Today’s Wordle #681 Hints, Clues And Answers For Monday, May 1st

Hey look, it’s May 1st! April has fled, and in its place a brand new month—the month with the shortest name of them all.

May 1st is also known as May Day, which is something of a pagan holiday-turned workers’ rights holiday. Socialists and druids dance in the streets around the maypole, or something like that.

The history of May Day is actually quite fascinating. Here are some of its many origins:

Ancient Pagan Festivals: May Day has its roots in ancient pagan festivals that celebrated the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature. The festival was known as Beltane in Gaelic-speaking regions of Europe and was celebrated on the night before May 1st.

Roman Festival of Floralia: The Roman festival of Floralia, which was celebrated in honor of the goddess Flora, also took place around the same time as Beltane. The festival was known for its revelry and dancing.

Maypole Dancing: Maypole dancing, which is a traditional May Day activity, originated in medieval Europe. The maypole was a tall wooden pole decorated with ribbons, flowers, and other decorations. People would dance around the maypole while holding onto the ribbons.

International Workers’ Day: In the late 19th century, May Day became associated with the international labor movement. In 1886, a general strike was called in the United States to demand an eight-hour workday. On May 4th of that year, a bomb was thrown at a labor demonstration in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, killing several people. In 1889, the International Socialist Congress declared May 1st as International Workers’ Day in honor of the Haymarket martyrs.

Soviet Union: After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, May Day became a major holiday in the Soviet Union and other communist countries. The day was celebrated with parades, speeches, and demonstrations.

Modern Celebrations: Today, May Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In some countries, it is a national holiday, while in others it is celebrated as a traditional spring festival. Maypole dancing, flower crowns, and other traditional activities are still part of many May Day celebrations.

It’s kind of fascinating that a day with such a rich history isn’t acknowledged more in our culture. I suspect it has something to do with an imbalance of capital and labor, or perhaps the lack of a corresponding Christian holiday to absorb the old pagan rituals, but I could be wrong.

It’s Wordle time!

How To Solve Today’s Wordle

The Hint: Where the deer and the antelope play.

The Clue: This word ends with a vowel.

The Answer:

.

.

.

I hate to brag, but today I must: Not only did I get this one in two, but I used some deductive reasoning to get there. You may recall, my very first Wordle hole-in-one was on April 1st (which is terrible timing to get a Wordle in one guess since people might think you’re just April Fool’s Day pranking). I actually guessed April that day, but Wordle rejected the answer. April is not, it appears, on the acceptable guess list.

So then I guessed march, and lo and behold that was the answer. March and April are the only two months with five letters, so I couldn’t very well guess either of them today. May also wouldn’t work. So I started thinking about the words that one might associate with today’s holiday, May Day. It occurred to me that people dance around the Maypole, so I popped in dance and voila! Three green boxes!

At this point I could think of just two words it could be: range and mange (I learned later from Wordle Bot that manse was also an option, but it didn’t occur to me at the time). I picked one and—lucky for me—range was the Wordle. Huzzah!

My score today: Easily my best score in a long time. +2 for guessing in just two guesses and +1 for beating Wordle Bot, who guessed in three. That’s a total of +3 today! Huzzah!

Today’s Wordle Etymology (Via ChatGPT)

The word “range” has multiple meanings and therefore multiple etymologies, but the most common one refers to a series or extent of things in a row or sequence.

This sense of “range” comes from the Old French word “range,” which meant a row or line of things. The Old French word, in turn, comes from the Frankish word “hring,” which meant a circle or ring. The sense of “hring” evolved in Old High German to mean a series or row, which was borrowed into Old French as “range.”

In English, the word “range” originally referred to a row or line of things, and it was used in the context of hunting to refer to the distance that a shot could reach. From there, it came to be used to refer to a series or extent of mountains, and eventually to any series or extent of things in a row or sequence.

Play Competitive Wordle Against Me!

I’ve been playing a cutthroat game of PvP Wordle against my nemesis Wordle But. Now you should play against me! I can be your nemesis! (And your helpful Wordle guide, of course). You can also play against the Bot if you have a New York Times subscription.

• Here are the rules:1 point for getting the Wordle in 3 guesses.
• 2 points for getting it in 2 guesses.
• 3 points for getting it in 1 guess.
• 1 point for beating Erik
• 0 points for getting it in 4 guesses.
• -1 point for getting it in 5 guesses.
• -2 points for getting it in 6 guesses.
• -3 points for losing.
• -1 point for losing to Erik

You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.

I’d love it if you gave me a follow on Twitter or Facebook dearest Wordlers. Have a lovely day!

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