NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1736, Saturday, March 21

A phone displaying the Wordle logo sitting on a table surrounded by paperclips, pens and notebooks
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Looking for a different day?

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 Friday'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.

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.

Article continues below

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 #1736) - 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 #1736) - clue #2 - first letter

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

The first letter in today's Wordle answer is S.

S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.

Wordle hints (game #1736) - clue #3 - repeated letters

Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?

There are no 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 #1736) - clue #4 - ending letter

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

The last letter in today's Wordle is K.

K is much more common at the end of a Wordle answer than at the start, and in fact ranks ninth overall in this regard.

Wordle hints (game #1736) - clue #5 - last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1736.

  • Today's Wordle answer is smooth or glossy.

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 #1736)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1736 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.5
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 97
  • My luck score: 65
  • My start word performance: SANER (87 remaining answers)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (12)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Today's Wordle answer (game #1736) is… SLICK.

Here's a nice, easy Wordle to start the weekend. SLICK contains four very common letters, one that's very common in its specific position and two very common combinations — and it duly has a low average score of 3.5.

It will have been easier still if you started with SLATE, because that left only 12 options, but is unlikely to have been too tough whatever you played. The most difficult part will have been avoiding the similarly spelled alternatives; FLICK and CLICK, for instance, or SLINK or SLACK or STICK.

I didn't even need to pick between any of those. SANER left 87 possibles, but CLOTH — which is generally my follow-up when I have only a green S — cut that down to a single option. Even I couldn't screw up that one.


Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1735)

In a different time zone where it's still Friday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1735, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had vowels in three 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 O.

Vowels are generally less common than you'd expect at the start of a word, and O is only the 17th most likely letter to begin a Wordle 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 S.

S is really not a common ending letter at all - mainly because Wordle generally doesn't allow plurals. It's the 15th most likely letter to appear at the end of an answer.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1735.

  • Yesterday's Wordle answer is a refuge.

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1735)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1735 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.8
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 2
  • My skill score: 89
  • My luck score: 82
  • My start word performance: SANER (17 remaining answers)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (19)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1735) was… OASIS.

I was pretty pleased with my performance, at least until I saw that WordleBot had trumped my three by scoring a two. And what's more, it didn't do it by having an amazingly successful start word, because SLATE left 19 options; instead, it somehow just guessed correctly with a 1-in-19 chance. Curious.

The most notable thing about it is that it's an NYT addition, rather than a solution from the original list, and for once it's not a super-tough answer.

In fact, even without the 'Bot's suspiciously good luck, OASIS is a reasonably straightforward Wordle, with an average score of 3.8. It contains three vowels — which makes it easier — but a repeated S, which probably makes it harder. These two factors cancel each other out to leave a game that's in the middle of the range.

I had a lot of luck in my game (albeit not quite as much as my digital adversary), with SANER leaving 17 options and my follow-up of HOIST cutting it to one. OASIS was then an easy spot to give me my first three since Sunday.


Wordle answers: The past 50

I've been playing Wordle every day for more than three 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 #1735, Friday 20 March: OASIS
  • Wordle #1734, Thursday 19 March: REHAB
  • Wordle #1733, Wednesday 18 March: AMPLY
  • Wordle #1732, Tuesday 17 March: CLASP
  • Wordle #1731, Monday 16 March: DRAMA
  • Wordle #1730, Sunday 15 March: GRADE
  • Wordle #1729, Saturday 14 March: ANKLE
  • Wordle #1728, Friday 13 March: EATEN
  • Wordle #1727, Thursday 12 March: SMELL
  • Wordle #1726, Wednesday 11 March: TEDDY
  • Wordle #1725, Tuesday 10 March: SHOAL
  • Wordle #1724, Monday 9 March: HASTY
  • Wordle #1723, Sunday 8 March: LOBBY
  • Wordle #1722, Saturday 7 March: VOGUE
  • Wordle #1721, Friday 6 March: GUNKY
  • Wordle #1720, Thursday 5 March: SHEEP
  • Wordle #1719, Wednesday 4 March: THEFT
  • Wordle #1718, Tuesday 3 March: LINEN
  • Wordle #1717, Monday 2 March: SLIME
  • Wordle #1716, Sunday 1 March: FLUKE
  • Wordle #1715, Saturday 28 February: HYDRA
  • Wordle #1714, Friday 27 February: DIZZY
  • Wordle #1713, Thursday 26 February: LANCE
  • Wordle #1712, Wednesday 25 February: SHRED
  • Wordle #1711, Tuesday 24 February: BUYER
  • Wordle #1710, Monday 23 February: ATTIC
  • Wordle #1709, Sunday 22 February: GUAVA
  • Wordle #1708, Saturday 21 February: AWAKE
  • Wordle #1707, Friday 20 February: STANK
  • Wordle #1706, Thursday 19 February: HOIST
  • Wordle #1705, Wednesday 18 February: MOGUL
  • Wordle #1704, Tuesday 17 February: SQUAD
  • Wordle #1703, Monday 16 February: ROOST
  • Wordle #1702, Sunday 15 February: SKULL
  • Wordle #1701, Saturday 14 February: BLOOM
  • Wordle #1700, Friday 13 February: MOOCH
  • Wordle #1699, Thursday 12 February: SURGE
  • Wordle #1698, Wednesday 11 February: VEGAN
  • Wordle #1697, Tuesday 10 February: SCENE
  • Wordle #1696, Monday 9 February: CELLO
  • Wordle #1695, Sunday 8 February: EMBED
  • Wordle #1694, Saturday 7 February: BLEAT
  • Wordle #1693, Friday 6 February: GAVEL
  • Wordle #1692, Thursday 5 February: SWOOP
  • Wordle #1691, Wednesday 4 February: CHIDE
  • Wordle #1690, Tuesday 3 February: WEIGH
  • Wordle #1689, Monday 2 February: CIGAR
  • Wordle #1688, Sunday 1 February: SPINY
  • Wordle #1687, Saturday 31 January: ALLOT
  • Wordle #1686, Friday 30 January: JUMBO

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.

TOPICS
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).

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.