Today’s ‘Wordle’ #1,222 Clues, Hints and Answer for Wednesday, October 23

It’s the middle of the week, so if you are struggling with Wednesday’s Wordle puzzle, Newsweek is here to help.

The game was invented during the coronavirus lockdown by Josh Wardle, a software engineer who wanted a puzzle “for me and my partner to enjoy.” Wardle released Wordle to the public in October 2021, and it quickly picked up a loyal audience, with some players sharing their results and strategies on social media each day.

Following its public debut, the puzzle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021 to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure sum soon after, and it quickly became the publication’s most-popular game.

A large part of Wordle‘s appeal is its simplicity. Players are tasked with guessing a mystery five-letter word—and must do so in six attempts or fewer. They are helped along with a color-coded tile system: green means they have got the letter correct; yellow shows the letter appears in the word but is in the wrong spot; and, finally, a gray tile indicates that the letter does not appear in the word at all.

If you are growing frustrated with the game, linguistics expert and Babbel Live teacher, Noël Wolf, suggests being “strategic with your second guess.”

“As hard as it might seem—especially if you have a few correct letters in your first word—using a completely separate set of letters, where possible, will help eliminate more possibilities in fewer guesses,” she told Newsweek.

“For example, if your first Wordle guess is ‘crane’ and you discover that C and R are correct, instead of guessing a word like ‘cross,’ try a different word like ‘plumb.’ This will use new letters and explore different vowel placements, increasing your chances of narrowing down the possibilities.”

If all else fails, remember the proverbial phrase “patience is a virtue,” and “step away from the screen,” added Wolf.

“At times, constantly staring at your phone can make the game feel harder to solve. Try taking a piece of paper and writing out the word with the blank letters, and see if any words jump out at you that way,” she said.

‘Wordle’ #1,222 Clues and Hints for Wednesday, October 23

Newsweek has some handy clues to help you solve today’s Wordle puzzle.

Hint #1: Today’s word is an adjective.

Hint #2: There is one vowel in today’s answer.

Hint #3: There is one repeated letter in today’s Wordle.

Hint #4: The answer begins with the letter “G.”

Hint #5: You might think of the name of a Disney character.

‘Wordle’ #1,222 Answer for Wednesday, October 23

Today’s Wordle answer is “goofy.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the word is defined as “being ridiculous or mildly ludicrous.”

Don’t worry if you didn’t get it; there is always tomorrow. Wordle updates every day at midnight, at which point the next puzzle becomes available. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.

In the meantime, why not try your hand at other word-based puzzle games such as Typochondria and Spellspire?