November 5, 2025
I play Wordle every day—the
one that is offered by the New York Times. I began to play it a few years ago.
I can’t tell you how many years ago that was, but let’s just say I came in a
little late to the game. I had put off playing when I first heard about it
because, although I am a published author, I really didn’t feel that my
vocabulary was good enough. It is, of course, better than some. But not nearly
what I would consider top tier.
That said, I am a thinking
woman. And as a thinking woman, and after playing for some time, I thought,
well, let’s just see what we’re actually doing, here. I wondered if Wordle
would repeat words. I asked, and the answer was (and is) not as yet. Eventually
they will because there are only so many five letter words in American English.
The current estimate is that repetition will begin around 2027. I had, by the
way, begun keeping track on one of my spreadsheets of each day’s Wordle word –
but I began that practice about a year after I began to play.
I also noticed that while
there are some plurals acceptable, after inquiring, I discovered that currently,
they will not use obvious plurals for three- and four-letter words. Which is to
say, no five letter words that end in “s” or “es.”
Then I thought about my
perceptions as to the state of my vocabulary. And I asked myself what do I do
when I’m writing and I need a word I can’t think of? Where do I go to look?
Pre-internet the answer was either a thesaurus or a dictionary. These days? I
simply ask an online search engine.
But this time, rather than
searching for a single word, I instead searched for how to find a word.
I discovered several sites that are designed to find specific words for you:
and your search parameters include the length of the word (Wordle has 5) and
letters it must have, and letters that are “forbidden”.
And that, my friends, is how I
Wordle. I’m also anal, so that means I begin with the same two words every single
day…unless my first word renders me at least 3 letters in the right spot—or
if, say, more than three of my letters were signified as eligible but not in
the right spot. And I don’t mind sharing; my first two words are “adieu” and
“storm”.
Now, I have had some glitches
in that when I first began to play, I just played. I didn’t have an account,
didn’t have to sign in, but guess what? I could only play on my PC! So if I was
away but had my laptop, I couldn’t play. And then I got a new computer, and all
of my stats went away. That happened twice, and after the second time, which was
when I got this computer I now have, I smartened up and got an actual account.
It doesn’t cost much, and I consider it money well spent, because however I
come to the Wordle word of the day, I must use my noodle to do so.
At this point in my life more
than ever, I put great stock in having a working noodle.
To me, that’s the whole point
of the game. You don’t necessarily have to have a vast vocabulary to play Wordle,
you just need a working brain. As with any challenge we humans face, we need to
be able to adapt our thinking and figure out ways to accomplish the goal at
hand.
My goal is doing what I can to
keep this brain of mine working. I’m not interested in beating anyone in
Wordle. In fact, when I get the word in three or fewer tries, I consider it
P.S.L. (hint: the first word is pure, and the last word is luck).
The other thing I do daily is I
play an acrostic puzzle or two. An acrostic is a combination of a crossword
puzzle and a cryptogram. It has two parts, the crossword grid, in which each
square has a number and a letter, and when complete will be filled, not with
intersecting words, but with a quote. The second part is the list of “clues” in
which each letter of the clue’s answer has a number beneath it. And rather than
the clues being numbered or listed as “across” and “down” they are assigned a
letter of the alphabet. So, you have clues A, B, C, etc. and the grid above
them within which, as you proceed, words will begin to form. Your progress
accelerates when you work back and forth, filling in words in the grid, and
seeing letters appear in the clues. I like the online versions of these games I
used to play in puzzle books, because when you place a letter in a clue, it appears
in the grid—and vice versa. And as an added “clue” beneath the grid there often
will be a “key” to the quote– either the author’s name, title of the work, or
both.
There are free acrostic
puzzles online that you can use. You can also choose the “premium” edition of a
game site and have no ads on your screen. But I’m frugal, and I consider the
ability to “not see” ads on my computer screen as I work to be a great skill to
hone.
There’s a popular saying, that
you’re only as old as you feel. Now, I could argue that in one way, I am very
old, if the state of my body is to be the measure. However, there is nothing
beyond what I already do from day to day that can mitigate my physical
circumstances. Instead, I have chosen as my yardstick to measure how old I feel,
my ability to use this noodle of mine.
Today I can report that while
I will search for a word here or there, and forget a name, for the most part
there is nothing wrong with my reasoning processes.
Change is going to happen
because that is how life is. I can accept what comes next as long as I feel I’m
doing my part to keep my mind active.
I hope y’all feel the same way,
yourselves.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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