Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Sunday, September 1, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for September 1, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 1, Wordle #1,170! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are three letters from our mnemonic today. One is pretty common, one is less common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

A quality you probably don't want your vegetables to have.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel and one "sometimes" vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with M. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with Y. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is MUSHY.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH. Instead of eliminating remaining letters, I decided to guess a solution: MUSHY. This would have helped narrow down answers, including letter placement and letters found in other possibilities, even if it hadn't been correct.

Wordle 1,170 3/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was medium difficult. The hint was “found on a teapot” and the answer contained four common letters and one pretty common letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was SPOUT.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Saturday, August 31, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 31, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is medium difficult; I got it in four. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 31, Wordle #1,169! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are four letters from our mnemonic today. The fifth is also pretty common

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

Found on a teapot.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with S. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with T. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is SPOUT.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, followed by SPENT, which eliminated letters found in possible answers. This left SPOUT as the only solution.

Wordle 1,169 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was harder. The hint was “another name for the jack in cards” and the answer contained three common letters and two uncommon letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was KNAVE.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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X is About to Be Blocked in Brazil

Brazilian readers might soon have some difficulty finding this story, at least if they rely on Elon Musk's X for their news. That's because a judge has officially ordered a ban on the social media platform in the country, following a months-long battle over the limits of speech on the the site formerly known as Twitter.

Conflict between X and the Brazilian government kicked off in April, when Musk unblocked certain popular accounts in Brazil that the government had previously ordered blocked in the country for spreading misinformation. The order came in the wake of far-right riots Brazil faced on January 8 of 2023, and it's suspected that the targeted accounts were linked to the unrest. The Brazilian judiciary has spent its time after the riots cracking down on disinformation online, calling it "a singular threat" to the country.

Musk, for his part, restored the banned accounts just one hour after they were taken offline.

In the time since, the billionaire and South America's largest country have butted heads on multiple occasions, with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes freezing Starlink's finances in the country. The X ban follows an incident in which Musk closed X's Brazilian offices, saying that de Moraes had "threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders."

The Brazilian Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the company could not evade its orders so easily, threatening X with shutdown in the country if it did not appoint a new legal representative within 24 hours. This is not wholly unusual for the country, as legal representatives are required for companies to operate there. Telegram and WhatsApp have faced similar bans for skirting their own court orders in the past, although brief.

X's grace period has now passed, and reports from Bloomberg and local news outlet Poder360 both say that Judge de Moraes has told the National Telecommunications Agency to limit Brazilian access to X within 24 hours. The judge had also given Apple and Google five days to remove X from their respective app stores, and Brazilian outlet G1 Globo is reporting that the judge will impose daily fines on people or businesses that use VPNs to continue to access the site while it's blocked.

Musk's response continued to play up the "censorship" angle, saying "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."

X's official response, technically given before the ban but written with the expectation that it would go through, was a bit more muted. It simply argues that the company believes Judge de Moraes' demands don't comply with Brazilian law and stated its intention to not comply with the the orders.

It is currently unclear how the situation will proceed, but X users in Brazil can prepare for an outage by downloading their tweets and singing up for an X alternative.

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The Best Movies to Stream This Week

Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over release schedules to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch on Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms.

The Killer

John Woo's remake of his own stylishly violent 1990 action flick stars Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) as Zee, the infamous assassin who more than earned her nickname: Queen of the Dead. When she refuses the order to murder a blind woman, Zee is left with no allies and everyone wanting her dead, from the police to her old allies. Woo directed Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II, Paycheck, Broken Arrow, Hard Boiled, and more, so if you like action movies, hit go on The Killer.

Where to stream: Peacock

Incoming

Incoming slaps a new coat of paint on that old cinematic trope of a gaggle of high school nerds trying to be cool and learning something about themselves by going to a rager. But there's a reason these stories keep coming back: They're awesome. Inspired by a real party witnessed by directors Dave and John Chernin, Incoming is packed with up-and-comers like Mason Thames, Ramon Reed, and TikTok star Loren Gray, and it just might be this generation's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Where to stream: Netflix

The Fall Guy (2024)

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt start in a likable, romantic action-comedy set in the world of Hollywood stuntmen. Gosling plays stuntman Colt Seavers, who comes out of early retirement to work on a big movie directed by Jody (Blunt), the woman he loves. But when the film's big-name star goes missing, Seavers is thrust into a real life mystery, where the bullets, car crashes, and building falls are real. Peacock is streaming both the original cut of the movie and an extended cut with 20 minutes of never-before-seen footage.

Where to stream: Peacock

Last week's picks

The Union

Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry star in this action-spy movie about a regular guy who becomes a blue collar super-spy. Wahlberg plays Mike, a New Jersey construction worker whose world is rocked when Roxanne (Halle Berry), an ex-girlfriend from high school, shows up. She's an agent for The Union, a clandestine group of once-regular folks who do the CIA and the FBI's dirty work. The Union, it turns out, needs a guy just like Mike, leading to danger, gunplay, and high stakes espionage.

Where to stream: Netflix

Incoming

Incoming slaps a new coat of paint on that old cinematic trope of a gaggle of high school nerds trying to be cool and learning something about themselves by going to a rager. But there's a reason these stories keep coming back: They're awesome. Inspired by a real party witnessed by directors Dave and John Chernin, Incoming is packed with up-and-comers like Mason Thames, Ramon Reed, and TikTok star Loren Gray, and it just might be this generation's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Where to stream: Netflix

Daughters

This Netflix original documentary follows Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana, four young girls preparing for a big Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers. The dance is part of an innovative fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail where convicts change from state-issued jumpsuits to semi-formal suits and are given the chance to bond with their children.

Where to stream: Netflix

Untold: The Murder of Air McNair

Over his 13 seasons in the NFL, Stephen "Air" McNair distinguished himself as one of the great quarterbacks of all time, even being named MVP in 2003. But soon after his retirement, McNair was gunned down by his girlfriend. This Netflix documentary examines the quarterback's meteoric rise and long career and delves into the troubling questions surrounding his death.

Where to stream: Netflix

Thursday Night Football

August's Thursday Night Football matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals is the opposite of a barn burner. Both teams had mediocre, 9 and 8 records in 2023 and it's a pre-season game, so it doesn't even count. But on the other hand, it's flipping football! And it's back! (Finally, something to wash the taste of the Olympics out of my mouth.)

Where to stream: Prime

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Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Friday, August 30, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 30, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is harder; I got it in four. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 30, Wordle #1,168! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are three letters from our mnemonic today. The other two are uncommon.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

Another term for the jack in cards.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with K. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with E. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is KNAVE.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, followed by BLAND, which eliminated all common letters. This left KNAVE as the only solution.

Wordle 1,168 4/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was harder. The hint was “as a verb, something you can (but hope you don't) do in school” and the answer contained three common letters and two less common letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was FLUNK.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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How to Strength Train Faster, According to Science

If you struggle to find enough time to exercise, you’re not alone. Even though an effective workout can be long, short, or anywhere in between, we often let the time commitment exercise requires become a barrier, and figure it’s not worth even starting. Fortunately, a review paper by sports scientists has gathered a set of guidelines for time-efficient strength workouts, and their recommendations will help you get the most work done in the shortest amount of time.

How much time is enough for a strength workout?

Anything is better than nothing, so in that sense no workout is too short. The authors of this study point out that even 15-minute workouts are probably effective, as long as you get enough sets in across your week.

So think of your workouts in terms of a full week, and count up how many sets you do. Four to 12 sets per muscle group, per week seem to be enough for a basic level of strength gains. (Speaking very generally, two to three sessions of 20 to 30 minutes each are often enough to accomplish that.)

So how do you get enough quality work in during those short sessions? Here are the science-backed recommendations.

Skip the stretching and shorten your warmup

When you first get to the gym, do you spend 20 minutes doing cardio, stretching, and moving your body through a series of warmup exercises? If so, you can save a lot of time by cutting out everything that doesn’t have a specific reason for being a part of your routine. (By coincidence, that's exactly what I would recommend anyway.)

The ideal time-crunched warmup, the authors of the review write, is one that gets right to the point: “[W]e advise restricting the warm-up to exercise-specific warm-ups, and only prioritize stretching if the goal of training is to increase flexibility.”

So skip the stretches, unless you need them to get ready for the specific exercise you're about to do, and proceed to your "exercise-specific warmups," which means doing lighter sets of the exercise you’re about to do. For example, if you plan to do barbell squats, you would warm up by squatting the empty bar and then squatting some light weights before loading the bar for your first working set.

If that doesn’t sound like enough to you, remember that these are just guidelines, and you’re free to include anything that you enjoy doing or that makes your workout feel better. For more on how to tweak your warmup to your needs, take a look at our guide to warming up, where we explain the purpose of each part of the warmup. But just because you can include something in a warmup doesn’t mean you have to.

Choose multi-joint, bilateral exercises

The exercises that work the most muscles in the shortest time are ones that are bilateral (using both arms or both legs at the same time) and that see you bending multiple joints rather than just one. Ideally, they should also involve both a lifting and a lowering movement.

For example, a bicep curl done with one dumbbell is unilateral (one arm) and single-joint (you’re just asking your bicep to flex your elbow). A pull-up, on the other hand, uses both arms, and it involves your elbows and your shoulders. If you’ve ever done pull-ups, you’ll know that they work just about everything from the waist up. That makes them perfect for a time-crunched workout.

The authors write that if you can only choose three exercises, make them:

• An upper body pull (like a pull-up or row)

• An upper body push (like a bench press, pushup, or overhead press)

• A leg exercise (like a squat)

Machines and free weights both work, they write, so you could use the leg press instead of doing a barbell squat, or use a chest press machine instead of a bench press station. They prefer barbells over dumbbells if you have the option, since you can usually move more weight in a barbell lift than in its dumbbell equivalent. Resistance bands and bodyweight moves can work too, as long as they are challenging enough to hit the appropriate number of reps.

Lift heavy enough that you can do 6-15 reps

How many reps should you do in each set? That’s a long-debated question, to which the authors of this paper have two answers.

The ideal scenario is where you're at a gym and can choose any weights you like. Do sets that are heavy enough that the last few reps feel challenging. These sets can be anywhere between six and 15 reps, and the last one doesn’t have to be to total failure; you can stop when it feels like you would only be able to squeeze out a few more. (Notice how your movement slows down on those last few reps. That's a sign that you're getting close.)

The other option, if you don’t have heavy enough weights, is to do exercises to complete failure—the point where you simply cannot complete another rep. In this case, reps can be anywhere from 15 up to 40.

Don't rest long between sets

Normally you'd rest between two and five minutes between sets, depending on the exercise. But to save even more time, you can simply rest less between sets. If you’re new to lifting, one to two minutes is probably fine, the authors write. (You may not be able to load as much weight on the bar as you could with longer rests, but your muscles are still getting plenty of work.) To condense things further, you can add a few time-honored bodybuilder hacks: supersets, drop sets, and rest-pause sets all give your muscles more work in less time.

How often should I strength train?

Two or three times per week is great when you’re doing full-body workouts. But the authors note that what matters is the total amount of exercise you get done, not the number of days you exercise. So if you can only manage one session each week, but you’re able to spend a little more time on it, you can effectively cram a whole week’s worth of strength training into one day.

On the flip side, if you can only manage 15 minutes a day, but you can do that every day, you may still be able to get in the same amount of work as somebody who does two or three normal sessions a week.

What counts as a week’s training? The authors recommend four to 12 sets per muscle group, per week. Four is on the low end compared to what many gym-goers do, but we’re trying to find the minimum that will keep you in shape—so if you can only manage four, four it is. They note that research has found that people who are new to strength training can manage to build muscle with very little exercise (three sets per week, in some studies), so even a small amount of strength training is worth your time.

Going back to our three-exercise framework, if you can do four sets of push, four sets of pull, and four sets of legs, that’s your weekly minimum right there. Do that in one day if that’s all you can manage, or spread it over the course of the week. More is better, but that’s your minimum target.

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My Favorite Robot Vacuums Are on Sale for Labor Day

Anytime we discuss robot vacuums on here, I'm upfront: I love Roborocks. They are my #1 pick for reliable performance. Roborock has an almost infinite number of models available, split across three main model lines: the S line, currently running s8 models, and the QRevo line, which is a mid-tier line, and their Q line, which are more affordable. I've tried five models between the S and QRevo lines and they're the ones that I actually keep in my closet, to put back into service when I'm not testing other robot vacuums. They're celebrating an anniversary this week, so in addition to deep sales on their website, their Amazon deals are substantial. Prices are accurate as of publication, but check each deal below for when they go live.

The top-of-the-line model

While I prefer the singular mop pad of the S8 line to the two spinning brushes on Qrevos, I still use and love the Qrevo model in my house. This one has all the latest top-of-the-line features: a mop and vacuum, with a self-emptying tower. The Qrevo Master is currently $1,399 but will be 38% off from Sept. 2-8.

An entry-level vacuum

This already affordable model doesn't have any frills. There's no tower—you'll need to empty this yourself—but it's still a robot vacuum from a reliable company at a deep discount. It'll be 63% off the current price of $299.98 from Sept. 1-4.

• Get the Q7 Max, originally $599.99, 63% off now through Sept. 4.

An affordable vacuum with a self-emptying dock

Mostly the same model as above, but with the dock, now $379.99.

• Get the Q7 Max+, was $869.99, 56% off now through Oct. 4.

Improved mapping and dual rollers

The Q8 Max is a slightly newer model than the Q7, and they've made improvements to the roller system, the way the LiDAR works, and higher suction, in addition to other features. Get it with or without the tower:

• The Q8 Max (robot only), was $599.99, is now 33% off, but will be 53% off from Sept. 1-4.

• Q8 Max+ (robot and tower), was $819.99, is now 20%, but will go down to 49% off from Sept. 1-4.

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How to Uncover 'Hidden Liens' Before Your Next Car or Home Purchase

Most of us only learn about liens when something goes off the rails. A lien is essentially a claim against your property over an unpaid debt, and you can get pretty far in life before encountering the word—usually when you buy (or refinance) a house or a car, because lenders routinely place liens on property that persist until you pay back the money you borrowed. Mortgage and car loan liens are voluntary liens, however, because you actively agree to them. Involuntary liens are slapped on your property when someone claims you owe them money—and surprise: Anyone can place one. And hidden liens? Well, read on.

Involuntary liens

There are several types of involuntary liens. The most common is a mechanic’s lien, designed to be used by contractors and mechanics to secure a claim of unpaid work. All a contractor has to do is file some paperwork, include an unpaid invoice, and get a court to affirm the lien. You can also have involuntary liens placed on your property—including your car title—by local and state governments or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over unpaid taxes, or by a judge in the course of a lawsuit.

Usually, liens are recorded on public records (the car or house title) and it’s difficult to sell property with an involuntary lien; most states won’t let you transfer a car title with unresolved liens, for example (though it can happen if it’s a private sale), and selling a house with open liens against it usually requires that the lien be removed one way (paying it off) or another (getting it dismissed by a court). But sometimes liens fly under the radar and become hidden liens. And hidden liens can cause you all kinds of trouble.

Hidden liens

A hidden lien is any lien that doesn’t show up in standard title searches. That means you can take legal possession of a house, car, or other property and only discover a debt claim against that property after the sale has closed and title transferred—meaning suddenly you’re the one legally responsible for someone else’s debt.

There are generally two reasons why a piece of property might have a hidden lien attached to it: Simple oversight, or fraud.

Oversight. Liens have to be recorded in some way. Municipal liens for unpaid taxes, assessments, or other debts associated with the property are supposed to be recorded at the county clerk’s office. If they aren’t, the lien exists, but won’t show up in a title search. Similarly, any lien slapped on the property by a lender is supposed to be added to the property’s title—but if someone drops the ball, it can remain hidden.

When you borrow against your car title or have a lien attached to it for a debt (a mechanic’s lien, or a court settlement lien), the title is supposed to be updated and stamped with the lien information (and later stamped again when the lien is satisfied). This typically falls to the lender, and if they forget to do so, the lien won’t show up in a standard title search. Sometimes the title is physically stamped, but the lien isn’t recorded, which is why you should always ask to see the physical title before you buy a used vehicle.

Fraud. While not common, it’s not unheard of for unscrupulous folks to attach fraudulent hidden liens on property. This can be done by burying the lien inside lengthy, complex legal documents or calling the lien something else entirely, then neglecting to record the lien properly with the government. Like any other scam, there’s effort involved in keeping the lien’s existence secret, so it’s easy for these sorts of fraudulent liens to persist even after the property’s been sold.

Finding hidden liens

The good news is that hidden liens are usually discoverable if you take a proactive approach whenever you’re buying a house or a car (or anything with a title). You can usually suss out liens that are hidden via simple oversight by doing a deeper search: In addition to a standard title search, you can conduct a search of municipal records for records of liens. There are companies you can hire to do this for you, but these records are public and you can conduct the search yourself at your local county clerk’s website or offices.

For a car title, contact your local DMV to see if they offer a free lien search; some, but not all, do. You can also perform a search on the vehicle identification number (VIN) which will often include lien information even if the lien wasn’t recorded properly at the clerk’s office.

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How to Track the Political Donations of Your Friends and Enemies

One way to sneakily learn more about someone’s politics and the issues they truly care about is to figure out which campaigns they’ve backed financially. Sometimes you’ll find unexpected surprises or learn that where someone puts their money isn’t always just about party affiliation. Or you may discover that an organization that professes certain values votes differently with its dollars.

If you want to know whether (and how much) your family member, neighbor, employer, or favorite company has contributed to various political candidates, you can easily find this information by searching publicly available financial disclosure records.

Are political donations public record?

In general, donations made to political campaigns are public record. All Senate, House, and presidential candidates (and any committees that are authorized to raise money for them) have to report campaign donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). FEC rules require campaigns to track all contributions, though the amount of information collected and reported varies by donation amount. For contributions of $50 or less (such as cash collected at a fundraiser), campaigns do not need to collect any identifiable information about the donor.

Reporting requirements also vary for state candidates based on state laws: For example, campaigns may not need to disclose donor identities for small-dollar contributions totaling less than $50–$100.

How to track donations to national campaigns

The FEC has a searchable donor database that lets you browse donors by recipient or contributor and further narrow your results by zip code, donor occupation, employer, contribution amount, and more.

Poring over the FEC reports can feel a little overwhelming, though. A more manageable option is the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization OpenSecrets (formerly known as the Center for Responsive Politics), which tracks money in U.S. elections and politics and compiles detailed reports on spending by lobbyists, political action committees (PACs), interest groups, and other donors. OpenSecrets has a searchable campaign donation database that tells you which campaigns or candidates a donor has contributed to. You can also use the advanced search option to sort by recipient or donor data like occupation, employer, or zip code.

Credit: Emily Long

Another way to browse contributions is with the organization's Get Local! tool. Select the candidate’s state from the drop-down menu, then use the tabs to pull up reports by donor, candidate, metro area, and more. The same tool has a zip code search, allowing you to narrow the list of donations to just your neighborhood.

How to track donations to state and local campaigns

The FEC collects data on federal campaigns and candidates only. The National Institute on Money in Politics runs a tool called FollowTheMoney.org for tracking donations to state and local campaigns. Note that the organization has merged with the Center for Responsive Politics, so OpenSecrets will house all of the available data in the future.

For now, though, you can use FollowTheMoney.org to browse and search state campaign finance data through the 2024 election year. Select the state you’re interested in from the map, which will open a new tab with a state overview. From there, you can select the office type (gubernatorial, for example) to narrow in on donation details for specific races.

Credit: Emily Long

Another option is to scroll past the map to the Tools section and use the drop-down menus to select your state and election cycle. Finally, try entering a name into the main search bar—this will bring up an individual’s contributions and, if they’re also a candidate, detail the money they’ve received.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on FollowTheMoney, you can go directly to your state’s campaign finance or election commission website to search disclosure forms.

There are also state-based organizations, like the Virginia Public Access Project, that track money in local elections. A quick Google search along the lines of “campaign disclosures [state]” should help you track down these groups if they exist in your area.

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Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Thursday, August 29, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 29, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is harder; I got it in five. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 29, Wordle #1,167! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are three letters from our mnemonic today. The other two are less common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

As a verb, something you can (but hope you don't) do in school.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with F. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with K. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is FLUNK.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, followed by BLEND, which eliminated all common letters. Of the remaining few words, I tried FLUNG, leaving FLUNK as the only solution.

Wordle 1,167 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was medium difficult. The hint was “graceful, like a ballerina” and the answer contained five common letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was LITHE.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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The Case for Joining a Gym Just for the Treadmill

Gyms are like playgrounds, full of all kinds of fun toys and machines to play with. So is it wrong, or bad, or embarrassing to go to a gym just to use one particular machine? Say, the humble treadmill? Good news: that is a very normal way of using the gym. 

You don’t have to use every part of the gym

Look, just because a gym offers cardio, weights, classes, and a sauna all in the same building does not mean you are obligated to do all of those things every time you visit. I told you that it’s fine to visit just for the sauna (a great way to spend your rest day) and, similarly, it’s fine to visit just for the treadmill. 

I promise you are not the only one who comes here just for the treadmill. There are newbies who haven’t ventured past the treadmill because they are still working up their courage to visit the weight room. There are people who lift on Monday and Wednesday but jog on Tuesday and Thursday. There are hardcore runners who need to put their kid in the childcare room to be able to get a run in on a busy day. I guarantee there are dozens, if not hundreds, of people who visit your gym just to jog a bit and go home.

I’m one of them, actually. I belong to a specialty weightlifting gym, but after I fell in like with the treadmill, I ended up joining a cheap commercial gym a few blocks from my house. It’s great to have an indoor option for running without having to purchase a treadmill and find a place to put it.

Think of it as renting a treadmill

Don’t think of yourself as joining a gym and ignoring the good parts. Think of what you’re doing as paying by the month for a treadmill that conveniently disappears when you’re not using it. 

Let's say you get a $14.99 membership to your local Crunch or Planet Fitness. You might use it to jog on a $9,949 Star Trac treadmill. Or maybe it’s a $6,709 Life Fitness treadmill. If you wanted one of those suckers in your house, you’d have to pay the equivalent of around 500 months’ worth of gym membership fees. So if you’re asking “is it worth it?” the answer, mathematically, is yes. 15 bucks a month for somebody else to take care of maintenance and storage, and you can still use it any time you want? You’re definitely coming out ahead. 

Even if you don’t use the treadmill on a regular basis, it may still be worth the fee to you to have the option of running indoors when the heat and humidity are at killer levels, the air quality index is on orange alert, or it’s winter and your outdoor option involves running on icy sidewalks in the dark. 

That said: running (or walking) is not a complete workout

Maybe your guilty feeling about using the treadmill is related to your workout routine. Do you only ever run or walk? For the sake of your health, you should try to get some strength training into your routine somewhere. Cardio and strength are both important for health, fitness, and everyday life. But if you’d rather do your strength work outside of the gym, that’s fine. The treadmill is still here for you whenever you need it. 

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A Guide to Amazon's Upcoming Prime Day Deals Event

You're may still be paying off your credit card bill from July's Prime Day, but Amazon is not done with you yet—an October Prime Day-style sale is around the corner. Here is everything you need to know about the shopping event right before the Black Friday madness.

What is Prime Big Deal Days?

Prime Big Deal Days is the fall version of Prime Day. It's a two-day sale with deals on virtually every category you can think of. While Prime Day is the bigger sale of the two, Prime Big Deal Days has grown since its first iteration back in 2022.

When is Prime Big Deal Days?

Amazon has not said exactly when it will take place in 2024. However, I can give you an educational guest based on what Amazon has done in previous years. Its last two were during the second week of October and between Monday and Wednesday, so Prime Big Deals Days 2024 will likely be Oct. 8 through Oct. 9.

Do you need to be a Prime Member to shop for Prime Big Deal Days?

You will need to be a Prime Member to shop Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days, which starts at $14.99 per month. You can see if getting a yearly Prime membership is worth it for you or not, but remember you can always cancel your Prime membership once the sale is over. Keep in mind that Amazon offers free 30-day trials, so you can shop all two days of the event and still get some early Black Friday deals if you time it right. You can see how to sign up for a Prime account here.

What can you expect for Prime Big Deal Days?

Prime Day happens in the summer, and you're more likely to see deals on outdoorsy stuff, like gardening equipment, grills, and hot tubs, outside of its usual tech and Amazon device deals. Since Prime Big Deal Days happens in the fall, you can expect more deals on gaming and indoor gym equipment. You can also expect major retailers to have their own competitive sales, the big ones being Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.

Some tips for Prime Big Deal Days

If this will be your first October Prime Day, there are some basic things you need to know about Amazon sales; you can share your Prime membership with family members even if they don't live with you; you can set price alerts for products you want and your Alexa devices can notify you when they go on sale; there are usually some "Invite-Only" deals that you can sign up for; there are tools you can use to see if the deal you're looking at is good or not. But if you only take one bit of advice for shopping on Prime Big Deal Days, let it be this one: don't buy anything you weren't going to buy anyway. A good way to make sure you do this is by making a list of the products you do want, and only have eyes for those.

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Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Wednesday, August 28, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 28, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is medium difficult; I got it in four. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 28, Wordle #1,166! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

They're all common letters from our mnemonic today!

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

Graceful, like a ballerina.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with L. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with E. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is LITHE.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which narrowed down to only a few solutions. I tried TITHE first, then LITHE seemed like the next most common word.

Wordle 1,166 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩
🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was medium difficult. The hint was “this is worn by royalty” and the answer contained three common letters, one pretty common letter, and one uncommon letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was CROWN.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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