Wordle #1,707: The Stinky Truth About Today’s Puzzle
Wordle #1,707 has arrived, and let’s just say it’s leaving a bit of an… impression. If you’re finding today’s five-letter challenge a little more pungent than usual, you’re not alone. This one has a certain aroma of difficulty that might catch even seasoned players off guard. According to the New York Times’ own WordleBot, the average solver is taking about 4.1 moves to crack this one, whether they’re playing on easy or hard mode. That’s a solid step above a breezy Tuesday solve.
Ready to dive in? Below, you’ll find everything from gentle nudges to the full solution. Consider this your official spoiler warning: answers and explicit hints lie ahead. If you want to solve it pure, now’s the time to close this tab and come back later. For everyone else sticking around, let’s dissect this stinker.
Need a Nudge? Here Are Your Progressive Hints
Stuck somewhere between your second and third guess? Don’t panic. We’ve got a tiered hint system to guide you out of the fog without completely giving the game away.
Level 1: Gentle Nudges
Let’s start soft. Today’s Wordle answer can function as both a verb and a noun. It contains just one vowel. Thematically, it’s often associated with a strong, and usually unpleasant, sensory experience.
Level 2: Intermediate Clues
Ready for a bit more? The word begins with the letter S. That single vowel we mentioned? It’s an A, and it’s sitting pretty in the third position. Think of a past-tense action that might make you wrinkle your nose.
Level 3: Advanced Intel
Last stop before the answer. The letter structure is: S _ A _ _. A close synonym would be “reeked.” It’s a word you’d commonly use to describe how something smelled in the past, and it often carries a negative connotation.
Breaking Down the Difficulty
So why is Wordle #1,707 causing some trouble? Let’s score its tricky elements.
| Factor | Level | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Letras Comunes | 8/10 | It uses four of the top ten most common letters (S, T, A, N), which is actually very helpful. |
| Patrones | 3/10 | The “-NK” ending is less frequent than patterns like “-ING” or “-ED,” throwing off usual guesses. |
| Vocales | 6/10 | Having only one vowel (A) limits options, but its central position is a good anchor. |
| Engaños | 9/10 | Extremely high! Words like STAND, STAMP, STALK, and STACK are all plausible traps that fit common patterns. |
A Step-by-Step Solving Guide
Here’s how a strategic solve might have unfolded, using optimal starting words.
First Guess (ORATE): A great opener. It would likely give you a yellow ‘T’ and a green ‘A’ locked in the third spot. This is a fantastic start, immediately narrowing the field.
Second Guess (STAIN): Building on that, this word tests other common consonants (S, T, N) around the fixed ‘A’. An excellent move. It would turn ‘S’ and ‘T’ green, with ‘N’ going yellow, revealing the pattern S T A _ _. The pool of possible answers shrinks dramatically.
The Elimination Process: Now the real puzzle begins. Your brain races through options: STACK, STAND, STALK, STAMP, STASH. Many are valid Wordle answers. The key is testing the fourth and fifth positions.
The “Aha!” Moment: If you test STAND and it fails (gray D), you’re forced to consider less common endings. That’s when you might realize the ‘N’ from your second guess needs to move, and a word like STANK enters the picture. The unusual ‘K’ is the final, tricky piece.
Recommended Attempts: 4 guesses is a very respectable score today. 3 is exceptional, and 5 is completely understandable given the deceptive traps.
Specific Strategies for This Puzzle
If you got stuck today, here’s what might have tripped you up and how to break through next time.
The Fourth-Letter Trap: Many players get fixated on a ‘D’ (for STAND) or a ‘C’ (for STACK) in the fourth position. If those fail, consciously force yourself to consider wider alphabet options like ‘L’, ‘M’, or even ‘N’ again in a different spot.
Avoiding the Common-Ending Assumption: We’re trained to think of endings like -ED, -ING, -ER. Today’s -NK ending is a curveball. When you have S T A _ _, and common letters don’t fit, remember that ‘K’ is a possible, if less frequent, finisher.
Today’s Unique Letter Pattern: The sequence “ST A N K” is distinctive. The ‘N’ and ‘K’ together create a harder sound that isn’t as prevalent in everyday five-letter words, making it harder to conjure intuitively.
By The Numbers: Fun Stats
Let’s look at the data behind today’s answer.
- Frequency in English: “Stank” is relatively uncommon in modern written English, especially compared to its base form, “stink.”
- Common Word List Position: It ranks far outside the top 1,000 most common words, making it a less obvious guess.
- Comparison to Previous Puzzles: This is a classic “common start, uncommon finish” Wordle, similar to past puzzles like FJORD or AXIOM, which trip people up with their tails.
- Estimated Player Success Rate: Given the Bot’s average of 4.1 and the high deception score, we’d estimate a 90-95% solve rate, but with a higher-than-average number of 5s and 6s.
For the Truly Curious
So, where does “stank” come from? It’s the simple past tense of the verb “to stink,” which has Old English roots in the word *stincan*. Interestingly, in modern slang, “stank” has taken on a life of its own, sometimes used as a noun to describe an attitude of defiant confidence (often in the phrase “stank face”).
Culturally, its most famous use might be in the hip-hop lexicon. And for language lovers, note that while “stank” is standard, some dialects might use “stunk” as the past tense in all contexts, though purists reserve “stank” for simple past (“It stank yesterday”) and “stunk” as the past participle (“It has stunk for days”).
Flashback: Yesterday’s Answer (#1,706)
If you’re just catching up, yesterday’s Wordle answer was HOIST. It was a more straightforward puzzle, with a common -OIST ending that, while not a daily word, followed a recognizable pattern. The jump from HOIST to today’s STANK is a perfect example of how Wordle keeps us on our toes—just when you think you’ve got the endings figured out, it throws you a curveball.
Sharpen Your Skills: General Wordle Strategy Tips
Whether today took you three tries or six, here are some evergreen strategies to fuel your future solves.
1. Master the Second Guess: Your first guess scouts. Your second guess should strategically test high-frequency consonants (L, S, N, R, C) around any green letters you found. Don’t just chase more greens; use it to eliminate possibilities.
2. Beware the “Wordle Echo”: When you have a pattern like _ _ A _ _, your brain will latch onto the first common word it finds (like STAND). Actively challenge that instinct. Ask yourself, “What *else* could fit?” before typing.
3. Embrace Uncommon Letters: Letters like K, J, X, Z, and Q are rare, but they’re not impossible. If you’re stuck on your fifth or sixth guess and common letters aren’t working, it’s time to give these outsiders a chance in the later positions.
4. Today’s Best Starters (Based on This Puzzle): Words like SLATE, CRANE, or SALET would have been powerful today, quickly locking in the ‘S’, ‘A’, and ‘T’ or ‘N’. A start with STARE or similar would have given you an even bigger head start, highlighting the value of starting words with S and T.
