Pat Sajak And 'Wheel Of Fortune' Contestant Respond To Viral Clip

Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak and one of the contestants involved have publicly responded to a now-viral video of what appeared to be a simple puzzle causing several embarrassing lapses.

In the video, the board showed "ANOTHER FEATHER _N YO_R _A_" and took -- what felt much longer than -- over two minutes to be solved due to a combination of incorrect guesses and bad spins.

Sajak addressed the scrutiny the three contestants faced online as many pointed out the obvious answer of "ANOTHER FEATHER IN YOUR CAP" taking far longer to solve than expected.

"It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry," Sajak tweeted from his verified @PatOnWheel account Wednesday (March 2). "Last night’s “Feather in your cap” puzzle was a case in point. Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening.

"The first attempted solve was 'Feather in your hat' which, by the way, is how a lot of people say it. So all three players thought it was a good solve, and were stunned when I said it was wrong.

"Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for 'hat.'"

Sajak added that he has "fun with the players" and occasionally teases them on-air, but does "feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off."

"So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart," he added. "After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter."

Christopher Coleman, who was one of the three contestants in the video, told TMZ that actually playing the televised game brought upon pressure and stress, adding that he hadn't heard the "another feather in your cap" idiom for more than 30 years.

You can view the viral clip of the incident below.