It’s the very first Wordle Wednesday of 2024! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break, a lovely Christmas and a very, very happy New Year’s! I have a good feeling about this year. 2023 was something of a bust for me, but if nothing else I think I ended it on a high note, and so I tread into the dawn of a new year with some hope for the future. Not too much, mind you, but some.
Rebellions are built on hope.
In any case, it’s Wednesday and that means it’s time to solve a riddle, brain teaser or logic puzzle. Here’s today’s:
A farmer sends his daughter on a small boat across the river to the market with a pouch of coins. With her pouch of coins she purchases a mangy dog, a chicken and a bag of corn. When she brings her purchases back to her small boat, she realizes that it is so small that she’ll only be able to carry one of her three purchases across at a time. She is faced with a dilemma, however: If she leaves the chicken with the corn, the chicken will eat the corn. If she leaves the mangy dog with the chicken, the mangy dog will eat the chicken. How does she get all three items across without any of them becoming a meal?
If you solve this puzzle, let me know on Twitter or Facebook. I’ll post the answer here on my blog (be sure to follow!) in tomorrow’s Wordle Guide.
Okay, let’s solve this Wordle!
How To Solve Today’s Word
The Hint: Spin, twist, whirl.
The Clue: This word has way more consonants than vowels.
.
.
.
See yesterday’s Wordle #927 right here.
Wordle Bot Analysis
After each Wordle I solve I head over to the Wordle Bot homepage to see how my guessing game was.
I got a bit of a kick out of how my own guesses went down today. I was thinking bout guilt because somebody sent me an angry message about my coverage of the Jonathan Majors case, and one of the only words left that I could think of after that was trial. How ironic! I obviously had to use that for my second guess—and oh how sweet it would have been if that had been today’s Wordle!—but came back with three greens and one yellow ‘R’.
At this point, the answer was obvious: twirl for the win. Huzzah!
Today’s Competitive Wordle Score
Once again, I get 1 point for guessing in three and 0 for tying the Bot. I’ll take it!
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The word “twirl” originates from the Middle English “twirlen” or “twirlig”, which in turn comes from the Old English “thwirl,” meaning “to turn around.” This Old English root is connected to the Old Norse “þvarr,” meaning “stubborn,” suggesting a sense of something being twisted or turned with force.
The evolution of “twirl” reflects a common pattern in English etymology where words evolve through gradual phonetic and semantic changes over time, often influenced by the languages of neighboring cultures and invading forces, like the Norse in the case of Old English. This word particularly encapsulates the action of turning or spinning something in a light, quick manner, which is consistent with its etymological roots in the idea of turning or twisting.
Play Competitive Wordle Against Me!
I’ve been playing a cutthroat game of PvP Wordle against my nemesis Wordle But. Now you should play against me! I can be your nemesis! (And your helpful Wordle guide, of course). You can also play against the Bot if you have a New York Times subscription.
Here are the rules:
- 1 point for getting the Wordle in 3 guesses.
- 2 points for getting it in 2 guesses.
- 3 points for getting it in 1 guess.
- 1 point for beating me
- 0 points for getting it in 4 guesses.
- -1 point for getting it in 5 guesses.
- -2 points for getting it in 6 guesses.
- -3 points for losing.
- -1 point for losing to me
You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.
