Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1820, and this Saturday 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 #1820 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 2 vowel(s)
Consonant Count: 3 consonant(s)
Repeated Letters: Yes - the letter L appears twice
Letter Rarity: Contains uncommon letter Q
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 of silencing a crowd with authority.
Level 2 (The Category): This word is a verb. It's the act of putting something to an end or suppressing it.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with Q, ends with L.
Level 4 (The Structure): The double consonant sits at the end of the word.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): To subdue or silence something completely.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: Q
Last Letter: L
Vowels Present: U, E
Double Letters: YES
Rhymes With: WELL, BELL, FELL
Today's Wordle Answer
Final warning: The answer is directly below. Scroll only if you're ready.
---
---
---
---
---
The answer to Wordle #1820 is: QUELL
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
QUELL is a verb meaning to put an end to something, typically by the use of force or authority, to suppress, subdue, or silence.
Origins: Derived from Old English cwellan, meaning "to kill," which evolved through Middle English to the modern sense of suppressing or calming. The same root gives us "kill" through a different linguistic branch.
Word Family: quelled, quelling, quells, unquelled
Fun Fact: Q is one of the rarest starting letters in Wordle history, fewer than 2% of all Wordle answers begin with Q, making today's puzzle a genuine statistical outlier.
The Streak Saver Rating
Difficulty: 3 / 5
Trap Factor: HIGH. The opening Q is a psychological hurdle, most players don't test Q early, so by the time they discover it, they've often burned three or four guesses on common consonants.
Average Solve: 3.8 guesses (estimate based on difficulty)
This puzzle earns a solid 3 out of 5 not because the word itself is obscure, QUELL is a perfectly common English verb, but because of the dreaded Q. Standard Wordle openers like CRANE, SLATE, or AUDIO won't reveal that Q. You'll need to pivot into less common territory once you've exhausted the typical letters, and that's where streaks die. The double L at the end is a helpful anchor once you spot it, but getting there requires navigating a low-frequency starting letter.
What This Puzzle Teaches
Never ignore the value of a good elimination word. When your first two guesses return nothing but grays and maybe a yellow vowel, deploy a word like QUIFF, QUERY, or QUOTA to test for Q early. It's a low-probability play that saves your streak when the answer is a Q-word.
Pay attention to consonant clusters. QUELL uses a Q-U-E open followed by a double L close. Once you confirm the vowel pattern (U and E in positions 2 and 3), the double L at the end narrows the field dramatically. Pattern recognition is faster than brute force.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1821 drops at midnight in your timezone. Did today's QUELL 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.
