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A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here.
Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.
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 #1881) - 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 #1881) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is C.
C is a very common starting letter in Wordle – in fact, it's the second most common of all, behind only S.
Wordle hints (game #1881) - 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 #1881) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is H.
H is a regular visitor to the final spot in a Wordle word. It occurs 137 times at the end of a Wordle answer, making it the sixth most common letter there.
Wordle hints (game #1881) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1881.
- Today's Wordle answer is to collide with force.
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 #1881)
- NYT average score: 3.4
- My score: 4
- WordleBot's score: 3
- My skill score: 92
- My luck score: 55
- My start word performance: SANER (10 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (14)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Today's Wordle answer (game #1881) is… CRASH.
I managed to turn today's Wordle into a right old car CRASH of a game, somehow only scoring a four when the average is 3.4 and my opening guess left a mere 10 words. And as if often the case, it all hinged on that second guess.
The problem with CRASH is that there are several similar answers: BRASH, TRASH, CLASH, CRUSH, CLASS, CLASP all differ by only one letter. The solution, then, is to play a second guess that uses lots of the differing letters: B, U, T, C, H, for instance, which would make BUTCH, which is exactly what the 'Bot said I should have played.
Sadly, I didn't look that far ahead. I knew that my yellow S would probably go after the green A, and that my yellow R would almost certainly go before it, for an -RAS- format. And I thought of most of the 10 words that might have been answers: TRASH, CRASH, BRASH, CRASS, BRASS, GRASS and GRASP. But for some reason — quite possibly the fact that I'm on vacation and maybe not spending as long on the game as I usually would — I went with the obvious approach rather than the one that would give me the best chance of winning.
I think of this as playing with my heart not my head, and there's nothing wrong with this approach. Indeed, plenty of people play this way the entire time, and possibly get more enjoyment from Wordle than I sometimes do. But I won't deny that on writing up this column, and particularly on looking at WordleBot's analysis, I do end up with a feeling of having missed out. I could have had a three today — if I'd have played BUTCH, I would have done. But instead, I went with TRASH and then guessed BRASH incorrectly and had to settle for that four. Wasteful.
Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1880)
In a different time zone where it's still Wednesday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1880, 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 W .
W is a fairly average letter when it comes to starting an answer. There are 82 solutions that begin with a W, with means that it ranks 13th – so right in the middle of the alphabet.
- 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 Y .
Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1880.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer is weak or cowardly.
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1880)
- NYT average score: 4.3
- My score: 4
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 99
- My luck score: 38
- My start word performance: SANER (304 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (315)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1880) was… WIMPY.
I have been called many things in my 50-plus years on Earth, but have I ever been called WIMPY? Yes, yes I have. More than once. And almost certainly with justification. But where are all those people who mocked me for my puny frame now, eh? Did they just score a four in Wordle, on a day when the average is 4.3? Exactly.
That said, yesterday could easily have been a disaster, albeit not of the same level as that time in school where a bunch of big kids threw my bag in a massive muddy puddle. That's because it took me until the third go to uncover any letters at all, with SANER and CLOUT both drawing blanks.
By that stage I had whittled down the possible answers list to a manageable total of 16; exclusion is almost as important as inclusion in this game. It was also clear to me that the majority of the valid options would end in a Y and also contain an I: for instance, I had DIPPY, DIZZY, PIGGY, FIZZY, GIDDY, HIPPY, BIDDY and JIFFY. I didn't have five more of those words, though — JIMMY, KIDDY, DIVVY, ZIPPY and WIMPY — and had also missed the non-Y-ending options: WHIZZ, WHIFF and VIVID.
Fortunately, DUMPY was "exactly what I would have picked in this situation", according to the 'Bot, and did the trick nicely. With the MPY ending confirmed, WIMPY was now the only option and I soon spotted it and completed the task. What a brave boy I am.
Wordle answers: The past 50
I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four 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 #1880, Wednesday 12 August: WIMPY
- Wordle #1879, Tuesday 11 August: FENCE
- Wordle #1878, Monday 10 August: SNIPE
- Wordle #1877, Sunday 9 August: CLUNK
- Wordle #1876, Saturday 8 August: PRIVY
- Wordle #1875, Friday 7 August: FEIGN
- Wordle #1874, Thursday 6 August: GRIPE
- Wordle #1873, Wednesday 5 August: POSIT
- Wordle #1872, Tuesday 4 August: MOTIF
- Wordle #1871, Monday 3 August: REPLY
- Wordle #1870, Sunday 2 August: PENAL
- Wordle #1869, Saturday 1 August: SLUSH
- Wordle #1868, Friday 31 July: PURSE
- Wordle #1867, Thursday 30 July: FLUME
- Wordle #1866, Wednesday 29 July: VALVE
- Wordle #1865, Tuesday 28 July: SONAR
- Wordle #1864, Monday 27 July: POSER
- Wordle #1863, Sunday 26 July: GRAPE
- Wordle #1862, Saturday 25 July: ALOHA
- Wordle #1861, Friday 24 July: PUTTY
- Wordle #1860, Thursday 23 July: ORBIT
- Wordle #1859, Wednesday 22 July: LORRY
- Wordle #1858, Tuesday 21 July: SHILL
- Wordle #1857, Monday 20 July: DIVER
- Wordle #1856, Sunday 19 July: CHURN
- Wordle #1855, Saturday 18 July: BOOTH
- Wordle #1854, Friday 17 July: LEGAL
- Wordle #1853, Thursday 16 July: BUTTE
- Wordle #1852, Wednesday 15 July: PSHAW
- Wordle #1851, Tuesday 14 July: STEAK
- Wordle #1850, Monday 13 July: STOUT
- Wordle #1849, Sunday 12 July: CLACK
- Wordle #1848, Saturday 11 July: AVIAN
- Wordle #1847, Friday 10 July: CANAL
- Wordle #1846, Thursday 9 July: AMEND
- Wordle #1845, Wednesday 8 July: DEMON
- Wordle #1844, Tuesday 7 July: SLING
- Wordle #1843, Monday 6 July: TODDY
- Wordle #1842, Sunday 5 July: SWAMI
- Wordle #1841, Saturday 4 July: PIZZA
- Wordle #1840, Friday 3 July: BATON
- Wordle #1839, Thursday 2 July: MAVEN
- Wordle #1838, Wednesday 1 July: DEMUR
- Wordle #1837, Tuesday 30 June: PUPPY
- Wordle #1836, Monday 29 June: CRUDE
- Wordle #1835, Sunday 28 June: EMCEE
- Wordle #1834, Saturday 27 June: SCOOP
- Wordle #1833, Friday 26 June: ACUTE
- Wordle #1832, Thursday 25 June: UNITY
- Wordle #1831, Wednesday 24 June: QUEER
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 in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.
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' Games 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.
4a. Answers are never plural.
4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.
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.
10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…
10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.
10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.
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 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
