Wordle #1,707: A Puzzle That Stinks (In the Best Way)
Wordle #1,707 has arrived, and it’s a bit of a stinker. Not in quality, mind you—the puzzle is perfectly crafted—but in theme. Today’s answer is a word that carries a certain… aroma. If you’re finding today’s challenge a little pungent, you’re not alone. According to the New York Times’ own WordleBot, the average player will need about 4.1 guesses to clear this one, whether playing on easy or hard mode. It’s a puzzle that requires a keen nose for letter patterns.
Ready for the answer? We’re about to dive deep into hints, strategy, and the full solution. If you’re still playing and want to avoid spoilers, turn back now! Otherwise, let’s dissect this odorous challenge.
Your Progressive Clue Kit for Wordle #1,707
Stuck? Don’t worry. Here are three levels of hints, from gentle nudges to almost-there revelations.
Level 1: Gentle Nudges
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.
Level 2: Intermediate Insights
Starting Letter: The word begins with the letter S.
Vowel Position: The single vowel is an A, and it’s the third letter.
Context Clue: It’s a simple past tense of a very common verb describing an olfactory offense.
Level 3: Advanced Assistance
Letter Structure: The pattern is S T A _ _.
Related Synonyms: Reeked, smelled bad, ponged.
Common Use: “The garbage really ______ yesterday.” or “That excuse totally ______.”
Difficulty Analysis: Why This Wordle Packs a Punch
| Factor | Level | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Common Letters | 8/10 | It uses four of the top ten most common letters (S, T, A, N), which is deceptively helpful. |
| Patterns | 3/10 | Words ending in “NK” are less frequent than those ending in “CK” or “NG,” throwing off pattern recognition. |
| Vowels | 7/10 | Having only one vowel (A) limits options quickly but can also lead to a bottleneck if you fixate on the wrong ending. |
| Deceptions | 9/10 | Extremely high! Many common words fit the S T A _ _ pattern (STAND, STACK, STAMP, STALK, STAFF), creating a major trap. |
Step-by-Step Solving Guide
Let’s walk through an optimal strategic solve. We’ll use the excellent starter word ORATE.
Guess 1: ORATE. A great start. This will likely give you a yellow ‘T’ and a green ‘A’, neatly positioning the vowel in the middle. WordleBot says this leaves 28 possible solutions.
Guess 2: STAIN. This is a powerful strategic follow-up. It tests the common starting ‘S’, places the ‘T’ in a new spot, and adds other common consonants like ‘N’ and ‘I’. The result? ‘S’ and ‘T’ turn green, ‘A’ is already green, and ‘N’ goes yellow. The board is shaping up: S T A _ _. The ‘N’ must go in the last two slots.
The Elimination Process: Now comes the crunch. Your brain races through the options: STAND, STANK, STACK, STALL, STAMP. If you used STAIN, you’ve already ruled out ‘I’ and know the last letter isn’t ‘L’ or ‘P’ from other starters. The field narrows dramatically.
The “Aha!” Moment: You realize the ‘N’ is yellow from Guess 2, so it can’t be in the fourth position. That eliminates STAND. Among the remaining common choices, STANK emerges as the clear, if slightly pungent, answer.
Recommended Attempts: A clean solve in 3-4 attempts is a fantastic result today. If you got it in 5 or 6, you successfully navigated a minefield of similar words—well done!
Specific Strategies for Today’s Puzzle
If you got stuck on the ending: The big trap was the “-AND” and “-ANK” dilemma. Once you had S T A _ _, testing a word like CHUNK or BLINK in a middle guess could have revealed the uncommon ‘K’ ending, steering you away from STAND.
Avoiding the “K” blind spot: We’re conditioned to see “CK” as a common ending. Today required remembering that a solitary ‘K’ can follow an ‘N’. Thinking of words like “BANK,” “SANK,” or “THANK” could have triggered the connection.
Today’s Unique Letter Pattern: The “ST-” beginning is very common, but the “-ANK” ending is not. The key was to prioritize testing the fifth letter slot once the first four seemed locked (S, T, A, N).
Interesting Word Data
How does today’s answer stack up?
- Frequency in English: “Stank” is relatively uncommon in modern formal writing but is a standard part of the verb conjugation for “stink.”
- Common Word List Position: It ranks far outside the top 1,000 most used words, making it a less familiar guess for many.
- Comparison to Past Puzzles: This is a classic “common letters, uncommon word” puzzle, similar to past challenges like “EPOCH” or “TRUSS.”
- Estimated Player Success Rate: Given the 4.1 average and the deceptive trap words, we estimate a slightly lower-than-average success rate, with more players than usual needing all six tries or failing.
For the Curious Minds
The word stank comes from the Old English stincan, which simply meant “to smell.” Over time, it specialized to mean “to smell bad.” Its close relative, “stink,” took the same path. It’s a great example of a word that has narrowed in meaning.
A fun, lesser-known use is in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and broader slang, where “stank” can refer to an attitude of defiant confidence, as in “she’s got some stank on her walk.”
Culturally, it’s forever immortalized in the hip-hop classic “Ms. Jackson” by OutKast with the iconic line, “I’m sorry Ms. Jackson, I am for real / Never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologize a trillion times… I am for real, never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologize a trillion times… Stank you smelly.”
Yesterday’s Answer (Wordle #1,706)
For those catching up, yesterday’s answer was HOIST. It was a medium-difficulty word that shared a common “-OIST” ending with several other words (MOIST, JOIST, FOIST), creating a nice little trap of its own. Compared to today’s “STANK,” HOIST was arguably trickier in its ending cluster but easier in its initial letter combination.
General Wordle Strategy Tips
Today’s puzzle reinforces some timeless Wordle wisdom:
- Beware the Common Trap: Just because the first few letters form a very common pattern (like STA_), don’t assume the rest is obvious. Always have a guess that tests multiple possible endings.
- Mind the Lone ‘K’: Don’t forget that ‘K’ can appear at the end of a word without a ‘C’ before it (THANK, STINK, BANK). It’s less common, but it happens.
- Use Your Second Guess Strategically: If your starter reveals a few letters, your second word shouldn’t just be another random guess. Use it to test common consonants (L, S, N, R, C) in new positions, as we did with STAIN.
- When in Doubt, Eliminate: If you’re down to two likely answers, sometimes the best move is to use a guess that contains letters from both, just to see which one is correct, rather than guessing one directly and potentially wasting a turn.
