Today’s Wordle #1521 Hints And Answer For Monday, August 18th

How to solve today’s Wordle.

SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Well it was a lovely weekend, but Monday has returned. We’re in the back half of August now. For those of you who keep track of summer by months rather than solstices and equinoxes, we have less than two weeks until Autumn. Fortunately, we still have over a month to the Autumnal Equinox. Hard to believe we’re already approaching Pumpkin Spice Latte season.

Spring, summer or fall, we have a Wordle to solve!

Looking for yesterday’s Wordle? Check out hints, clues and the answer right here.

How To Play Wordle

Wordle is a daily word puzzle game where your goal is to guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries or fewer. After each guess, the game gives feedback to help you get closer to the answer:

• Green: The letter is in the word and in the correct spot.
• Yellow: The letter is in the word, but in the wrong spot.
• Gray: The letter is not in the word at all.

Use these clues to narrow down your guesses. Every day brings a new word, and everyone around the world is trying to solve the same puzzle. Some Wordlers also play Competitive Wordle against friends, family, the Wordle Bot or even against me, your humble narrator. See rules for Competitive Wordle toward the end of this post.

Today’s Wordle Hints And Answer

Wordle Bot’s Starting Word: SLATE

My Starting Word Today: SMITE (3 words remaining)

The Hint: Comic books have them. So do people with problems.

The Clue: This Wordle has a double letter.

Okay, spoilers below! The answer is coming!

.

.

.

The Answer:

Wordle Analysis

Every day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here.

I lucked out in a big way with SMITE, nabbing two yellow boxes and a green ‘E’. I didn’t know it at the time, but only three words remained. I came up with AISLE and ISSUE and I was pretty sure AISLE had been used already. I didn’t think of RINSE, which was the only other option today. Lucky for me, ISSUE was the Wordle and I snagged this one in just two tries! Huzzah!

Competitive Wordle Score

I get 2 points for guessing in two and 1 point for beating the Bot, in a bizarre reversal of roles today. Yesterday, the Bot got it in 2 and I got it in 4. The Bot loses 1 point for losing to me and gets 0 for guessing in four. This basically reverts our scores to yesterday’s August gap, though the total has changed:

Erik: 9 points

Wordle Bot: 13 points

How To Play Competitive Wordle

• Guessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.
• If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.
• Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your points—positive or negative.
• You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!

Today’s Wordle Etymology

Issue comes from Middle English issue (“exit, outcome, offspring”), borrowed from Old French issue “a going out, result,” from Latin exīre “to go out” (ex- “out” + īre “to go”). Its core sense was “a going out, a result, what comes forth.” From this developed two main branches: (1) offspring, outcome, problem, matter under discussion — things that “arise” from a source; and (2) in publishing, the act of sending out printed material, later extended to a single published installment, as in an issue of a magazine or comic book.

Be sure to follow me for all your daily puzzle-solving guides, TV show and movie reviews and more here on this blog!