NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1952, Friday, October 23

A phone displaying the Wordle logo sitting on a table surrounded by paperclips, pens and notebooks
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A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here.

Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.

It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.

Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.

Want more word-based fun? TechRadar's Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times' other brainteasers.

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SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.

Your Wordle expert
Marc McLaren
Your Wordle expert
Marc McLaren

Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle for more than four years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar and its sister site Tom's Guide, including a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position and a guide to the best Wordle start words. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.

Wordle hints (game #1952) - clue #1 - Vowels

How many vowels does today's Wordle have?

• Wordle today has a vowel in one place*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Wordle hints (game #1952) - clue #2 - first letter

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is T.

T is one of the most common starting letters in the game, beginning 149 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. That gives it a ranking of fourth in the alphabet, behind only S, C and B.

Wordle hints (game #1952) - clue #3 - repeated letters

Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?

• There are repeated letters in today's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

Wordle hints (game #1952) - clue #4 - ending letter

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

• The last letter in today's Wordle is L.

L is a really common letter to find at the end of a Wordle. There are 155 games that finish with an L, and it ranks as the fifth most likely letter there.

Wordle hints (game #1952) - clue #5 - last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1952.

  • Today's Wordle answer is a bird sound.

If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.

If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!


Today's Wordle answer (game #1952)

NYT Wordle answer for 1952 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.8
  • My score: 4
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 97
  • My luck score: 40
  • My start word performance: SANER (139 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (17)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Today's Wordle answer (game #1952) is… TRILL.

I've had such a good run of luck lately that it would be unfair for me to complain about today's game, so I won't. I will simply remark that I made the best of a difficult situation, albeit not a difficult game.

TRILL has an average score of 3.8, so couldn't in any way be considered hard; that's below the global average for Wordle of 3.96. But some people will have found it easier than others. Specifically, SLATE left only 17 options, while IRATE — which is played by around 1% of Wordlers each day — left 10.

In contrast, SANER left me with a pool of 139 words to choose from, and though DROIT cut that to a trio of TRICK, TRILL and FRITZ, I picked the wrong one of those.

If I had consulted a past Wordle answers list, rather than merely compiling one, I would have seen that TRICK was the solution to game #1543 in September 2025. That's recent enough that it was never going to be a repeated answer yet, so if I'd known that I'm sure I would have picked TRILL instead. But I didn't, so a 4 it was.

On the plus side, the 'Bot scored a 3 — and so beat me for the first time in two weeks. Why is this a good thing? Well, it gets boring winning every day. Success is only ever worthwhile if there's an actual challenge there…


Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1951)

In a different time zone where it's still Thursday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1951, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places*

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

  • The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was R.

R is a surprisingly uncommon starting letter. Despite ranking third overall in Wordle, it's merely the 11th most likely to begin an answer.

  • There were repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

  • The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was T.

T is a very common letter to end a Wordle answer – in fact only E and Y are more likely in that position.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1951.

  • Yesterday's Wordle answer is a revision to an original state or position.

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1951)

NYT Wordle answer for 1951 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.5
  • My score: 2
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 99
  • My luck score: 99
  • My start word performance: SANER (1 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (19)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1951) was… RESET.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

The 'Bot finally ended its seemingly infinite run of 4s, scoring a 3 on the very easy RESET — but I scored a 2, so still beat it!

Yes, I know I'm being incredibly childish, but maybe if it hadn't been programmed to be so downright patronizing in its responses, then I would be a little more magnanimous about it.

Not that I can take any credit for it because my opening SANER left only one option. The hardest part about the game was working out what that one option was, because it wasn't immediately obvious.

So I reverted to tried-and-tested methods. With a green E in place plus yellow S and R there were only seven possible formats:

RS-E-

R-SE-

R--ES

-RSE-

-R-ES

-SRE-

--RES

The good news was that I could rule out most of those right away; there are no words that start RS, and very few within Wordle that end in an S. -RSE- looked promising, but I couldn't think of anything that fit, so I focused on R-SE- and when I saw RESET I knew that I had my answer.

The incredibly low average of 3.5 points to the fact that many people will have had similar experiences, albeit not quite as easy as mine. STARE left five options, for instance, and RAISE a mere two: the eventual answer plus (I think) RESOW — and I know which of those I would have chosen.

There will be 2s aplenty, then, but well done to the 'Bot for scoring its plucky 3. Awwwww, isn't it sweet that it tries so hard…?


Wordle answers: The past 50

I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.

  • Wordle #1951, Thursday 22 October: RESET
  • Wordle #1950, Wednesday 21 October: PENNY
  • Wordle #1949, Tuesday 20 October: WREST
  • Wordle #1948, Monday 19 October: STINK
  • Wordle #1947, Sunday 18 October: ADORN
  • Wordle #1946, Saturday 17 October: GAFFE
  • Wordle #1945, Friday 16 October: SHADY
  • Wordle #1944, Thursday 15 October: DUNCE
  • Wordle #1943, Wednesday 14 October: PSYCH
  • Wordle #1942, Tuesday 13 October: WIDER
  • Wordle #1941, Monday 12 October: YODEL
  • Wordle #1940, Sunday 11 October: UNCAP
  • Wordle #1939, Saturday 10 October: BUMPY
  • Wordle #1938, Friday 9 October: MAJOR
  • Wordle #1937, Thursday 8 October: STREW
  • Wordle #1936, Wednesday 7 October: PROVE
  • Wordle #1935, Tuesday 6 October: DIMLY
  • Wordle #1934, Monday 5 October: MOCHA
  • Wordle #1933, Sunday 4 October: SHACK
  • Wordle #1932, Saturday 3 October: PEEVE
  • Wordle #1931, Friday 2 October: USURY
  • Wordle #1930, Thursday 1 October: RITZY
  • Wordle #1929, Wednesday 30 September: RIVER
  • Wordle #1928, Tuesday 29 September: SCUBA
  • Wordle #1927, Monday 28 September: TRUNK
  • Wordle #1926, Sunday 27 September: SLOOP
  • Wordle #1925, Saturday 26 September: ELEGY
  • Wordle #1924, Friday 25 September: COPSE
  • Wordle #1923, Thursday 24 September: MESSY
  • Wordle #1922, Wednesday 23 September: FORTH
  • Wordle #1921, Tuesday 22 September: STOKE
  • Wordle #1920, Monday 21 September: PAGER
  • Wordle #1919, Sunday 20 September: SHONE
  • Wordle #1918, Saturday 19 September: WAKEN
  • Wordle #1917, Friday 18 September: SNOWY
  • Wordle #1916, Thursday 17 September: THETA
  • Wordle #1915, Wednesday 16 September: WISPY
  • Wordle #1914, Tuesday 15 September: DEALT
  • Wordle #1913, Monday 14 September: RINSE
  • Wordle #1912, Sunday 13 September: FOCUS
  • Wordle #1911, Saturday 12 September: NIFTY
  • Wordle #1910, Friday 11 September: ASTER
  • Wordle #1909, Thursday 10 September: DRYLY
  • Wordle #1908, Wednesday 9 September: BURST
  • Wordle #1907, Tuesday 8 September: LIVEN
  • Wordle #1906, Monday 7 September: BLIND
  • Wordle #1905, Sunday 6 September: BEIGE
  • Wordle #1904, Saturday 5 September: SOUPY
  • Wordle #1903, Friday 4 September: WAGER
  • Wordle #1902, Thursday 3 September: JOIST

What is Wordle?

If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.

We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.

What is Wordle?

Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?

It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Games app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.

Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.

What are the Wordle rules?

The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.

4a. Answers are never plural.

4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.

5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.

8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.

9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.

10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…

10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.

10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.

11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.

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Marc McLaren
Global Editor in Chief

Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief, the latest in a long line of senior editorial roles he’s held in a career that started the week that Google launched (nice of them to mark the occasion). Prior to joining TR, he was UK Editor in Chief on Tom’s Guide, where he oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage. He's also a former editor of the tech website Stuff and spent five years at the music magazine NME, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun. He’s based in London, and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and pretty much every other type of gadget you can think of. An avid photographer, Marc likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). He also enjoys live music, gaming, cycling, and beating Wordle (he authors the daily Wordle today page).

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