It may be nearly Christmas but there’s no rest for the team behind Wordle, who have released another of their brainteasers.
Wordle was invented during corona virus lockdown by Josh Wardle, a New York-based software engineer, who wanted to create a game “for me and my partner to enjoy.”
The game’s simplicity is a big part of its appeal, meaning it can be played by almost anyone regardless of their prior experience with word puzzles.
Each day the player has to work out a new five-letter word, in six attempts or less. After each guess the letters light up, letting you know how accurate you were. If a letter goes green it is both in the word and in the position you put it. Yellow means the letter features, but not where you placed it, while gray indicates it’s not in the word at all.
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Speaking to Newsweek Erhan Aslan, an associate professor of applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the U.K., gave some tips on playing the game.
He said: “One thing that I think is important in this game is the starting word chosen. Starting off with words that include commonly used vowels (e.g., e, a), consonants (e.g., r, t) and sound sequences might be helpful. Choosing a word that starts with q, z, j, or x, for instance, may not be the best choice.
“As you get more feedback after a few guesses, users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking. For example, if the second letter of the target word is L (indicated by green) and the player feels that the word starts with a consonant, they will need to know that there are only a few consonant cluster possibilities (e.g., bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl).”
In January Wordle was sold to the New York Times for an undisclosed seven figure sum, though the game remains free to play.
The answer to today’s puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself. To help you solve today’s Wordle, Newsweek has provided some hints and tips on the latest game.
‘Wordle’ #549 Tips and Clues for Tuesday, December 20
Wordle players can use these five hints to solve puzzle #549.
Hint #1: There is only one vowel.
Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #3: It can be used as part of a list.
Hint #4: The third letter is a vowel.
Hint #5: If you’re thinking about numbers, you’re probably on the right lines.
‘Wordle’ #549 Answer for Tuesday, December 20
The answer to today’s Wordle is “third.”
Having only one vowel, despite being a relatively common word, made today’s Wordle a real brainteaser. Did you get it? Congratulations if so. But don’t worry if not. There’s always tomorrow and, as always, Newsweek will be here with hints and tips to help you find the answer.
What Does ‘Third’ Mean?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “third” as “one that is number three in a series,” or “one of three equal parts of something.”
For example “the third in line” or “a third of the pie.”
The next Wordle puzzle will be available at 7 p.m. ET, when the daily update occurs.
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