It’s Saturday! Huzzah! I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. I’ll be traveling a bit over the next few days, but don’t worry: My Wordle guides (and Pips guides, and Mini Crossword guides etc. etc. etc.) will be done from the road. I have a lot to do before then, however, so let’s get right to it!
Looking for Friday’s Wordle? Check out our guide right here.
How To Play Wordle
Wordle is a daily word puzzle game where your goal is to guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries or fewer. After each guess, the game gives feedback to help you get closer to the answer:
- Green: The letter is in the word and in the correct spot.
- Yellow: The letter is in the word, but in the wrong spot.
- Gray: The letter is not in the word at all.
Use these clues to narrow down your guesses. Every day brings a new word, and everyone around the world is trying to solve the same puzzle. Some Wordlers also play Competitive Wordle against friends, family, the Wordle Bot or even against me, your humble narrator. See rules for Competitive Wordle toward the end of this post.
Today’s Wordle Hints And Answer
Wordle Bot’s Starting Word: SLATE
My Starting Word Today: CRANE (64 words remaining)
The Hint: Not working properly, as in a radio or TV.
The Clue: This Wordle has a 10-point Scrabble letter.
Okay, spoilers below! The answer is coming!
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The Answer:
Wordle Analysis
Every day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordle score with Wordle Bot right here.
CRANE earned me a “Bravo!” from the Wordle Bot, since this is its second favorite opening word. It was a good one, too, leaving me with just 64 possible solutions and a green ‘R’. HOIST slashed that number to just two, but I could only come up with one: FRITZ (the other was TRILL) for the win!
Competitive Wordle Score
The Wordle Bot and I each get 1 point for guessing in three and 0 for tying. Our September scores inch up, with the Bot far, far out in the lead:
Erik: 15 points
Wordle Bot: 26 points
How To Play Competitive Wordle
- Guessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.
- If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.
- Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your points—positive or negative.
- You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The word fritz (as in “on the fritz”) is of American origin, first recorded around 1902. Its exact roots are uncertain, but there are two main theories:
- It may come from the German given name Fritz, used colloquially in the U.S. around the late 19th and early 20th centuries to caricature German immigrants. In this sense, “on the fritz” could have meant acting strangely or failing, tied to ethnic humor of the period.
- Another possibility is that it arose from a dialectal or comic use of fritz meaning a small fault, disturbance, or “fizzle,” though this is less well attested.
By the early 20th century, “on the fritz” had solidified into its current meaning: broken, out of order, or not working properly.
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