Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1815, and this Monday challenge brings an uncommon starting letter that could trip up even seasoned players. Whether you're protecting a legendary streak or starting fresh, we've got the hints to guide you home.
The Basics (For New Players)
Wordle gives you six attempts to crack a five-letter word. After each guess, tiles change color: green means right letter, right spot; yellow signals right letter, wrong position; gray indicates the letter isn't in the word at all. One puzzle per day, shared by millions worldwide. That's the beauty of it.
Created by Josh Wardle in 2021 and now part of The New York Times Games family, Wordle has become a daily ritual for word lovers everywhere. Today's puzzle #1815 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 3 vowel(s)
Consonant Count: 2 consonant(s)
Repeated Letters: Yes - the letter A appears twice (positions 2 and 4)
Letter Rarity: M and F are less common starting letters, making this a tricky opener
The Elimination Game (Progressive Hints)
We've designed these hints to reveal just enough at each level. Stop when you've got it figured out.
Level 1 (The Vibe): Think organized crime, secret societies, and coded loyalties.
Level 2 (The Category): This word is a noun. It refers to a specific type of criminal organization.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with M, ends with A.
Level 4 (The Structure): Three vowels and two consonants. The same vowel appears twice in the word.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): A secret criminal society originating in Sicily, known for its code of silence.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: M
Last Letter: A
Vowels Present: A, I
Double Letters: Yes - A appears twice
Rhymes With: TAFIA, GRAFIA
Today's Wordle Answer
Final warning: The answer is directly below. Scroll only if you're ready.
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The answer to Wordle #1815 is: MAFIA
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
MAFIA noun. A secret criminal organization originating in Sicily, Italy, known for its hierarchical structure, code of silence (omertà), and involvement in organized crime across multiple industries.
Origins: The word entered English directly from Italian, where "mafia" originally referred to a sense of swagger, boldness, or defiance of authority in 19th-century Sicily. The modern criminal association solidified in the 1860s.
Word Family: mafioso, mafiosi, anti-mafia, mafia-like
Fun Fact: MAFIA is one of only a handful of Wordle answers that contain three vowels but only two consonants, a rare structural pattern that rewards players who prioritize vowel-heavy opening words like ADIEU or AUDIO.
The Streak Saver Rating
Difficulty: 3 / 5
Trap Factor: MEDIUM. The uncommon starting letter M and the double-A pattern can throw solvers off if they're locked into common-letter strategies.
Average Solve: 3.8 guesses (estimate based on difficulty)
This is a mid-tier challenge. The word itself is common enough in vocabulary, but M is not a frequent Wordle starting letter, it appears in roughly 3% of solutions. The double-A pattern also creates ambiguity: once you see one A, you might not expect another. Players who opened with a vowel-heavy word like ADIEU or AUDIO had a clear advantage here, as those picks would have lit up the A and I early.
What This Puzzle Teaches
Vowel-dominant words are rarer than they feel, but when they show up, they reward players who don't neglect their vowel coverage in the first two guesses. MAFIA's three vowels to two consonants ratio is a structural outlier, recognizing this pattern early is the difference between a three-guess solve and a panic on guess five.
Starting with a consonant like M also reinforces why balanced openers matter. If your first guess was something like STARE or CRANE (both heavy on common consonants), you'd have missed the A and I entirely. A mixed strategy, two consonants, three vowels in the opener, covers more ground against words like this one.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1816 drops at midnight in your timezone. Did today's MAFIA catch you off guard, or did you crack it in three? Either way, every Wordle sharpens your instincts for the next one.
See you at midnight for the next challenge.
