If completing today's Wordle puzzle remains unchecked on your to-do list, Newsweek has all the help you need to secure that victory.
Josh Wardle, a Welsh-born engineer based in New York City, perfected the popular brainteaser during the COVID-19 lockdowns, years after coming up with the original concept. He then released it to the public in October 2021.
Following its public debut, Wordle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021, to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure fee, and, soon after, it became the publication's most popular game.
A large part of Wordle's appeal is its simplicity. Players get six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Gray tiles behind a letter indicate that it is not in the word at all; yellow means the letter features but is in the wrong position; while green lets players know the letter is in the word and in the correct place.
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. 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."
Newsweek has provided some clues below for today's Wordle puzzle. 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' #1,302, Clues for Saturday, January 11
Newsweek has put together five hints to help you figure out today's Wordle puzzle.
Hint #1: Today's answer contains one vowel.
Hint #2: "D" is the first letter of today's word.
Hint #3: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #4: Today's answer is an adjective.
Hint #5: Think of something dirty or shabby.
'Wordle' #1,302, Answer for Saturday, January 11
Today's Wordle answer is "Dingy."
Wordle updates every day at midnight, at which point the next puzzle becomes available. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
Players who would like something to keep themselves busy with while they wait can have a go at other word-based puzzles such as Typochondria and Spellspire.
English (US) ·