Wordle #1,707: The Stinky One That Might Break Your Streak
Welcome back, word wizards and letter-logicians. Wordle #1,707 has arrived, and it’s a bit of a stinker. Literally. If your streak is looking a little too pristine for 2025, today’s puzzle might be the one to add a necessary, if unpleasant, wrinkle. According to the official New York Times WordleBot, the average player is cracking this one in 4.1 moves, whether they’re playing on easy or hard mode. That’s a solid indicator that today’s answer isn’t a gimme.
Ready for some help? We’ve got hints, a full strategy breakdown, and yes—the answer. But be warned: spoilers for Wordle #1,707 lie directly ahead. Only proceed if you’re ready to solve the puzzle or save your streak.
Need a Nudge? Here Are Your Progressive Hints
Stuck but not ready to throw in the towel? Work through these clues from gentle to glaring.
Gentle Nudges (No Direct Spoilers)
Word Type: It can be a noun or a verb.
Vowel Count: This word contains just one vowel.
General Theme: It’s often associated with a strong, unpleasant smell or a past failure.
Intermediate Clues
Starting Letter: The word begins with the letter S.
Vowel Position: The single vowel is an A, and it’s the third letter.
Specific Context: Think of a slangier, more pungent synonym for “smelled bad.”
Advanced, Almost-There Hints
Letter Structure: _ _ A _ _
Close Synonyms: Reeked, smelled, bombed (as in, “that plan really…”).
Common Use: You might say the garbage really did this yesterday.
Today’s Difficulty Breakdown
| Factor | Level | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Common Letters | 8/10 | Contains S, T, A, N, K—four of the ten most common letters. This is deceptive! |
| Patterns | 3/10 | Ending in “K” without a “C” is uncommon. The “ST” start is good, but the “NK” end trips people up. |
| Vowels | 6/10 | Only one vowel (A) makes it simpler to place, but limits options dramatically. |
| Deception | 9/10 | Extremely high. Words like STAND, STALK, STACK, and STAMP are all classic Wordle traps waiting to snag you. |
How to Solve It: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Let’s walk through a strategic solve that mirrors the WordleBot’s logic.
First Word (The Opener): Starting with a strong opener like SLATE is perfect. It leaves only 15 possible answers. You’d likely get a green ‘S’ and ‘A’, with a yellow ‘T’.
Second Word (Strategic Narrowing): Now you need to test common consonants around that fixed ‘S’ and ‘A’. A word like STAIN is brilliant here. It places the ‘S’, ‘T’, and ‘A’, and tests ‘I’ and ‘N’. The result would be: S and T turn green, A is already green, and N goes yellow. You’re down to just a couple of options.
The Elimination Process: At this point, the board screams a word starting with ‘STA’. Your brain will immediately offer STAND. It’s a very common Wordle word. This is the trap.
The “Aha!” Moment: When STAND fails, you have to think of other “STA_” words. You’ve already used I and N. What ends with a consonant sound that fits? The less common “STANK” emerges as the only logical choice left.
Recommended Attempts: A solve in 4 attempts is excellent today. 5 is perfectly respectable. If you got it in 3, you avoided a major trap and should be very proud.
Specific Strategies for This Puzzle
If You’re Stuck at “STA _ _”: You’ve probably guessed STAND. Now, manually run through the alphabet: STAB, STAG, STAY, STAR… none fit the revealed letters. Think of past tense verbs or slang. STANK and STASH are prime candidates, but your earlier guesses should eliminate STASH.
Avoiding the “N” & “D” Trap: The big deception is the “ND” ending. English has a bias for it. Actively remind yourself that today’s answer ends with a different consonant pair. “NK” is a much less common, harder sound.
Today’s Unique Letter Pattern: The “ANK” ending is the key. It’s not in many five-letter words (THANK, BLANK, CLANK, FLANK, PLANK, STANK, SPANK). Once you consider it, the solution pool shrinks fast.
By The Numbers: Fun Stats
Frequency in English: “Stank” is relatively uncommon in formal writing but appears frequently in informal speech and narrative.
Comparison to Past Puzzles: It’s in the same tricky family as #1,063 (KNOLL) or #1,144 (FJORD)—words that rely on uncommon consonant clusters.
Estimated Player Success Rate: Given the 4.1 average and the deceptive trap, we estimate a lower-than-usual solve rate, with more failures and 6-guess saves.
For the Truly Curious
The word stank is the simple past tense of the verb stink, which comes from the Old English stincan, meaning “to emit a smell.” Interestingly, “stink” originally could mean any smell, good or bad, but by the Middle English period, it had firmly taken on its unpleasant meaning.
A fun, lesser-known use is in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and hip-hop culture, where “stank” can refer to a facial expression of disgust or disdain (often “stank face”). It’s also a term in blues music (“I’ve got the stank”) referring to a raw, gritty, emotional quality.
Flashback: Yesterday’s Answer (Wordle #1,706)
Yesterday’s solution was HOIST. A moderately tricky one due to the “OI” vowel pair, but it contained common letters. Compared to today’s STANK, HOIST was a walk in the park. The transition from the nautical “hoist” to the pungent “stank” is a classic example of Wordle’s delightful, and sometimes brutal, variety.
General Wordle Wisdom
Today’s puzzle reinforces some universal lessons:
- Beware the Common Trap: Just because a word like STAND fits your green letters, doesn’t mean it’s right. The game loves to use common words as decoys for less common ones.
- Test Uncommon Endings: If you have _ _ A _ _, don’t just test _ _ AND. Consciously run through other endings like _ _ ANK, _ _ AMP, _ _ ASH.
- Your Second Guess is Key: Use it to test multiple high-frequency consonants (L, R, N, C, H) around any confirmed letters. A word like “STAIN” or “CRANE” after a good starter is often more valuable than chasing a single possibility.
- Best Starters Based on Today: Today proved the power of S-starting words. SLATE, SPLIT, and SHALE all performed well by quickly locking down the common ‘S’ and ‘T’.
