Welcome to The Wordle Review. Be warned: This article contains spoilers for today’s puzzle. Solve Wordle first, or scroll at your own risk.
This month’s featured artist is Colin Laurel. You can read more about him here.
★★
Wordle 689 5/6
⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ SOARE
⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ TOTAL
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 CHINA
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩 COMMA
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 COCOA
I had not played Wordle in ages when I was offered the chance to solve today’s puzzle in front of the world and accepted, falling upon my idiotic sword.
This is not because Wordle is bad, but because I am bad at Wordle. Like many millennials branded with a ridiculous “gifted child” label in the 1990s — convincing us that we had magical talents and that trying hard was unseemly — I dislike things I am not good at. This is a tolerable trait in a 6-year-old. It is grotesque in an adult who agreed to review this Wordle, but alas, here we are.
My “strategy” is that of a chaotic and petulant goblin. I always start with SOARE, because I read somewhere that it is a useful first word. Then my game descends into anarchy.
This time, SOARE gave me two clues. But I squandered them by following with TOTAL, wasting two letters on T. On a whim, I tried CHINA.
After striking out again with COMMA, things began to unravel. I stepped away to investigate the whereabouts of a supersize tiramisù I had ordered, because that is what goblins do. I dawdled. I took out the trash. The tiramisù arrived, and I ate it. I could not conjure a single word that fit. I almost gave up, but I don’t think Wordle critics can give up. (Can they?)
By the time the correct guess came to me, I had spent 30 minutes on the puzzle and was late for a meeting. I suspect this is because my brain, scrambled by years of deadline journalism, only functions under pressure. COCOA? Seriously?
I am tempted to give this Wordle one star, for including two repeated letters. But I’ll give it two stars, because even a goblin can be magnanimous.
Today’s word is COCOA, a noun. According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, it refers to the powder made from ground, roasted cocoa seeds.
Today’s Statistics
Today’s word is moderately challenging because of its unusual letter pattern.
The answer can usually be found using elimination strategies within six guesses, but its combination of vowels is unique.
Our Featured Artist
Colin Laurel is a Black illustrator with an affinity for bold line work and joyous expression. He uses his identity as a lens through which to provide healing imagery to queer and marginalized communities, and he has referred to his art as a form of self-care. Mr. Laurel is influenced by vintage movie posters, production art, video games, music and mythology. With each piece, he hopes to convey humanity’s relationship with the beauty of nature.
Further Reading
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