound patterns, this results in English speakers pronouncing the words differently than in their languages of origin.”
I know one thing we can all agree on as English speakers. Please remove silent letters and the combination of 2 letters to make the phonetic sound of one letter. Thank you.
For instance, the word mnemonic has a silent “m” at the beginning, but it didn’t used to be silent. The word came to English from the Greek through Latin, and the “m” actually was pronounced in it even as late as the 1800s. Over time, we just dropped it. The same applies to the silent “p” in words like “psychology” and “psalm.” We used to pronounce it, and the French and Germans still do, but we’ve let the “p” go.
Other words came from Dutch or German with sounds that aren’t standard phonetics in English, like the throat-clearing sound the “ch” combo makes in those languages (technically called a velar fricative). Words like yacht and night have that sound in the languages they came from, but since we don’t do the fricative thing in English, we just dropped it.
What about the “l” in talk and walk, or would and should? In the former, the “l” affects the sound of the vowel, making it an “ah” sound instead of an “a” sound, as in “tack”. In the latter, the “l” used to be pronounced, at least in the 1500s in refined speech, but at some point got dropped.
The words "would," "could," and "should" are often confusing to English learners.
Interestingly, Merriam-Webster sayscould appears to be an anomaly among the -oulds, though: “It seems likely that could didn’t have the L in either spelling or pronunciation; notice that its root, can doesn’t have an L whereas shall and will (the roots of should and would) do. The thought is that the L in could was later added by analogy—rightly or wrongly—to make it better match with would and should.”
Funny how language works.
How about knife and gnome? Apparently, those were pronounced several hundred years ago, but over time, people just stopped. There’s not always a clear logical reason for such changes—sometimes it’s just easier, and when enough people do it, a collective shift in pronunciation occurs. The same applies to the “w” in “wrap” and “write.” They used to be pronounced, but isn’t it just much easier on the lips to not form the “w” first when the sounds just blend together anyway?
There are a lot of letter sounds we don't say in English. Giphy
And yes, we also borrowed from the famously silent-letter-friendly French, as seen in words like receipt, debt, and indict. However, as Merriam-Webster points out, “These words entered English from French in the medieval period, but later scholars recognized their Latin origins and stuck in the missing p, b, and c, just to make the etymological relationship completely explicit. The way we pronounce these words to this day reflects their French heritage (while their spelling reflects their more distant Latin roots).”
So there you have it. That’s why silent letters abound. English is a mutt language in many ways, which has given us the delightful quirks and inconsistencies that make it a challenge to learn but oh so fun to joke about.
There’s been a lot of discourse on the state of modern dating and a lot of theories on why it seems harder than ever for people to find connection with romantic partners. Could it be that the achievement and education gaps between men and women are altering the dynamics? Have social media and dating apps broken our brains and hearts? Do we all have unrealistic expectations and unlimited options, leading to never feeling satisfied with anything or anyone?
Those are all intriguing options, but an alternate theory has recently arisen that’s quickly gaining steam: Maybe being single isn’t as lonely as we think. Maybe being single is actually freaking awesome.
A guy on TikTok who goes by @gettothepointbro shared a hilarious monologue on why women who have been single for a long time “don’t want to date anymore.” Women say he absolutely nailed it.
At first, it might seem like he’s poking fun, either at single women or at the men who can’t seem to win them over. But not so! What he’s done is perfectly captured the joy many people find in being single and, frankly, able to do whatever the hell they want.
“Some women have been single for so long they don’t date anymore, they grant you access to their peaceful little empire like a reluctant queen handing you a visitor’s badge,” he says. “You text her good morning and she’s already annoyed, like ‘Why are you disturbing the sacred silence of my personal growth journey?’”
He goes on, “Bro she’s been sleeping diagonally in her bed for three years, she’s not giving up that territory because you opened the door and paid for coffee.”
“You plan a cute date, she’s thinking ‘That sounds nice but also I could stay home, deep clean my apartment, do a 12 steps skincare routine, order sushi and not have to listen to a man breathe.’”
“You try to check in emotionally, ‘How are you feeling?’ She’s feeling fantastic because you’re not here.”
“You’re not competing with other guys. There are no other guys. You’re competing with her weighted blanket, her peace, her cat named Chairman Meow, and the simple joy of not having to share her fries.”
These are just a few of the best lines from the nearly 2-minute rant, all delivered in the most amazing French accent you can imagine. Please, enjoy:
The best thing about the video is the discussion in the comments. Women want to know how this man got access to this top-secret information. The rant is so eerily, frighteningly accurate that women are convinced this French guy is living in their heads. That, or someone’s secretly leaking intel.
“dammit. somebody call a meeting of the council. he knows too much.”
“I dont often offer this compliment to the male species but you explained it better than I ever could.”
“Alright, who’s told him this info??? So exposed right now”
“The joy of sleeping diagonally across my bed cannot be fully explained.”
“This is the most accurate profiling I’ve ever heard. You absolutely ailed it.”
Clearly, we’ve tapped into a real phenomenon here, with users lovingly calling him The Croissant King.
The truth is that many people—both men and women—are disillusioned with the sad state of the dating scene these days. App burnout is a real thing, and meeting new people in real life is a ton of work. So, it’s no surprise that more and more people are just choosing to stay single and enjoy all the perks that come along with it. This is a stark change, especially for women.
According to FiveThirtyEight, “Women were also more likely than men to say that they weren’t dating because they have other priorities right now.” Priorities like travel, career, friendship, and even just self-care—all things that wind up taking a backseat when people get involved in relationships. It wasn’t too long ago that women of a certain age that were still single were called “spinsters,” but that word has lost a significant amount of power. This new generation of women aren’t embarrassed or ashamed to be single; they’re loving it for exactly all the reasons this video describes.
This article originally appeared in April. It has been updated.
Comedian, actress, and podcaster Nikki Glaser is a force to be reckoned with. Though she was named in Time Magazine as one of 2025’s Most Influential People, her humility never lets it go to her head. She’s obviously hilarious, but in a way that pushes boundaries most didn’t even know existed. As a savage roast-master, she somehow simultaneously puts people at ease while she (sweetly) says the dark things we’re all thinking.
But it’s herself who she roasts the hardest. She’s unique and thoughtful with her approach to joke-writing, but is also not afraid to dig deep with the constant effort to better her life. She never shies away from getting truly vulnerable, making most people in the room feel like they’re her best friend. Luckily, I actually can call Nikki a friend and can wholeheartedly relay that she’s the kind of person who walks into a room and electrifies it. She’s not only wicked-smart, but she’s the kind of girl’s girl who shows up, no matter how busy she is. (I recall once complaining about the Los Angeles dating pool and within five minutes, she had set me up on a blind date.) She’s as solid as they come and I was thrilled to chat with her for Upworthy about some things I always wanted to know.
Upworthy: If you remember the movie Sliding Doors—if one thing had gone differently for you—what do you think you’d be doing?
Glaser: “I like to think that if my voice teacher in high school hadn’t taken my mom aside after one of our lessons and told her I had a bad voice and would never make it in musical theater, that I would have kept singing. And maybe would have been able to pursue a career in music, (not musical theater, she was probably right about that one). But I think that I just assumed she meant all singing. Now, I’m way too many years into singing improperly. I take voice lessons now, but it’s so hard to undo years of poor singing that I could have avoided if I had never given up.”
Glaser continues with the message she wishes she had received earlier, and wishes to impart on younger generations:
“In general, I think that if I had just gotten the message at a young age that talent isn’t born, it’s developed, I would have pursued more things that I thought I just didn’t ‘have.’ I was never someone who was naturally talented. Stand-up was literally the first thing in my entire life that I seemed to have a knack for, so I just kept doing it. I’m glad I did, but after I read the book The Talent Code in my 30s, I really understood that all I really needed to do to be talented at anything I wanted to be was put in the work.
That’s why I always try to tell kids that they can’t give up if they aren’t good at something. You can literally be better than someone who is naturally talented if you just put more hours in than they do, even if they have a huge head start. I never thought of hard work as the best talent of all. I wish that message had been instilled in me more as a kid.”
Upworthy: To that point, if you had a “second dream”—anything you wanted to be at all—what would it be?
Glaser: “Besides a singer/songwriter, my true passion would have been to develop a CBD lip gloss line with H&M. JK. I mean, I’m open to it, but in general, I just wish my life’s work involved more animals. Animals are my passion, and traveling as much as I do, I don’t get to bring my dog as much as I’d like. I also would love to get a bird, but I’m never home and you can’t bring them on planes (I haven’t looked into it). That’s the only part of aging and inevitably getting edged out of show business that I’m looking forward to: I’M GONNA GO FULL BIRD LADY.”
Upworthy: Is there a joke you’ve written that you just can’t seem to make work?
Glaser: “I have a joke about how fat people are discriminated against, which is a little tricky because I am not fat. And no one wants to hear a skinny person talk about how hard it is to be fat, but at the same time, I notice it and I want fat people to understand that it��s bullshit and I see them. I’m not trying to be a hero or anything. I just know that my body and food issues stem from the way our society treats fat people and I just feel like not enough is being said about it.”
Upworthy: Who or what makes you consistently laugh?
Glaser: “As of late… Rachel Feinstein, David Spade, Martin Short as Jiminy Glick, Tim Robinson, and Chris Fleming. I also LOVED Jim Norton’s latest special on YouTube, UNCONCEIVABLE. And I was just texting earlier today with one of my funniest friends, comedian/writer Sean O’Connor, and we both declared that one of the funniest jokes we’ve ever heard was Nick Swardson’s joke: “I took my cat to the veterinarian today because my cat had diarrhea. And the vet was like, ‘What have you been feeding him?’ and I’m like, ‘diarrhea.’”
Upworthy: Why is Cecily so amazing? (JK, JK. I mean, unless you really WANT to answer.)
Glaser: You are kind, non-judgmental, hilarious, effervescent, and just one of the best all-time hangs. Not to mention, sexy and cool!
Upworthy: You have been very open about (and I hate the word journey) your “journey” with mental health. Any tips for people struggling with depression? Like if someone could do “one or two things” to help their mental health, what would you advise?
Glaser: “I would first try a free meditation app. That’s what I did when I was broke and was in desperation for any kind of relief from my negative thoughts. It really helped. I would also recommend 12-step programs. There’s one for just about everything (if you don’t have an addiction, look into the requirements to qualify for Al-Anon because that’s really a catch-all). The meetings and fellowship are free and you can go on Zoom and just listen if you are scared to share. And no, you don’t have to believe in God to go.”
Upworthy: Have you ever met someone else who’s famous and completely freaked out?
Glaser: “Yes, I’m quite an obsessive fan of celebrities who I love, and I can never seem to keep my cool when I meet them. I was a Dave Matthews stan in high school and I met him in 2018 and I humiliated myself by saying the word “sphere” a lot. I don’t even know why. It had nothing to do with the Las Vegas Sphere. It was well before that even existed. Thank God I got to meet him a few years later and act relatively normal.
My policy now with these kinds of icons is that I don’t really want to meet them. I just feel like a huge bother when I share how much they mean to me. Unless of course they are new to fame or have faded from the spotlight; then I’m happy to tell them. Like someone like Patrick Schwarzenegger. I ran into him at a party and it was right after the second episode of White Lotus season three, so I knew he wasn’t being hounded yet. I was happy to bother him and gush over how much of an incredible talent he is. As someone who’s not a huge A-lister, I get how much it means when someone tells you they like your work. But someone who is a global pop star doesn’t need me shaking and crying and telling her she saved my life. I don’t want to bother her with my anxiety. She needs to save her energy to write songs, not hug me so I stop convulsing.”
Upworthy: No matter how popular you get, is there one thing about you that will never change?
Glaser: “I don’t think people really ever change. I try! I am always holding out hope that I’ll somehow conquer my imposter syndrome and overall low self-esteem. I’m about to start EMDR therapy. We’ll see how that goes! I know that some artists and comedians argue that it serves their work to be depressed or anxious, but I feel like I’ve already mined all of my insecurities for material in the first two decades of my career. I’d like to change into someone who’s more confident, but don’t we all? I don’t want to ever think that I’m better than anyone else, but I’d like to lose the core belief that I’m worse than others.”
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