Day: January 1, 2026

WoF Recap: New Year’s Day 2026

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EPISODE #8289: 🎊HAPPY NEW YEAR🎊

$1K Toss-Up: PHRASE

B E T _ E _ / L _ _ K
_ _ X _ / T _ M E

Saloni and/or one of these first panelists of 2026 hopefully won’t hear the words “BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME” if they end up becoming the champ this episode…

Saloni Khushal: competitive singer who was part of a karaoke league for three seasons (she captained her team’s (Sons of Pitches) first season all the way to the top of the leaderboard and earn the first seed in the tournament) who loves to dance (she was a dancer growing up, and in college, she revived her Bollywood fusion dance team on campus, which is still active to this day) from Ft. Worth, TX

Maureen O’Hara: trash to treasures kind of hunter (she drives around the night before a trash pickup in a neighborhood, and when they put pretty things out, she likes to rescue them) who’s part of a book club (she’s been in it for 25 years; it started w/ a bunch of young women all with little children all wanting to drink wine and share some books and knowledge) from Naperville, IL

Jack Kehn: competitive guy in anything from basketball and soccer to ping-pong or chess (his favorite sport is tennis, which he played throughout high school and was the MVP of his team; he even got the chance to go to Wimbledon in London, though he got the strawberries and cream instead of the Pimm’s experience) from Santa Cruz, CA

$2K Toss-Up: PEOPLE

_ R I _ N D L Y
F O L _ S

Maureen knows her FRIENDLY FOLKS at the book club for control.

FEATURED TRIP: The Elser Hotel Residence Yacht Club (MIAMI)

Round 1: SAME LETTER

Maureen: $500 T, $1,800 N pair (just dodged trouble), triple I’s and A (NMV already), MDW’s right side (lost $1,800)

Jack: SL of four S’s for $3,600 (close call), C for crud 

Saloni: $2,100 W trio, $900 G, $600 F, solve…

S W I F T _ _
S W I _ _ I N G
S W A N S

Could’ve gone on for the M’s, but she spots the SWIFTLY SWIMMING SWANS for $3,600.

Mystery Round: AROUND THE HOUSE

Jack: $1,300 T pair, one H on MW next to that orange $650 and goes for it…oops

Saloni: L for lost turn

Maureen: four N’s for $4K, one I (she accidentally tried to buy the N) and E, $900 S, $1,200 R pair, two O’s, $900 F (just dodged trouble), two A’s (NMV), solve…

S N O _ _ A N / I N
T H E / F R O N T / _ A R _

Some people in most of the country right now might have been building a SNOWMAN IN THE FRONT YARD, and she’s solved for $6K.

Saloni: $4,600/Maureen: $8K/Jack: ZIPPO

PP/Express Round: PLACES

Saloni: oddly starts w/ H and it’s unsurprisingly a dud

Maureen: $1,200 R pair (she mistakenly looked at the other lady’s arrow), $900 D, one O, $1,400 N pair, three E’s, $1K S pair, $500 G, triple A’s (NMV)…

_ A _ A N E S E
R O _ _ / G A R D E N S

…but she LaTs out to leave $4,250 sitting there, and Jack will be seeing some JAPANESE ROCK GARDENS on his thrive TRAVEL trip to the Hotel Chinzanso TOKYO (including a chance to see the projection mapping light show and fireworks) worth $11,899. 

Saloni: $4,600/Maureen: $8K/Jack: $11,899 Tokyo trip

Not the strongest game thus far…

Before the start of the next segment, there was a clip montage of last season’s prediction that they were going to give away $1M, which ultimately happened this past Sept. 30.

Triple Toss-Up: HUMAN OR ANIMAL?

This category makes its first appearance here on the regular show after debuting in the current primetime season’s holiday special. 

1.

Q U _ _ _ / _ E E

Maureen wasn’t stung by a QUEEN BEE.

2.

M _ T _ E _ / _ E N

Maureen spots a MOTHER HEN to take the lead.

3.

_ _ _ V _ R / F _ X

Jack says it’s a CLEVER FOX…incorrect.

_ _ L V _ R / F _ X

Maureen scores the bonus sweep w/ SILVER FOX!

Speed-Up: PHRASE

Maureen makes it a $1,600 Final Spin.

Maureen: S
Jack: 2 T’s
Saloni: 2 R’s
Maureen: N (DUD)
Jack: H

_ _ ’ R _ / _ _ _ _ S T
T H _ R _

WE’RE ALMOST THERE in Bonusland, and Jack falls short after this $4,800 solve.

PENALTY BOXDUDSLaTsBANKRUPTSDQs
Round 1C (Jack)Maureen
Round 2L (Saloni)Jack
Round 3H (Saloni)
Round 4N (Maureen)

FINAL SCORES
Saloni: $4,600/Maureen: $18K/Jack: $16,699 cash & Tokyo

GT: $39,299
BANKRUPT TRASH (minus MW $): $3,100

The first category list of 2026 for Maureen…

  • LIVING THING
  • THING
  • PLACE

She goes for LT.

$100K Bonus Round

Maureen has no supporters, but she lands on the I of AMERICA’S. Minus the unnecessary A, this was last used in early S35 during their Texas salute (and not solved for a car)…

_ / _ _ L _ 
_ R _ N _ _ 

DGCA will give her besides that obvious A…

A / _ _ L D 
_ R _ N C _ 

She gets the top line, but not the bottom (she had GRINCH and TRENCH), so she doesn’t tame A WILD BRONCO for $40K.

Vanna eats black-eyed peas as a tradition to bring good luck for the new year. In Ryan’s case, he eats food that are ring-shaped like onion rings or doughnuts.

MY RATING: 5