When Josh Wardle first developed Wordle during coronavirus lockdown, he may not have known he was creating a global sensation.
The rules of Wordle are simple, meaning the game can be played by almost anybody regardless of their experience with word puzzles.
Each day the player has to work out a new five letter word in six attempts or less. After each guess the letters light up indicating how close to the answer you were. If a letter goes green it is both in the word and in the position you placed it. Yellow tells you the word features, but not where you put it, whilst gray means it is not included at all.
Speaking to Newsweek in January 2022 Wardle explained why each Wordle puzzle is five letters long.
He said: “There is a reason that every word is 5 letters long and that you are allowed six attempts to guess it. That might seem arbitrary but, with the prototype version, I tested different word lengths and experimented with the number of tries that players were allowed.
“Through that process of refinement, I figured out that five letters and six tries was the ideal sweet spot. It’s just limited enough to feel challenging and to make you think, but most of the time people still manage to solve it. So, you feel a real sense of real accomplishment.”
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Later that same month Wardle sold Wordle to the New York Times, though the game remains free to play.
The popularity of Wordle has helped inspire a number of other online puzzles, such as Worldle, Dordle, Quordle and, for math enthusiasts, Nerdle.
The answer to today’s puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself. To help you solve today’s Wordle, Newsweek has provided some tips.
‘Wordle’ #581 Tips and Clues for Saturday, January 21
Wordle players can use these five hints to solve puzzle #581.
Hint #1: There is only one vowel.
Hint #2: The first and last letters are the same.
Hint #3: You might find it on a book.
Hint #4: Synonyms for today’s answer include “brief,” “synopsis” and “advertisement.”
Hint #5: The letters ‘a’ and ‘e’ do not feature at all.
‘Wordle’ #581 Answer for Saturday, January 21
The answer to today’s Wordle is “Blurb.”
A relatively uncommon word, with just one vowel, this puzzle is likely to have challenged even experienced Wordle players. Did you get it? If so, congratulations. But please don’t worry if not, one of the best things about Wordle is seeing if you can improve your results over time. Either way, we hope to see you again tomorrow for another round of Wordle hints and tips.
What Does ‘Blurb’ Mean?
The Cambridge University Dictionary defines “blurb” as “a short description of a book, film, etc., written by the people who have produced it, and intended to make people want to buy it or see it.”
For example: “The blurb on the back of the book says that it “will touch your heart.”
The next Wordle puzzle will be available at 7 p.m. ET, when the daily update occurs.
