Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1818, and this Thursday challenge delivers a word that feels straightforward but hides a double-letter trap. 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 #1818 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 1 vowel (E)
Consonant Count: 4 consonants (T, S, T, Y)
Repeated Letters: Yes - the letter T appears twice (positions 1 and 4)
Letter Rarity: All common letters, but the double T adds a wrinkle that can stall progress
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 about someone who's had a rough day and is running low on patience.
Level 2 (The Category): This word is an adjective. It describes a person's mood or temperament.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with T, ends with Y.
Level 4 (The Structure): The only vowel sits in position 2, and the same consonant bookends the word.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): Irritable and short-tempered, often with a sharp edge to every response.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: T
Last Letter: Y
Vowels Present: E
Double Letters: Yes - T appears twice
Rhymes With: ZESTY, RESTY, FESTY
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 #1818 is: TESTY
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
TESTY is an adjective meaning easily annoyed or irritable, the kind of word that describes a mood everyone recognizes but nobody enjoys.
Origins: Derived from Anglo-Norman French "testif," meaning headstrong or stubborn, which itself came from "teste" (head). The link is simple: being testy means being so wrapped up in your own head that patience evaporates.
Word Family: testily, testiness
Fun Fact: TESTY shares etymological roots with "testament" and "testify", all trace back to the Latin "testis" (witness), but took radically different paths. While one branch gave us legal testimony, another gave us a word for being cranky.
The Streak Saver Rating
Difficulty: 3 / 5
Trap Factor: MEDIUM. The double T is the primary trap, many players rule out repeated letters too early, burning guesses on variants with a single T.
Average Solve: 3.8 guesses (estimated)
TESTY isn't an obscure word, but its structure creates friction. With only one vowel and a repeated consonant, players who lock in T as the first letter often waste turns trying T?ST? combinations before landing on the correct pattern. Standard openers like STARE or SLATE will reveal S, T, and E early, giving you a solid foundation if you don't get tunnel vision on the double letter.
What This Puzzle Teaches
Repeated letters are more common than new players think. When you've got three grays and two yellows on a T-first word, don't assume the T only appears once. Wordle loves doubling up, and ignoring that possibility is the fastest way to waste a guess.
Vowel-sparse words demand discipline. With only E as a vowel, TESTY forces you to consider Y as a vowel-like ending, a pattern that appears in dozens of Wordle answers (FUNKY, JUMPY, CANDY). Train yourself to treat final-position Y as a legitimate vowel signal.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1819 drops at midnight in your timezone. Did today's TESTY 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.
