Today’s Wordle #698 Hints, Clues And Answer For Thursday, May 18th

Another Thor’s Day, another Wordle!

I thought today we’d see what interesting, important and noteworthy things have taken place on the 18th of May over the course of history. After all, we need to know our history or we’ll be doomed to repeat it. (After a divorce or two, you’ll understand what that means!)

Some pretty big events went down over the last thousand years, from royal marriages to erupting volcanoes to social media companies going public.

On this day in history:

1. 1152: Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, who later becomes one of the most powerful queens in medieval Europe.
2. 1642: The city of Montreal in Canada is founded by French missionary and explorer Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve.
3. 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French, establishing the First French Empire.
4. 1896: The U.S. Supreme Court delivers its landmark decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.
5. 1926: Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting Venice Beach, California, sparking a massive search and media frenzy. She reappears weeks later, claiming to have been kidnapped.
6. 1944: During World War II, the Battle of Monte Cassino concludes with the Allies’ victory over German forces, an important step toward liberating Italy.
7. 1980: The eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State, United States, kills 57 people and causes significant destruction to the surrounding area.
8. 1991: The Somaliland region declares independence from Somalia, although it has not been internationally recognized as a separate country.
9. 2005: The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, comes into effect, aimed at bringing peace to Northern Ireland.
10. 2012: Facebook, the social networking giant, has its initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ stock exchange, becoming one of the largest tech IPOs in history.

I almost forgot, we also need to answer yesterday’s Wordle Wednesday riddle / logic puzzle. The riddle was:

You are in a dungeon maze and have arrived at the final room. There are two guards and two doors. One door leads to freedom, and the other to a monster’s cavern and certain death. One guard always lies, the other always tells the truth. They know which they are. The guards know where the two doors go. You do not know which guard is which or which door is which. You may ask one question. What do you ask to determine which door leads to freedom?

The answer:

You would ask, “If I were to ask the other guard which door leads to freedom, what would they say?” and then pick the opposite door. This is because the liar will lie about what the truth-teller would say, and point to the death door, whereas the truth-teller will tell the truth about what the liar would say and also point to the death door. So you know that whatever door is pointed to leads to death!

Alright, let’s do this Wordle!

How To Solve Today’s Wordle

The Hint: A sheep relieved of its most prized possession.

The Clue: This word has far more consonants than vowels.

The Answer:

.

.

.

Today’s Wordle Etymology

The word “shorn” is the past participle of the verb “shear.” The term “shear” originated from the Old English word “scearan,” which means “to cut.” Over time, “scearan” evolved into “sheren” in Middle English, and eventually became “shear” in modern English.

The past participle form “shorn” developed through regular linguistic processes. In Old English, the past participle form was “scoren.” However, due to the influence of other verbs with similar forms, such as “torn” and “worn,” the “s” sound in “scoren” changed to “sh” to align with those patterns. Thus, “scoren” became “shoren” and later transformed into “shorn” as we know it today.

“Shorn” is commonly used to describe something that has been cut or trimmed, particularly in reference to shearing the wool off sheep or cutting hair. It can also be used metaphorically to indicate the removal or reduction of something.

Wordle Bot Analysis

After I complete a Wordle I always head over to check in with Wordle Bot to see how I scored, both in terms of each individual guess and whether or not I outsmarted the Bot.

Not bad, but for a moment there I thought I was getting this one in just two guesses. Four green boxes turned over on my second guess, and you can imagine how crestfallen I was when the ‘E’ popped up grey.

Trial only reduced my options to 210, but shore took me almost the rest of the way. Only one word remained: shorn for the win!

Today’s Score: 1 point for guessing in three, 0 points for tying the Bot. Total: 1 point. Huzzah!

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!