# "Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [December 24, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604 "2021-12-24T21:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 322
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6421 "2022-09-25T20:59:45Z")
Surely there’s a website we can find that lists all the previous answers in a convenient reference format. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6422 "2022-09-25T21:48:45Z")
There are a few that list all the previous answers, but how convenient their formats are varies a bit. I like having them in a spreadsheet because of course I can manipulate the spreadsheet in various ways. I can sort them alphabetically the standard way, or in various ways: if I want to sort by middle letter, I can do that. And I can do things like count the frequencies of each letter of the alphabet over the entire set of solutions, which is handy because those frequencies aren’t quite in ETAOIN SHRDLU order. (In particular, R is easily the most frequently appearing consonant in Wordle solutions so far, by a fair margin over T and the other consonants.) Again, how one feels about doing such manipulations will vary from one player to another. As always, it’s a game, it’s supposed to be fun. While we’re comparing results here, we’re not competing against each other, and we can each have our own understanding of what we’re comfortable with regarding as fair play. And that’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6423 "2022-09-25T22:59:33Z")
What is the worst possible ‘trap’ setup? As in, you have determined exactly what four of the letters in the answer are, and what their locations are. What combination leaves you with the most letters that would create ‘legal’ Wordle answer words if plugged in? Anybody figures that out already? Has it happened yet? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6424 "2022-09-25T23:21:29Z")
Wordle 463 2/6 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 AROSE ADMIT I’m one of those who DO look at previous solutions—and there have been a lot of “A” words. (34, I believe.) I ran through other starts-with-A words that contain no E, O, R, or S and got ADMIT, ALIBI, ANNUL off the bat—and stopped, because I figured ADMIT was very Wordle-winner-likely and I wanted to try it to narrow things down. And got lucky! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6425 "2022-09-25T23:37:21Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I decided to go with a slightly different second word than my usual CHORE. My thought was there wasn’t really room for a CH or TH or similar combo, so I’d be wasting the H. You could have used CHIDE or CHAIN. ---
**Author:** ![SeaSun](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seasun/32/14820_2.png) [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6426 "2022-09-26T00:21:14Z")
**Wordle 463 3/6** ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 COAST PAINT ADMIT ---
**Author:** ![SeaSun](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seasun/32/14820_2.png) [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6427 "2022-09-26T01:15:31Z")
From what I’ve found, the one with 3 known letters that I found to be the longest was \_ \_ ING, which I came up with about 11 possibilities. Out of those 11 words, four of them were \_YING, and three were \_LING. And the ones where you know 4 of the letters, I had \_OUND and \_ATCH, each with 8 possibilities. Those would be doozies - lol, but you most likely would rule out some of them with your previous guess words. And to answer your question if it’s happened yet…yep, it sure has. I can’t think off top of my head what they all were (I’ve been playing for 6 months), except I remember when “Watch” was the word, which was my only fail since I’ve been playing the game. And I remember we had “Found” too. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6428 "2022-09-26T01:36:06Z")
> [@SeaSun](#): > > And the ones where you know 4 of the letters, I had \_OUND and \_ATCH, each with 8 possibilities. Those would be doozies - lol, but you most likely would rule out some of them with your previous guess words. Wow, sounds like you’ve put a lot into analyzing the game! Thanks for the answers. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6429 "2022-09-26T01:51:55Z")
One of the early ones that caught my attention was SHA\_E (DKLMPRV). ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6430 "2022-09-26T01:55:26Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > What is the worst possible ‘trap’ setup? As in, you have determined exactly what four of the letters in the answer are, and what their locations are. I figured this out a while ago. The worst is \_IGHT (nine words), followed by \_OUND (eight words). I remember this as sight and sound. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6431 "2022-09-26T03:01:45Z")
> **Wordle 463 4/6\* 9/25/2022** > > ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ > ⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜ > 🟨⬜⬜🟩🟨 > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 > > GR_AT_E → Not a bad start. Thought STAIN for a second word here, but had to move the A… > S_AT_ **I** N → Lucky with the I. A must be first or last. Could T be first? Two Is? > _T_IB **I** _A_ → Nope. OK, AT?I? (but not ATTIC) or A??IT. ATWIT is too slangy and neologist for Wordle, apparently. Oh, I see… > **ADMIT** > > Took a long time after the third word, but it was worth it. ---
**Author:** ![SeaSun](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seasun/32/14820_2.png) [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6432 "2022-09-26T03:54:09Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Wow, sounds like you’ve put a lot into analyzing the game! Yeah…probably too much, and it doesn’t always help. 😆 > [@Author\_Balk](#): > > I figured this out a while ago. The worst is \_IGHT (nine words), I forgot about that one! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6433 "2022-09-26T04:26:35Z")
Wordle 464 4/6 ⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 CREST BOGUS BRASH BRISK Didn’t see brisk. Bogus was meant to identify among gross/grass/brass/brash/brush and prism. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6434 "2022-09-26T04:28:31Z")
Wordle 464 6/6 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 RATIO DINER CRIMP GRILL BUSKY BRISK This was a tough one. Got into a bit of a trap on three. Tried some common letters without help. I thought it was probably B,F, or W for the first letter but I could be missing a terminal Y or the U. Tried to find a word with as many letters as possible ( thinking about BRISS or FRIZZ. Threw a Hail Mary on BUSKY which basically gave me the word. Now off to look up what the heck BUSKY means. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6435 "2022-09-26T08:45:31Z")
Wordle 464 6/6 ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 EARTH LIONS DUMPY WHACK FRISK BRISK ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6436 "2022-09-26T09:58:43Z")
Wordle 464 4/6 _S_LANT CHO_R_E DUMPY **BRISK** A bit lucky, but not complaining. When your opening sequence of three fishing-for-letters words only turns up two letters (plus a third by inference) but no locations, getting it on the fourth has more than just an element of luck. On the fourth guess, I looked at the remaining available letters, thought of FRISK first, then BRISK came to mind as well, and I decided I liked it better. That was the entirety of my thinking process this morning. ---
**Author:** ![QMatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@QMatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QMatic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6437 "2022-09-26T10:20:19Z")
Wordle 464 6/6\* ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 JOINT DRIVE PRICY GRILL FRIAR BRISK Luckily managed to narrow it down just in time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6438 "2022-09-26T10:53:40Z")
Not the only one having trouble this morning. Wordle 464 5/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 OATER LURID CRIMP WRING BRISK ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6439 "2022-09-26T11:11:28Z")
Wordle 464 3/6 ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 CRANE TOILS BRISK - before FRISK and PRISM - maybe others ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/6440 "2022-09-26T11:31:44Z")
Wordle 464 4/6\* 🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 BEARD BRICK BRINK BRISK BASTARDS ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=321) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=323)