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 Mark Pernice. You can read more about him here.
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Wordle 652 6/6 ️️
????⬜⬜⬜⬜ CRAMP
⬜⬜⬜????⬜ LEECH
????⬜⬜????⬜ OUNCE
⬜⬜???????????? DISCO
????????????⬜???? SCOUT
???????????????????? STOCK
I hadn’t played Wordle in a while when I was asked to try this puzzle, and I’m convinced the editor chose the hardest possible Wordle to give me.
I started with CRAMP, because my foot hurt, but that provided little help. So, while staring at the puzzle on and off for two hours, I tried words that it inspired in me.
“This thing is taking me so long it’s LEECHing my life force away.” Nope, that’s not it.
“I wish the puzzle editor would give me an OUNCE of help on this one.” Not it either.
“Donna Summer’s DISCO classic ‘I Feel Love’ just popped up on my Spotify playlist.” OK, getting closer with three letters.
I consider trying to cheat with Google, but how would that even work? “Five letter words that have ‘C’ toward the end?” This is a nightmare.
I’ve blown past my deadline and decide to start typing in gibberish to see if I get lucky before I run out of chances. Then I remember you can only type in words that are in the dictionary, so even that strategy won’t work.
Does “SCOUT” work? Holy moly, I finally got four out of five letters — success is so close! But I’ve reached my last guess. Please let me figure out the answer and not embarrass myself.
I think of my last story for a possible lifeline of inspiration: A piece on Silicon Valley Bank going under, which nearly took down the entire banking industry while tanking shares of regional banks.
How about … STOCK?
Success! Thank God. This Wordle may have cost me an entire workday and a few new gray hairs, but I finally nailed it in six.
I decide to give it a one-star review, mostly because it destroyed my day. I may need to start practicing a bit more for next time.
Today’s word is STOCK. According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, it’s a noun that has many definitions. It can refer to a tree stump, a store or supply of goods, or anything “lacking life, motion or feeling.”
Today’s Statistics
Information about the difficulty of today’s Wordle and how Times readers solved it will be available once more readers have had the chance to play.
Our Featured Artist
Mark Pernice is an award-winning illustrator, art director and designer. He runs the multidisciplinary design studio OOO, alongside his creative directing partner, Elana Schlenker. Mr. Pernice injects his personality and style into brand illustrations using a variety of details, textures and messages. “I’m not that interested in making obvious pictorial illustration and I don’t want to shoehorn in overused visual iconography unless there’s a bit of a fun twist or mystery,” he said in an interview with It’s Nice That.
Further Reading
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