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? TechRadar’s Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our 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 #1270) – clue #1 – Vowels
How many vowels does today’s Wordle have?
• Wordle today has vowels in three 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).
Wordle hints (game #1270) – clue #2 – first letter
What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today’s Wordle answer is P.
P is a very common first letter among Wordle answers. It’s the fifth most common in the alphabet and begins 141 solutions in total.
Wordle hints (game #1270) – 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 #1270) – clue #4 – ending letter
What letter does today’s Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today’s Wordle is O.
O is a middling ending letter. It ranks 12th in this regard, and finishes 58 Wordle answers in total.
Wordle hints (game #1270) – clue #5 – last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here’s an extra one for game #1270.
- Today’s Wordle answer is an outdoor area.
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 #1270)
- NYT average score: 3.5
- My score: 4
- WordleBot’s score: 3
- Best start word performance*: PLATE (4 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: AMEND (305)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Today’s Wordle answer (game #1270) is… PATIO.
This is about as mundane as Wordle gets. Three vowels, one very common consonant, another that’s very common at the start of an answer, a fairly common word and only one similarly spelled alternative to worry about. It all adds up to an average score of 3.5, the lowest since CRYPT a week ago.
That average will have been brought down beyond where it should be, though, by the performance of AUDIO – which left only two answers. AUDIO is the second most popular start word in the game, so the fact that many of those people will have scored a two or at worst a three will definitely have impacted the overall score.
PATIO’s biggest problem is the existence of RATIO, but that was only played by 3% of Wordlers on the second guess and 2% on the third, so it wasn’t exactly a major factor. There just weren’t any bigger problems: it’s easy.
My streak was certainly never in doubt today, but unfortunately I couldn’t turn a poor opening word into a three, and had to settle for one more than that. AMEND was that start word, and left 305 possible answers. TRAIL was a “great choice” of second, but could only cut it the words list to three: HABIT, PATIO and, um, BATIK, which is apparently a type of fabric but which I think is unlikely to be an answer.
In my head – and probably in reality – I had a 50/50 for the second day in a row, but whereas yesterday I guessed correctly, today I went for the wrong one first and had to settle for a missed-opportunity four.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s Wordle hints (game #1269)
In a different time zone where it’s still Monday? Don’t worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1269, too.
- Wordle yesterday had 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).
- 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 G.
G is not a common letter to end a Wordle answer – in fact only 41 of Wordle’s 2,309 games finish with one.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here’s an extra one for game #1269.
- Yesterday’s Wordle answer is thrown wildly.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1269)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 3
- WordleBot’s score: 3
- Best start word performance*: PLANE (18 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: GIVER (56)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1269) was… FLUNG.
One thing you have to be prepared for when you use a random start word is a near-miss. Or rather, a near-hit. My opener three days ago was FLUNG, and lo and behold here it was yesterday as an answer. This may be particularly frustrating for those of you who play my start word each day, but 24 hours later; you will have been even closer to that fabled 1/6 score than I was. Then again, in one sense you’ll have been no nearer than me, in that in both cases we were no less (or more) than 100% wrong. No prizes for getting the word a day late in Wordle…
That aside, FLUNG was a relative success with me, thanks to lucky second and third guesses. For others it may well not be; WordleBot says it has an average score of 4.0, and it’s a good example of the too-many-answers problem in action. Here, you could have played SLUNG, FLUNG or CLUNG with just that first letter changed, while FLUNK and FLING also differ by one letter apiece. Sometimes with these words there are options that are less likely, but here they all seem about the same.
I was helped by my first word being GIVER, which gave me the G that would ultimately mean I never faced the FLUNG or FLUNK choice. But really this was mostly about my second guess. I went with CLANG because C, L and N were all common letters and the N paired well with the G that I knew had to be included somewhere.
That proved very fortunate, because if the answer had been one of the many that had a DGY or GGY ending – for instance MUGGY, DOGGY, SOGGY, PUDGY or DODGY – I might still have had about 20 to pick from. Instead, CLANG gave me a green L, N and G and ruled out all but two words: SLUNG and FLUNG.
Choosing between them was a toss-up. I didn’t literally do that – not least because coins are hard to find in my house in this digital-cash age – but I did the mental equivalent and guessed correctly today for a scarcely deserved three.
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 #1269, Monday 9 December: FLUNG
- Wordle #1268, Sunday 8 December: HYENA
- Wordle #1267, Saturday 7 December: HILLY
- Wordle #1266, Friday 6 December: SHOVE
- Wordle #1265, Thursday 5 December: ENDOW
- Wordle #1264, Wednesday 4 December: CRYPT
- Wordle #1263, Tuesday 3 December: SHAKY
- Wordle #1262, Monday 2 December: GUILE
- Wordle #1261, Sunday 1 December: MAUVE
- Wordle #1260, Saturday 30 November: DOGMA
- Wordle #1259, Friday 29 November: HIPPO
- Wordle #1258, Thursday 28 November: CHOCK
- Wordle #1257, Wednesday 27 November: SLANG
- Wordle #1256, Tuesday 26 November: WITCH
- Wordle #1255, Monday 25 November: BROWN
- Wordle #1254, Sunday 24 November: TWIST
- Wordle #1253, Saturday 23 November: JELLY
- Wordle #1252, Friday 22 November: PEARL
- Wordle #1251, Thursday 21 November: SPINE
- Wordle #1250, Wednesday 20 November: NICHE
- Wordle #1249, Tuesday 19 November: GOING
- Wordle #1248, Monday 18 November: FRAIL
- Wordle #1247, Sunday 17 November: TALLY
- Wordle #1246, Saturday 16 November: VISOR
- Wordle #1245, Friday 15 November: TACKY
- Wordle #1244, Thursday 14 November: UVULA
- Wordle #1243, Wednesday 13 November: PRIMP
- Wordle #1242, Tuesday 12 November: FLOWN
- Wordle #1241, Monday 11 November: STOIC
- Wordle #1240, Sunday 10 November: INNER
- Wordle #1239, Saturday 9 November: SWELL
- Wordle #1238, Friday 8 November: READY
- Wordle #1237, Thursday 7 November: EVENT
- Wordle #1236, Wednesday 6 November: TRULY
- Wordle #1235, Tuesday 5 November: OCTET
- Wordle #1234, Monday 4 November: VINYL
- Wordle #1233, Sunday 3 November: BLAZE
- Wordle #1232, Saturday 2 November: SNOOP
- Wordle #1231, Friday 1 November: SIXTH
- Wordle #1230, Thursday 31 October: WEIRD
- Wordle #1229, Wednesday 30 October: EASEL
- Wordle #1228, Tuesday 29 October: TUNIC
- Wordle #1227, Monday 28 October: BAWDY
- Wordle #1226, Sunday 27 October: SANDY
- Wordle #1225, Saturday 26 October: WREAK
- Wordle #1224, Friday 25 October: FROWN
- Wordle #1223, Thursday 24 October: BOSSY
- Wordle #1222, Wednesday 23 October: GOOFY
- Wordle #1221, Tuesday 22 October: SHOUT
- Wordle #1220, Monday 21 October: SPOON
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.