NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1931, Friday, October 2

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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 #1931) - clue #1 - Vowels

How many vowels does today's Wordle have?

• Wordle today has 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).

Wordle hints (game #1931) - clue #2 - first letter

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is U.

U is not a particularly common starting letter in Wordle, with only 33 answers beginning with it. It ranks 20th in this regard, and is the least common vowel to start an answer.

Wordle hints (game #1931) - 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 #1931) - clue #4 - ending letter

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

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

Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.

Wordle hints (game #1931) - clue #5 - last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1931.

  • Today's Wordle answer is a money-lending practice.

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 #1931)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1931 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 4.1
  • My score: 4
  • WordleBot's score: 4
  • My skill score: 99
  • My luck score: 46
  • My start word performance: SANER (33 remaining answers)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (61)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Today's Wordle answer (game #1931) is… USURY.

Hands up if you know what USURY means? Mine would have remained firmly planted in my pockets until I looked up the definition in order to write this column. I knew it was something to do with money, but frankly my expertise around financial topics is about equal to my expertise around brain surgery, so it went no further than that.

Apparently, it means "the practice of lending money and requiring the borrower to pay a high amount of interest", according to Merriam-Webster — so what loan sharks do essentially.

I may not have known what it meant, but I did know that it existed as a word — although a fat lot of good that did me when it came to crunch time today.

USURY is one of those rare words that contains two letter Us. There are 10 of them among the 2,309 original solutions, of which we've so far had six: USURP (game #466, average score 4.0), UNDUE (#528, 4.2), USUAL (#543, 4.0), QUEUE (#883, 4.1), FUGUE (#1604, 4.4) and UNCUT (#1895, 3.8). USURY is the second NYT addition, after UVULA (#1244, 4.8), meaning there are at least four still to come.

One thing you'll notice from those games is that with the exception of UNCUT they all have an average of 4.0 or higher. USURY continues that trend, coming in at 4.1. It's difficult, but not quite up there with Wednesday's RIVER or yesterday's RITZY. Still, that's a tough run of words.

I began reasonably well, with SANER giving me two yellows and leaving 33. I drew up a longish shortlist, mainly based around -R-S- words such as FROST, CRUST, CRUSH, DROSS, CRISP and BRISK, but with a smattering of --RS- words too (FIRST, WORST, BURST, for instance).

USURY was not on my list — no surprise there — but when COURT gave me green --UR- it was swiftly added to it. Truthfully, it was something of an afterthought. First, I came up with USURP, which appeared to be the only possible solution, but I did my due diligence and spotted USURY too. It sounded familiar enough to be considered, but of course I was going to go with the more common USURP.

Inevitably, I was wrong. But I ended up with a 4, which I suspect will be a decent enough result today.


Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1930)

In a different time zone where it's still Thursday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1930, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had 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).

  • 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 no 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 Y.

Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1930.

  • Yesterday's Wordle answer is ostentatiously fancy.

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1930)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1930 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 4.3
  • My score: 4
  • WordleBot's score: 4
  • My skill score: 96
  • My luck score: 44
  • My start word performance: SANER (139 remaining answers)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (102)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1930) was… RITZY.

I'm not a RITZY kind of guy, preferring instead the sort of places for which a better adjective would be 'unpretentious', or maybe 'homely', or quite possibly 'grungy'. However, I did frequent a nightclub called RITZYs back in my student days. It was anything but that, of course, but in all likelihood it's the closest I'll ever get.

With that in mind, this game may well be the first time I've used the word RITZY in 30 years — and quite possibly the last.

It's an NYT addition to the Wordle canon, the first since MESSY a week ago, and if not for yesterday's RIVER it would also be the toughest answer for 10 days. As it is, its average of 4.3 marks it out as merely 'tricky' compared to RIVER's 'a-nightmare-in-puzzle-form' status.

The inclusion of an uncommon letter Z is the obvious complication, beyond the fact that it's not necessarily an everyday word in the way that, say, RIVER is (though that didn't help on Wednesday).

I scored another 4, which I'm happy enough about given that I beat the average and matched the 'Bot. I had a tricky start, too, with SANER leaving more than 100 options and only providing me with a yellow R.

Next step was to place that R in its common second position; I added D, T, O and I to make DROIT, crossed my fingers… and was reasonably pleased with the result.

DROIT did not turn the R green, but it added the I and T, both yellow too, and reduced the shortlist to six. These were not as easy to find as they should have been: I got MIRTH, BIRTH and TWIRL, but not GIRTH, FIRTH or RITZY.

My choice of MIRTH next was therefore a bit of a risk, because it might have left me a three-way split of FIRTH/GIRTH/BIRTH next time out. However, I got lucky; the I turned green, but the R and T stayed stubbornly yellow, and that ruled out all of my options plus those other IRTH words.

It took me a few minutes to think of RITZY, but by now there were only a couple of formats that worked, so eventually I spotted it and was relieved when the five letters all turned green.


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 #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
  • Wordle #1901, Wednesday 2 September: RULER
  • Wordle #1900, Tuesday 1 September: REMIX
  • Wordle #1899, Monday 31 August: MOUND
  • Wordle #1898, Sunday 30 August: INTEL
  • Wordle #1897, Saturday 29 August: BLOOD
  • Wordle #1896, Friday 28 August: TWEEN
  • Wordle #1895, Thursday 27 August: UNCUT
  • Wordle #1894, Wednesday 26 August: CAPON
  • Wordle #1893, Tuesday 25 August: CLICK
  • Wordle #1892, Monday 24 August: RUNNY
  • Wordle #1891, Sunday 23 August: OLDEN
  • Wordle #1890, Saturday 22 August: PRAWN
  • Wordle #1889, Friday 21 August: TRACE
  • Wordle #1888, Thursday 20 August: MURKY
  • Wordle #1887, Wednesday 19 August: GRILL
  • Wordle #1886, Tuesday 18 August: STRIP
  • Wordle #1885, Monday 17 August: TRIBE
  • Wordle #1884, Sunday 16 August: ASPIC
  • Wordle #1883, Saturday 15 August: LOOSE
  • Wordle #1882, Friday 14 August: GEODE
  • Wordle #1881, Thursday 13 August: CRASH

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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