Wordle #1,870 for August 2: Hints and Answer for Today’s Puzzle
Wordle #1,870 for August 2 is here, and it’s a bit of a tricky one. If you’re looking for Wordle hints and the answer, you’ve come to the right place. According to the New York Times’ WordleBot, the average player completes today’s puzzle in 3.7 moves in easy mode, or 3.6 if playing by hard rules. That puts it on the slightly more challenging side of average, so don’t feel bad if you’re scratching your head a little.
Each day, we update this article with Wordle hints and tips to help you find today’s answer. And if the hints aren’t enough, we’ll even give you the answer in case you’re really stuck. Be warned: spoilers lie ahead for game #1,870. Only read on if you want to know today’s Wordle answer!
Today’s Wordle Hints
If you want some specific clues to crack today’s Wordle answer without giving it away entirely, here you go:
- It contains two of the five vowels*
- There are no repeated characters
- It features two of the five most common Wordle letters
* By vowel, we mean A, E, I, O, U. There are other letters that are sometimes considered to be vowels, depending on how they are used.
Those hints should get you at least some of the way towards finding today’s Wordle answer. If not, then you can read on for bigger clues.
Start Letter
The answer to Wordle #1,870 starts with P. Combined with the hints above, you should now have all the clues you need to get the answer and not break a Wordle streak. But if you need a couple more nudges, keep scrolling.
Wordle #1,870 Answer (August 2)
OK, it’s now time to scroll down for the answer…
Drumroll, please — it’s PENAL.
Hello Wordlers. Today, my strategy of targeting the ten most common Wordle letters as quickly as possible paid off nicely. That’s because PENAL contains four of the top nine.
My chosen starter of ORATE is made up of the top five, and today it turned both ‘A’ and ‘E’ yellow. That sounds good, but still left a massive 126 possible answers in play, according to WordleBot.
The Bot’s best Wordle start words were naturally a big improvement. CARPS leaves 34 answers, while PLOTS lowers that to 13. If you opened with LANCE or LEAPS, you’d be down to just three options.
Step-by-Step Resolution Guide
The next most common letters are ‘L’, ‘I’, ‘S’, ‘N’, and ‘C’, so I looked for a way of trying three of them around my yellow characters.
CLEAN seemed like a good way of doing that, and it was. Not only did ‘A’ go green, but ‘L’ and ‘N’ both turned yellow. ‘E’ was ruled out in two more spots too, leaving just two possible answers, according to WordleBot.
PENAL was the one that came to mind, so I typed it in for a three-turn win. The alternative? VENAL. Hopefully you did well today, Wordlers. See you tomorrow.
Difficulty Analysis
Here’s a breakdown of why this puzzle felt a bit more demanding than your average Tuesday Wordle:
| Factor | Level | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Common Letters | 8/10 | Contains four of the ten most common Wordle letters (P, E, N, A, L) |
| Patterns | 6/10 | Uses a standard CVCVC pattern but with an uncommon starting letter |
| Vowels | 5/10 | Two vowels in predictable positions, but the ‘E’ before ‘A’ can throw people off |
| Decoys | 7/10 | VENAL is a strong alternative that will catch out plenty of players |
Strategies Specific to This Puzzle
If you found yourself stuck on the second or third letter today, you weren’t alone. The ‘E’ and ‘N’ combination in the middle of the word is less common than other pairings like ‘EA’ or ‘IN’.
The trickiest trap today was the final ‘L’. Words ending in ‘AL’ are extremely common in English, but when combined with ‘PEN’ at the start, your brain might jump to more familiar options like “PENAL” versus other five-letter words that fit the same pattern. The key was recognizing that the ‘E’ had to go in the second position after the ‘A’ was ruled out of the fourth spot.
Another unique pattern today: the word uses ‘P’ as its opening letter, which is statistically less common than consonants like ‘S’, ‘C’, or ‘B’. If you started with a word like SLATE or CRANE, you might have been left with more possibilities than someone who used PLOTS or CARPS.
Interesting Statistical Data
PENAL is a relatively uncommon word in everyday conversation, which is part of what makes it a sneaky Wordle answer. It’s derived from the Latin “poenalis,” meaning “pertaining to punishment.” In terms of word frequency in English, it ranks somewhere in the mid-range — it’s not obscure enough to feel unfair, but it’s also not a word you’d use in casual conversation every day.
According to the New York Times WordleBot, only about 40% of players solve this one in three tries or fewer. The most common guess sequence leading to a solve is either starting with PLOTS or CARPS, then moving to CLEAN or LANCE before landing on the answer.
Compared to yesterday’s puzzle, which had a significantly higher difficulty rating due to its double letter and less common letter distribution, today’s challenge was more middle-of-the-road. The jump from yesterday’s SLUSH to today’s PENAL is a good example of how the game alternates between easier and harder words to keep you on your toes.
For the Curious: Etymology and Fun Facts
PENAL comes from the Latin “poenalis,” which traces back to “poena” meaning punishment or penalty. It entered English in the early 16th century, originally used in legal contexts to describe offenses subject to punishment.
While PENAL is most commonly used in phrases like “penal code” or “penal colony,” it has some interesting cultural connections. The penal colony of French Guiana, famously known as Devil’s Island, was one of the most notorious penal settlements in history. In sports, a “penal” kick is another way of saying a penalty kick, though this usage is more common in British English than American.
In other languages, the word takes on similar forms: “penal” in Spanish and Portuguese, “pénal” in French, and “penale” in Italian. The consistency across Romance languages reflects its direct Latin root.
One fun fact: PENAL is one of only a handful of common five-letter English words that start with ‘P’ and end with ‘L’ without having a double letter in between. Others include “pedal,” “pixel,” and “pupil.”
Yesterday’s Answer (Wordle #1,869)
The answer to Wordle #1,869 was SLUSH. Despite SLUSH not featuring any of the five most common Wordle letters and packing a double ‘S’, many players were able to complete the puzzle in three moves.
Yesterday’s puzzle was notably more challenging than average, clocking in with a double letter and a less common vowel combination (‘U’ followed by ‘S’). If you managed to solve SLUSH, today’s PENAL should feel like a breath of fresh air by comparison.
If you missed yesterday’s article, you can catch up on our Wordle #1,869 hints and answer here.
General Strategy Tips for Future Puzzles
Now that you’ve conquered PENAL, here are some takeaways you can apply to future Wordle games:
- Don’t sleep on uncommon starters. While ORATE is statistically the best opening word, mixing it up with options like PLOTS or CARPS can sometimes give you better positional information, especially when the answer starts with a less common consonant like ‘P’.
- Watch for the ‘AL’ trap. Words ending in ‘AL’ are everywhere in Wordle (PENAL, VENAL, FOCAL, LOCAL, etc.). If you’ve confirmed that the last letter is ‘L’, don’t assume you know the word immediately — check what other letters could fit before committing.
- Use your second guess strategically. If your first word gives you yellow letters, try to place them in different positions with your second guess. CLEAN was the perfect second move today because it repositioned ‘A’, ‘E’, and added ‘L’ and ‘N’ — two of the most useful consonants.
- When in doubt, consider the alternative. WordleBot confirmed that VENAL was the only other viable answer after my second guess. If you find yourself with two options, think about which one is more common in everyday English. That’s usually the right pick.
Here’s a quick reference table of the best starting words from today’s analysis:
| Starting Word | Remaining Possibilities | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| ORATE | 126 | Solid but leaves many options |
| CARPS | 34 | Strong choice today |
| PLOTS | 13 | Excellent for this puzzle |
| LANCE | 3 | Nearly perfect opener |
| LEAPS | 3 | Also nearly perfect |
More Wordle Resources
If you’re looking for a list of older Wordle answers, we can also help. Here’s a list going back 20 games. We also have a daily guide to today’s NYT Connections hints and answer, so head on over there if you’re having trouble.
Pips is the Times’ newest game, which involves arranging dominoes in a particular order. We’ve got today’s Pips hints and answers if you need help completing the puzzles.
If you’ve solved Wordle and need help with other games from the New York Times, we suggest you check out our guide on today’s NYT Strands answer, which will give you an overview of how the game works and how to solve the puzzle.
If you’re eager for another game to pass the time while you wait, we’ve put together a list of the best Wordle alternatives. We also have a page on today’s Quordle answers, because it’s our favorite. Other Wordle alternatives to try are the ultra-stressful (but very good) Squabble and the soccer-themed Who Are Ya? We also like the geography-based Worldle, the Star Wars-themed SWordle, and the math-based Mathler.
There are certainly plenty of options once you’ve finished Wordle for the day!
Wordle Basics: How to Play
Wordle is a simple game in which your challenge is to guess a five-letter word in six attempts. Each time you guess, you’re told which of your chosen letters are in the target word and whether they are in the right place.
If a letter is in the correct place, it turns green. If it’s in the word but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it’s not in the word at all, it turns gray.
There’s just one puzzle a day, and everyone completes the same one. It resets at midnight each day. Wordle officially launched in October 2021, but actually started in June of that year and celebrated its first birthday on June 19, 2022. It proved so successful that The New York Times bought Wordle for a seven-figure sum in early February, and the game is now part of NYT Games.
It’s played via the NYT Games website and is entirely free. Both the NYT and the game’s creator, Josh Wardle, have stated that it will remain free. Some people think that Wordle has gotten harder since the NYT takeover, but it really hasn’t.
The best tip I can give is to use one of the best Wordle start words. I can’t stress this enough — it makes a massive difference. Without one, you’ll be scrabbling around in the dark trying to find the right five letters out of 26 possibles. But clever people have done the math and identified the best start words based on both frequency in English and frequency among Wordle answers. So use them!
Secondly, think about combinations, especially at the start and end. Some options are far more common than others — for instance, SH, ST, CR, and CH all feature frequently. Vowels obviously need consideration too: not all Wordle answers will contain more than one, but plenty do, and some even have three. A good Wordle start word should have used a couple, but if they don’t feature you might well want to try another one or two on your next go. Plus, remember the Y — this sometimes acts as a surrogate vowel, and is easy to forget. It also appears at the end of plenty of words.
Finally, try out possibilities. So long as you don’t press ‘Enter’, you can try possible answers to see how they look on screen. Put in likely letters plus any you know are definitely in the word, then mentally change one to the other available options. This technique has worked for me multiple times, and it’s particularly helpful when the word in question is not an obvious one.
Good luck with tomorrow’s puzzle, Wordlers!
