Spoiler alert: this article contains the answer to today's wordle
Wordle doesn't look like a trend going away anytime soon.
The clever five-letter puzzle is still a staple of many people's routines after shooting to fame at the start of 2022. In that time, it seems to have garnered a lot of positivity.
Whether it's the 'one a day' aspect that doesn't leave people fretting over spending hours on the game or the fact all the family can get involved for bragging rights.
Wordle appears to be going strong and it might be set for a new lease of life. Creator Josh Wardle last week announced he had sold the rights to the New York Times.
The timing of the American-based acquisition and today's five-letter word seems doesn't appear to be coincidental. Many were left outraged at this particular conundrum.
It appears that going forward, the problem solving will be influenced by American English as opposed to British or Irish English, which will be problematic for some.
The New York Times has acquired Wordle, the online game that has become a viral sensation https://t.co/SSHbx9QvIN pic.twitter.com/kxQKTWFeXd
— CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2022
Wordle Causing Angst
Today's word (sorry for the spoiler) was 'Humor' which would usually be spelled as 'Humour' for those outside of the U.S. It's safe to say some people were stumped at the spelling.
According to writingexplained.com, 'Humour' is used by not only Britain and Ireland but also for those in Australia and New Zealand, where Wordle skyrocketed in popularity first.
Those writers using British English, England, Ireland, Australia, etc., all prefer humour. American writers, we can see, prefer humor by an even larger margin.
When the New York Times acquired Wordle, they made a statement with particular emphasis on making sure the game could be understood by all English-speaking groups.
The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world.
It's not yet known if Wordle players will have to pivot to a more Americanised version of the game in the future.
Thank you Wordle for helping me understand with dazzling clarity what it is to be British. I solved you, but I felt cheapened in the process. I think I am done with you
— Robert Peston (@Peston) February 9, 2022
Wordle 235 3/6
What even was that.
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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩— Conall McNally (@ConallMcN94) February 9, 2022
today's wordle got me like: pic.twitter.com/nGlKZwntrF
— mahed 🚩 (@mahed_asad) February 9, 2022
How Wordle Started
It's apt that the founder of a word-based game carried out a bit of a play on words with the name. Josh Wardle created the game on his couch to test his partner.
It first launched online in Autumn 2021 - achieving success by November with 300,000 users. By the first weekend of January - over 2 million were playing the game every day.
Josh lives in Brooklyn, New York by way of Wales. Today's puzzle might have been influenced by his long absence from his home country and subsequent new surroundings.
Wardle has enjoyed some of the responses to the game, such as families who thanked him for creating it as a way to interact in a time of Covid-19 outbreaks.
What truly popularised the game at first was people sharing their results on Twitter. A New Zealand-based user was the first to share the mysterious blocks on the platform.
Since then, it's grown to be enjoyed by millions of users each day and now will have a new home at the New York Times.
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