'Wordle' Today #1,294 Hints, Clues and Answer for Friday, January 3

Wordle is the popular daily puzzle that has kept millions of people entertained since it first launched in 2021.

The daily word game is published by The New York Times, which bought the puzzle in early 2022 after it went viral in October 2021.

"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."

Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a Welsh-born engineer who made it as a gift for his girlfriend who loved playing word puzzles.

"The game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined," Wardle said in a statement following the sale of Wordle to The New York Times. "I'd be lying if I said this hasn't been a little overwhelming. After all, I am just one person."

A new word appears at midnight in players' respective time zones, but if one game a day is not enough for you, subscribers can access to more than 1,000 past puzzles from the official Wordle archive on the web and in the NYT Games app.

How To Play 'Wordle'

Players are tasked with guessing a mystery five-letter word—and must do so in six attempts or fewer. They are helped along with a color-coded tile system: green means they have got the letter correct; yellow shows the letter appears in the word but is in the wrong spot; and, finally, a gray tile indicates that the letter does not appear in the word at all.

Below are some clues to help you solve Friday's game, but be warned that the answer appears below that at the end of the article, so please scroll with caution.

'Wordle' #1,294 Hints and Clues for Friday, January 3

Hint #1: This word contains two different vowels.

Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.

Hint #3: Friday's answer is could describe someone who doesn't like to spend money.

Hint #4: The Wordle answer for Friday is a noun, adjective or adverb.

Hint #5: It begins with the letter "C."

A friend of the photographer plays "Wordle" on January 12, 2022 in New York City. Created by Josh Wardle, Wordle, which is a spin off his name, is a five letter word guessing game that... Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

'Wordle' #1,294 Answers for Friday, January 3

The answer to Friday's Wordle is "Cheap."

Congratulations if you figured out the answer! But please don't worry if not because Wordle updates every day at midnight in your local time zone, at which point the next puzzle becomes available. Newsweek will be back tomorrow with another round of hints and tips.

In the meantime, you could try your hand at Connections—another popular game from The New York Times, for which Newsweek also provides daily hints.