It’s time for your guide to today’s Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.
Don’t think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.
Want more word-based fun? My Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at my NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for my verdict on two of the New York Times’ other brainteasers.
SPOILER WARNING: Today’s Wordle answer and hints are below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to see them.
Wordle hints (game #1173) – clue #1 – Vowels
How many vowels does today’s Wordle have?
• Wordle today has a vowel in one place*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Wordle hints (game #1173) – clue #2 – first letter
What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today’s Wordle answer is S.
S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle‘s 2,309 answers. In fact, it’s almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.
Wordle hints (game #1173) – clue #3 – repeated letters
Does today’s Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are no repeated letters in today’s Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.
Wordle hints (game #1173) – clue #4 – ending letter
What letter does today’s Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today’s Wordle is N.
N is a pretty common ending letter in Wordle: it’s the seventh most likely in that position and features in 130 solutions.
Wordle hints (game #1173) – clue #5 – last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here’s an extra one for game #1173.
- Today’s Wordle answer is severe.
If you just want to know today’s Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I’d always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We’ve got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.
If you don’t want to know today’s answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don’t say you weren’t warned!
Today’s Wordle answer (game #1173)
- NYT average score: 3.2
- My score: 3
- WordleBot’s score: 3
- Best start word performance*: STARE, SNARE (1 remaining answer)
- My start word performance: FRISK (100)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Today’s Wordle answer (game #1173) is… STERN.
There are days on which the result for one particular start word can skew the overall average and make a Wordle seem easier than it really is. This is one of those days.
WordleBot reports that STERN has an average score of 3.2, which makes it the equal 12th easiest Wordle ever and the second easiest so far in 2024. Only RAISE (game #1035, 3.0) is ahead of it this year. But is it really so simple? Well, yes and no.
The case for it being very easy is that it’s formed from five very common letters, in generally common places, and has the likeliest opening combination in the game. All of this is covered in my analysis of every Wordle answer.
However, I’m sure the average would be a bit higher – maybe in the 3.5 range – if not for the fact that STARE left only one possible solution today. STARE is played by around 5% of Wordlers on most days, and every single one of those (presumably) will have scored a 2/6 here. Add in the fact that TRAIN – which is usually the eighth or ninth most popular opener – also left only a single word, and that average will undoubtedly have been skewed.
That said, even people who played the likes of CRANE (33) or SLATE (17) didn’t exactly have a long list to work through today. I did, because my random opener was FRISK, and that left 100 answers – but I still scored a 3/6. So yes, it is an easy one.
My game was pretty straightforward, in that I followed FRISK with STARE, and therefore only had that one single answer remaining for my third guess. It’s fair to say I didn’t need too much brainpower today – it all played out as if by clockwork.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s Wordle hints (game #1172)
In a different time zone where it’s still Tuesday? Don’t worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1172, too.
- Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
- The first letter in yesterday’s Wordle answer was F.
F is a very common starting letter in Wordle. It ranks seventh behind only S, C, B, T, P and A and overall there are 135 solutions that begin with this letter.
- There were no repeated letters in yesterday’s Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.
- The last letter in yesterday’s Wordle was T.
T is a very common letter to end a Wordle answer – in fact only E and Y are more likely in that position.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here’s an extra one for game #1172.
- Yesterday’s Wordle answer is barely visible.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1172)
- NYT average score: 3.9
- My score: 4
- WordleBot’s score: 4
- Best start word performance*: SAINT (3 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: HILLY (330)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1172) was… FAINT.
We’ve now reached the point at which consulting a list of past Wordle answers is necessary to have the best chance of solving the game each day.
We’re roughly halfway through the available pool of words, and it’s unrealistic to remember all 1173 previous solutions (the first was game #0, so it’s not 1172 as you might expect). On a day like today, when many people may have faced a choice between two, three or all four of TAINT, PAINT, FAINT and SAINT, it could be the difference between a good score or a fail.
I didn’t consult that list myself, but I think I’ll start doing so soon. As it happens, both PAINT and SAINT have been past answers, and if I’d have known that maybe I’d have scored a three rather than the four I walked away with.
Still, this wasn’t a disaster. WordleBot says the average score is 3.9, so my four was only just above that. And I’m sure plenty of people will end up with a five or worse.
FAINT is not fundamentally a difficult answer other than the fact that it has the similarly spelled alternatives. Four of the letters are very common, and though F only ranks 19th overall, it is seventh when it comes to starting an answer.
I had another poor opening, with HILLY giving me only a yellow I and leaving 330 words. TRICE was a “terrific choice” for my second guess, according to WordleBot, but still left 16. I had work to do here.
Fortunately, I spotted the -AINT pattern as one that might occur today, and also that it could be an ST opening, for instance STING, STINK, STINT or STIFF. Playing SAINT enabled me to cover off both possibilities, and it did the trick, leaving me only PAINT and FAINT to choose between. But if I’d have known SAINT had already been an answer, maybe I’d have gone with FAINT instead? We’ll never know.
I did go with it next, because I had an inkling that PAINT had appeared before and guessed correctly for my 4/6.
Wordle answers: The past 50
I’ve been playing Wordle every day for more than two years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday’s answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.
- Wordle #1172, Tuesday 3 September: FAINT
- Wordle #1171, Monday 2 September: CAMEL
- Wordle #1170, Sunday 1 September: MUSHY
- Wordle #1169, Saturday 31 August: SPOUT
- Wordle #1168, Friday 30 August: KNAVE
- Wordle #1167, Thursday 29 August: FLUNK
- Wordle #1166, Wednesday 28 August: LITHE
- Wordle #1165, Tuesday 27 August: CROWN
- Wordle #1164, Monday 26 August: STAKE
- Wordle #1163, Sunday 25 August: SKATE
- Wordle #1162, Saturday 24 August: FILET
- Wordle #1161, Friday 23 August: LEECH
- Wordle #1160, Thursday 22 August: BRUTE
- Wordle #1159, Wednesday 21 August: MULCH
- Wordle #1158, Tuesday 20 August: DELAY
- Wordle #1157, Monday 19 August: METER
- Wordle #1156, Sunday 18 August: LANKY
- Wordle #1155, Saturday 17 August: STORM
- Wordle #1154, Friday 16 August: BRACE
- Wordle #1153, Thursday 15 August: ACORN
- Wordle #1152, Wednesday 14 August: SHORE
- Wordle #1151, Tuesday 13 August: NEIGH
- Wordle #1150, Monday 12 August: SKIFF
- Wordle #1149, Sunday 11 August: SCONE
- Wordle #1148, Saturday 10 August: MEDIC
- Wordle #1147, Friday 9 August: OUNCE
- Wordle #1146, Thursday 8 August: SAUCY
- Wordle #1145, Wednesday 7 August: MACAW
- Wordle #1144, Tuesday 6 August: ANVIL
- Wordle #1143, Monday 5 August: ENSUE
- Wordle #1142, Sunday 4 August: LOWER
- Wordle #1141, Saturday 3 August: SCALE
- Wordle #1140, Friday 2 August: FLAKE
- Wordle #1139, Thursday 1 August: CHALK
- Wordle #1138, Wednesday 31 July: PENNE
- Wordle #1137, Tuesday 30 July: FERAL
- Wordle #1136, Monday 29 July: SUPER
- Wordle #1135, Sunday 28 July: SMOCK
- Wordle #1134, Saturday 27 July: JUICE
- Wordle #1133, Friday 26 July: AWASH
- Wordle #1132, Thursday 25 July: PORCH
- Wordle #1131, Wednesday 24 July: FORTE
- Wordle #1130, Tuesday 23 July: PRONG
- Wordle #1129, Monday 22 July: CADET
- Wordle #1128, Sunday 21 July: SPECK
- Wordle #1127, Saturday 20 July: SHAFT
- Wordle #1126, Friday 19 July: REFER
- Wordle #1125, Thursday 18 July: NERDY
- Wordle #1124, Wednesday 17 July: QUITE
- Wordle #1123, Tuesday 16 July: DECOY
What is Wordle?
If you’re on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you’ve not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it’s the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm last year and is still going strong in 2024.
We’ve got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.
What is Wordle?
Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it’s in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it’s not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?
It’s played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times’ Crossword app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4. Answers are never plural.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10. All answers are drawn from Wordle’s list of 2,309 solutions. However…
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won’t be right (see point 4 above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
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