Wordle #1,707: A Puzzle That Stinks (In the Best Way)
Welcome, word wizards, to another day of delightful lexical lunacy. Today’s Wordle, puzzle #1,707, has arrived, and let’s just say it carries a certain… aroma. If you’ve been breezing through your recent games, this one might make you pause and scratch your head. According to the official New York Times WordleBot, the average player is taking about 4.1 moves to crack this code, whether they’re playing on easy or hard mode. That’s a solid indicator that we’re dealing with a puzzle that requires a bit more finesse than your average five-letter fare.
Ready for some help? Below, you’ll find our trademark progressive hints, designed to give you just the right nudge without spoiling the “aha!” moment. But if you’re here because you’re utterly stumped and just want the answer to preserve your precious streak, we’ve got you covered there, too. Just be warned: spoilers for Wordle #1,707 lie directly ahead. Proceed with caution!
Your Progressive Hint System for Wordle #1,707
Stuck? Don’t worry. Work through these hints one level at a time. Each one gets more revealing.
Level 1: Gentle Nudges
Word Type: It can be a verb or a noun.
Number of Vowels: This word contains just one vowel.
General Theme: Think about a strong, often unpleasant, smell from the past.
Level 2: Intermediate Clues
Starting Letter: The word begins with the letter S.
Vowel Position: The single vowel is an A, and it’s the second letter in the word.
Contextual Clue: It’s a simple past tense of a much more common verb for emitting odor.
Level 3: Advanced Intel
Letter Structure: The pattern is S T A _ _.
Related Synonyms: Reeked, smelled bad, funked.
Common Usage: Often used informally: “Wow, that garbage really ______.”
Difficulty Breakdown: Why This Wordle Is Tricky
| Factor | Level (Out of 10) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Common Letters | 8/10 | It uses four of the top ten most common Wordle letters (S, T, A, N), which is actually quite helpful. |
| Patterns | 3/10 | Words ending in “K” without a preceding “C” are less frequent, throwing off common ending guesses. |
| Vowels | 7/10 | Having only one vowel (A) limits possibilities but also makes the word feel uncommon. |
| Deceptions | 9/10 | Extremely high! Many very common words like STAND, STAMP, and STALK fit the early pattern, creating a major trap. |
Step-by-Step Solving Guide
Let’s walk through a strategic approach to today’s puzzle. A great start is half the battle.
First Move (The Opener): Using a top-tier starter like SLATE or SPLAT is golden here. Both would give you the critical ‘S’, ‘T’, and ‘A’ in various colors, immediately narrowing the field to under 25 possibilities. WordleBot confirms SPLAT leaves 21 answers, while SLATE trims it to just 15.
Second Move (Strategic Narrowing): Let’s say your opener revealed a green ‘A’ in the second spot and a yellow ‘T’. Your goal now is to test other common consonants. A word like STAIN is perfect—it places the ‘S’ and ‘T’ at the start, checks for ‘I’ and ‘N’, and respects the green ‘A’. This move can slash your options down to just a handful.
The Elimination Process: After STAIN, you might see S, T, A green, and N yellow. Your brain will immediately scream STAND. It’s a classic Wordle word! But if you play it and it fails, don’t panic. You’ve just eliminated the biggest decoy.
The “Aha!” Moment: With STAND gone, you need a word that fits S T A _ _. You’ve already used N, so what other letter could fit at the end? Running through the alphabet, you’ll likely land on STANK as the only common, sensible option left.
Recommended Attempts: A clean solve should be achievable in 3-4 attempts with strategic play. If you fell into the STAND trap, a 5 is still a respectable victory today.
Specific Strategies for Today’s Puzzle
If You’re Stuck at S T A _ _: The trap is to fixate on the ultra-common “AND” and “AMP” endings. Force yourself to consider less common final letter pairs like “NK,” “LK,” or “SH.”
Avoiding the “N” Trap: The letter ‘N’ is a huge red herring today. Just because it’s a common letter that fits doesn’t mean it’s correct. If you have a yellow ‘N’, test its placement aggressively before committing to a word like STAND or STAIN as your final answer.
Today’s Unique Letter Pattern: The “NK” ending is the key. It’s not rare in English (THANK, BLANK, DRANK), but in Wordle answers, it’s less frequent than endings like “ND” or “NT,” making it easy to overlook.
Interesting Word Stats
How does today’s answer stack up in the grand scheme of words?
- Frequency in English: “Stank” is relatively uncommon in formal writing but sees regular use in informal speech and narrative.
- Common Word List Position: It ranks far outside the top 1,000 most common words in English corpora.
- Comparison to Past Puzzles: This is a classic “past tense of an irregular verb” Wordle, similar to puzzles like SWORE or DRANK. They often trip players up.
- Estimated Player Success Rate: Given the 4.1 average and the major STAND trap, we estimate the fail rate (X/6) to be slightly higher than average today.
For the Curious: More About “Stank”
Today’s answer is more than just a past-tense verb. Its origin is straightforward—it’s the simple past of “stink,” which comes from the Old English stincan, meaning to emit a smell (good or bad). Over time, it specialized in the “bad” direction.
Beyond describing odor, “stank” has enjoyed a vibrant life in slang. In hip-hop and colloquial use, to “bring the stank” or have “stank face” means to bring serious, impressive skill or to react with intense, scrunched-up approval to a funky beat. It’s a word that carries attitude.
In other languages, this concept often splits. Spanish, for example, has apestar (to stink) with its past tense apestó, but the informal, potent nuance of “stank” is very culturally specific to English.
Yesterday’s Answer (Wordle #1,706)
For those catching up, yesterday’s answer was HOIST. It was a puzzle of deceptive simplicity, containing common letters but with the tricky “-OIST” ending that offered multiple plausible solutions (MOIST, JOIST, FOIST). Compared to today’s STANK, HOIST was more about a cluster of similar words, while today is about one massive, common decoy.
General Wordle Strategy Tips
Learning from today’s puzzle can sharpen your game for tomorrow:
- Beware the “Wordle Word” Decoy: Words like STAND, STONE, SHORE are common answers and common traps. If one fits perfectly, double-check if there’s another word that also fits the pattern before committing.
- Test Uncommon Endings: If you’re stuck, consciously brainstorm letters that often pair together at the end of words: NK, CK, SH, CH, GH, MB. It can unlock solutions like today’s.
- Use Your Second Guess to Probe: Don’t just chase greens. Like we did with STAIN, use your second attempt to test multiple high-value consonants (L, N, R, C, H) in new positions.
- Starter Words Matter: Today proved the power of a good opener. Consistently using a strategic starter like SLATE, CRANE, or TRACE builds a data-rich foundation that pays off on tough days like this one.
