Today’s Wordle #685 Hints, Clues And Answer For Friday, May 5th

Today is the 685th Wordle, which means that in just about two weeks we will hit lucky number 700. This means that we’re still not even one third of the way through all the possible Wordle words, which sit at just over 2,300 last I checked.

I still think that The New York Times should release a 6-letter version of the game, with a whole new batch of words and that little extra challenge. Nothing crazy. Just . . . Wordle+. Everything has a ‘+’ by it these days. From here on out, you can refer to me as Erik+.

Yesterday was Star Wars Day and I wrote about the 40th anniversary of the very best Star Wars movie ever made. You can read about that right here.

Okay, let’s do this Wordle!

How To Solve Today’s Wordle

The Hint: The second verse of the Emerald Tablet. As above . . .

The Clue: This word has more consonants than vowels.

The Answer:

.

.

.

I admit I was a little bit distracted and in a hurry while solving today’s Wordle. I’m sure I could have done a little bit better with a little bit more time and consideration, but I am swamped and time is simply not a luxury I have at the moment. My score is very bad today, but we’ll get to that.

Jedis wasn’t a terrible opening guess, but it’s a day late for May the 4th (aka Star Wars Day) which is probably why it was such a bust, leaving me with 167 words to choose from.

Teary was probably not a great guess. I should have gone for a new vowel instead of the ‘E’ in green again. This left me with 31 words remaining and still just that one letter in green.

At this point I changed course, ditching the E and going for another vowel and more common letters. Maybe I should have guessed something with ‘O’ also, but I was in a hurry and distracted. Nevertheless, mulch did get rid of a lot of the remaining possible words, leaving me with three to choose from.

I guessed felon but crime doesn’t pay, and so it came down to my fifth and final guess to try below. At last, the win.

My score today: I get -1 for guessing in 5 and -1 for losing to the Bot, who got his in just 4. That’s -2 x 2 for Friday 2XP = -4. OUCH!!! (See below for rules).

Today’s Wordle Etymology (Via ChatGPT)

The word “below” is derived from the Old English word “bī-līfan,” which means “by the side of, along with.” Over time, the word evolved to “be-lifan” and then to “biloefan,” which means “under” or “beneath.” Finally, the word “below” emerged in Middle English as a combination of the words “be-” and “lofen,” which meant “low, down.”

The prefix “be-” is a Germanic prefix that means “by” or “near,” and the root “lofen” means “to go, to move.” Together, they give the sense of “going or moving near or down” and hence “beneath” or “below.”

The word “below” has been in use in English since the 14th century and has retained its basic meaning of “in a lower position or rank” ever since.

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!

As always, I’d love it if you’d follow me here on this blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel and my Substack so you can stay up-to-date on all my TV, movie and video game reviews and coverage. Thanks!