Considering the global sensation it has grown into Wordle has remarkably humble origins, being invented by New York-based software developer Josh Wardle during the coronavirus pandemic because he wanted a game “for me and my partner to enjoy.”
Wardle released his game to the general public in October 2021 and it quickly developed a dedicated following around the world, with some players taking to social media each day to share their results and tactics. In January 2022, Wardle sold Wordle to The New York Times for an unspecified low seven-figure sum, though the game remains free to play.
In an interview with Newsweek Erhan Aslan, an associate professor of applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the U.K., gave some advice for playing Wordle.
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, for example, e and a, consonants such as r and 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.
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“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, such as bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl.”
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.
Wordle #1,205, Clues for Sunday, October 6
Newsweek has put together five clues to help you solve Sunday’s Wordle brainteaser.
Hint #1: The answer contains two vowels.
Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #3: You can only consume it legally if you’re 21 or over.
Hint #4: The fourth letter is a vowel.
Hint #5: One of the first three letters in the alphabet features.
Wordle #1,205, Answer for Sunday, October 6
The answer to today’s Wordle puzzle is “lager.”
Well that was a fun one! A relatively common word, containing two vowels, it may not have been the toughest Wordle puzzle we’ve yet faced, but it was still a good brainteaser.
Did you get it? If so congratulations, but please don’t be put off if not. One of the best things about Wordle is seeing if you can improve your results over time and Newsweek will be back on Monday with another round of hints and tips.
What Does “Lager” Mean?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “lager” as “a beer (such as a bock or pilsner) that is brewed at cool temperatures by slow fermentation with a slow-acting yeast.”
For example: “Would you like to go for a lager after work?”