Looking for Wednesday’s Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here:
Yesterday was Wordle Wednesday, and as I do every week, I gave you dearest Wordlers an extra riddle to solve. I tend to vary these up between riddles, brain teasers and logic puzzles, and they can be pretty hard or relatively easy. I thought this one was a bit harder than a lot of the riddles, but quite a few readers sent me the correct answer. The riddle was:
Take me out of a window, and I leave a grieving wife. But stick me in a door, and I can save somebody’s life. What am I?
The answer? The letter ‘N’. If you take ‘N’ out of window you get ‘widow.’ Place it in ‘door’ and you get ‘donor’.
Alright, Wordle time!
How To Solve Today’s Wordle
The Hint: Scalpy insect.
The Clue: Today’s Wordle has more vowels than consonants.
Okay, spoilers below!
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The Answer:
Wordle Analysis
Every day I check Wordle Bot to see how I did. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here.
I just spate which is a bit ironic now, since the last four letters of the word spell pate, which is another word for scalp. And as we all know, that’s where a louse (singular for lice) hangs out. Spate left me with just 30 words and rouse slashed that down to four.
I could only think of three: house, louse and mouse. Wordle Bot later informed me that douse was another option. I distinctly remembered that mouse had been a Wordle word in the past (Wordle #709 from last May) so my choice was between house and louse and I chose the more interesting word. Lucky for me, it was the Wordle!
Competitive Wordle Score
I lost badly to the Wordle Bot yesterday but today I emerge victorious. I got it in 3 compared to the Bot’s 4 so I get 1 point for guessing in 3 and 1 for beating the Bot. 2 points! Huzzah!
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.
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The word ‘louse’ has a rich etymology rooted in ancient languages. It comes from the Old English word “lūs,” which is of Germanic origin. This term is related to the Dutch “luis” and German “Laus,” with similar forms in other Indo-European languages, such as the Latin “pediculus” and the Greek “phthir.” The Indo-European root for ‘louse’ is thought to be *lūs, which has been reconstructed based on the similarity of the word across various Indo-European languages.
This term specifically refers to the singular form of lice, which are parasitic insects known for infesting human hair and other parts of the body, causing discomfort and sometimes spreading diseases. The plural form, “lice,” reflects the common need to refer to these pests in the multiple due to their tendency to appear in large numbers. Over centuries, the word ‘louse’ has retained its original meaning, with very little change in spelling or pronunciation, highlighting the long-standing human challenge of dealing with these parasites.
The word also has use as an insult, referring to someone who is contemptible or without strong moral and ethical fiber.
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