It is hard to be believe that, just a few years ago, there was no such thing as Wordle.
Today, the brainteaser is The New York Times‘ most-played game and is beloved by millions around the world—including celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Carol Burnett.
Wordle inventor Josh Wardle released the game to the public in October 2021, and the NYT purchased it in January 2022. At the time, Wardle told Newsweek that, while he created the puzzle, he is “not very good at it.”
“I’m afraid I’m not really the best,” Wardle said in 2022, adding that his partner is way better and often solves it in three goes.
Joel C. Wallenberg, senior lecturer in language change at the University of York in England, previously spoke with Newsweek about the game’s popularity.
“Language always seems to be fascinating to people. This is perhaps because producing and understanding language is a fantastically complex process, and we are only aware of the tiniest bit of that process while it’s going on; most of what we do when we speak, we do unconsciously,” Wallenberg said. “But it may be that people have an inkling that they’re doing something very involved and impressive when they speak, even if they don’t know the details or why it should be that way.”
Wallenberg continued: “Language games poke at how conscious (or unconscious) we are of our own linguistic processes, and maybe give us a little more insight into them than we had before. That might be one reason why humans, maybe universally, have always invented and enjoyed language games!”
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How To Play ‘Wordle’
The idea behind Wordle is for players to come up with the five-letter word within six attempts before the answer is revealed. Along the way, a color-coded guide will help users to narrow down what the term may be. Green boxes indicate the letter is in the word and in the exact place; yellow boxes mean the letter is in the word, though not in the correct spot; and gray boxes reveal the letter is not in the word whatsoever.
Fortunately, the game isn’t timed, so you are free to mull over the answer all day if you would like.
‘Wordle’ #1,362, Clues for Wednesday, March 12
Newsweek‘s clues for today’s Wordle are:
Hint #1: It starts with the letter “M.”
Hint #2: It is a noun.
Hint #3: The answer is a type of fruit.
Hint #4: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #5: There are two vowels.
‘Wordle’ #1,362, Answer for Wednesday, March 12
The answer to today’s Wordle is “Mango.”
Merriam-Webster defines the term as “a tropical usually large ovoid or oblong fruit with a firm yellowish-red skin, hard central stone, and juicy aromatic pulp,” and “an evergreen tree (Mangifera indica) of the cashew family that bears mangoes.”
Great job if you managed to work out the five-letter word. Try not to get too worked up, though, if you didn’t get it. Wordle is released at midnight in your local time zone, which means you will get another chance to play on Thursday.
Eager for the next Wordle to be published? Occupy yourself with these other popular word games, such as Wordscapes and Words With Friends.
