BRAZIL – 2023/08/09: In this photo illustration, a person plays on a joystick and the Wordle logo … [+]
Another lazy Sunday has arrived! It’s the last Sunday of October and just a couple days before Halloween. Pretty crazy. Time really does fly—whether or not you’re having fun!
It’s been a hectic week around here and I’m quite convinced that there is literally never going to be enough time to get it all done, but I suppose them’s the breaks and all that jazz.
I wrote two streaming guides this weekend. You can read my regular ‘What To Watch’ list here, and a special scary movie list here.
In the meantime, let’s do this Wordle!
How To Solve Today’s Word
The Hint: Fake. Fraud.
The Clue: This Wordle begins with two consonants.
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Today’s Wordle
See yesterday’s Wordle #861 right here.
Wordle Bot Analysis
After each Wordle I solve I head over to the Wordle Bot homepage to see how my guessing game was.
This went from bad to good pretty quickly. I did my best to keep a spooky Halloween theme going, but it was my third guess that cinched it. Scare was actually the worst the three, leaving me with a whopping 329 words to pick from.
I obviously needed all new letters so I went with ghoul for my second guess and that narrowed things down to just a handful. I was waffling between photo and phony and thankfully went with the latter. Phony for the win!
Today’s Score
Just like yesterday: I get 1 point for guessing in three and 0 for tying the Bot. I’ll take it! Huzzah!
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The term “phony” (also spelled “phoney” in British English) is believed to have originated in the late 19th to early 20th century. Its exact etymology is not entirely clear, but there are a few theories:
- Fawney Rig: One popular theory traces “phony” back to a confidence trick known as the “fawney rig.” In this scam, a brass ring (the “fawney”) would be dropped by a swindler in front of a potential victim. The swindler would pretend to find the ring and offer to sell it to the victim, claiming it was gold. The word “fawney” comes from the Irish word “fáinne,” which means “ring.” The scam itself is British in origin and dates back to at least the early 19th century. Over time, “fawney” might have evolved into “phony,” describing something that is fake or not genuine.
- Phone: Another theory, albeit less popular, suggests that “phony” might be derived from the word “phone,” as in “megaphone” or “telephone.” The idea is that these devices could be used to distort or misrepresent the human voice, leading to the term being used more broadly to refer to anything fake or deceptive.
- Phonograph: Yet another theory suggests a connection to the phonograph. Early phonographs might not have replicated sound perfectly, leading people to describe the reproduced sound as “phony.”
Regardless of its precise origin, by the early 20th century, “phony” was firmly established in American English as slang for something that was fake or not genuine.
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 me
- 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 me
You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.
