If you're still in a festive season bubble, you might need some extra help with Friday's Wordle—and this is where Newsweek comes in.
Josh Wardle, a Welsh-born engineer based in New York City, perfected Wordle during the COVID-19 lockdowns, years after coming up with the original concept. In a move fitting for the holiday season, he created the game as a gift for his girlfriend, Palek Shah, who loves puzzles. 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 the game's appeal is its simplicity. Players get six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Gray tiles behind each letter indicate that they are 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.
"Wordle's shareability across various social media platforms fosters a sense of belonging and common ground that can transcend cultures and borders," linguistics expert Noël Wolf told Newsweek. "Friends and family members who live far apart, or even in different countries, can use it to stay connected."
Wolf also shared some advice on how to ensure an ongoing Wordle winning streak.
"Be strategic with your second guess," she said. "As hard as it might seem—especially if you have a few correct letters in your first word—using a completely separate set of letters, where possible, will help eliminate more possibilities in fewer guesses."
Wordle #1,287, Clues for Friday, December 27
Newsweek has put together five hints to help you figure out Friday's Wordle puzzle.
Hint #1: The answer contains two vowels.
Hint #2: The word is both a noun and a verb.
Hint #3: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #4: "G" is the first letter of Friday's word.
Hint #5: It is something you can consume.
Wordle #1,287, Answer for Friday, December 27
Friday's Wordle answer is "Grain."
The noun is defined as "a single small hard seed" and "a small hard particle or crystal." The transitive verb is defined as "ingrain" and "to form into grains."
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 while they wait can have a go at other word-based puzzles such as Typochondria and Spellspire.
English (US) ·