If you're being bested by today's Wordle, Newsweek is here to help you out by providing some tips.
When New York-based software developer Josh Wardle first designed the word-based puzzle during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, he had no idea he was creating a global sensation.
In October 2021, Wardle released Wordle to the public, and the game quickly built up a dedicated following. Then in January 2022, Wardle was able to sell his game to The New York Times for an undisclosed low seven-figure sum—and the newspaper has been running it ever since.
Each day, Wordle users try to guess a new, five-letter word and have six attempts to do so. Within these six guesses, they use a designated color system to find out which letters are present in that day's answer.
If a player guesses a letter that's in the right place, that tile will turn green. If the letter appears in the word, but not in the place the user has guessed it, it will turn yellow. If the letter does not appear in the word at all, the tile will turn gray.
Erhan Aslan, an expert in applied linguistics who teaches at the University of Reading in the U.K., previously provided some useful advice for Wordle players in an interview with Newsweek.
"One thing that I think is important in this game is the starting word chosen," Aslan said. "Starting off with words that include commonly used vowels, for example, e and a, consonants such as r and t, and sound sequences might be helpful."
"Choosing a word that starts with q, z, j, or x, for instance, may not be the best choice. As you get more feedback after a few guesses, users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking," Aslan added.
The answer will be revealed at the end of this article, so please scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself.
'Wordle' #1,055, Clues for Thursday, May 9
Newsweek has put together five clues to help you solve today's Wordle brainteaser.
Hint #1: Today's answer is an adjective and a noun.
Hint #2: There is only one vowel in this word.
Hint #3: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #4: Today's word begins with the letter "J."
Hint #5: Synonyms include "rough" and "uneven."
'Wordle' #1,055 Answer for Thursday, May 9
The answer to today's Wordle is "Jerky."
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the adjective is defined as "moving along with or marked by fits and starts" and "inane, foolish."
The noun is defined as "jerked meat."
Congratulations if you got the answer right but if you failed to guess it correctly there is no need to worry. You have another chance tomorrow as Wordle is released at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek will also be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
While you wait for the next game, why don't you give the geography guessing game Worldle or other word puzzles like Typochondria a try?
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. She reports on film and TV, trending ... Read more
