How to solve today’s Wordle.
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Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Wordlers! I hope you have a nice time with friends and family, especially if you have the day off of work (or school). We have a Wordle to solve, so let’s solve it!
Looking for Sunday’s Wordle? Check out our guide right here.
Today’s Bonus Wordle
Now that we can create our own custom Wordles, I’m including a bonus Wordle with each daily Wordle guide. These can be 4 to 7 letters long. Hopefully this is a fun extra challenge. Click the link below to play the Wordle I hand-crafted for you.
Today’s Bonus Custom Wordle is 4 letters long.
The hint: Musical storyteller.
The clue: This Wordle has more consonants than vowels.
Yesterday’s Custom Wordle Answer: NULLAH
How To Solve Today’s Wordle
How To Play Wordle
Wordle game website displayed on a phone screen is seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
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: CRATE (106 words remaining)
- The Hint: Candles will light your way.
- The Clue: This Wordle contains a 4-point and an 8-point Scrabble letter.
Okay, spoilers below! The answer is coming!
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The Answer:
Today’s Wordle
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Wordle Bot Analysis
Every day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordle score with Wordle Bot right here.
Another tough word, though perhaps not quite as tough as yesterday’s. This feels a bit archaic. CRATE was decent, leaving me with 106 possible solutions, and LADEN slashed that down to 5. Sadly, OAKEN only left me with 3 though the only thing I could come up with — other than HAVEN, which I was sure we’d already had as a Wordle — was WAXEN. I didn’t even consider, for instance, MAVEN.
Competitive Wordle Score
Today’s Wordle Bot
Screenshot: Erik Kain
The Wordle Bot and I tied with four which means we each get 0 points and our January totals remain:
Erik: 16 points
Wordle Bot: 2 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
Waxen comes from Old English weaxen, meaning “made of wax” or “to grow,” derived from the verb weaxan (“to increase, grow”). The adjective preserves both senses: composed of wax and having grown or become.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2026/01/18/nyt-wordle-monday/


