Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1685, and this Thursday challenge brings a straightforward adjective with common letters, but its deceptive simplicity could still trip up players expecting more complexity. 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 #1685 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 1 vowel(s)
Consonant Count: 4 consonant(s)
Repeated Letters: No
Letter Rarity: All common letters
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 something that crumbles under pressure or can't be counted on.
Level 2 (The Category): This word is an adjective. It describes something that breaks apart easily or someone who's unreliable.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with F, ends with Y.
Level 4 (The Structure): The vowel sits in position 3.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): Describing pastry that falls apart or a friend who never shows up.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: F
Last Letter: Y
Vowels Present: A
Double Letters: NO
Rhymes With: SHAKY, CAKEY, FAKEY
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 #1685 is: FLAKY
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
FLAKY adjective. Describes something that breaks or separates easily into small thin pieces, or a person who is unreliable or inconsistent.
Origins: From "flake" (Middle English "flaken" meaning to break into flakes) + "-y" suffix forming adjectives.
Word Family: flake, flakier, flakiest, flakiness
Fun Fact: The word appears in both culinary contexts (flaky pastry) and personality descriptions (flaky friend), making it one of those versatile adjectives that bridges physical and behavioral traits.
The Streak Saver Rating
Difficulty: 2 / 5
Trap Factor: LOW. All letters are common, no double letters, straightforward pattern
Average Solve: 3.8 guesses (estimate based on difficulty)
This puzzle rates as relatively easy due to its all-common-letter composition and absence of tricky patterns. The main challenge comes from the single vowel structure, which might throw off players who expect more vowel-heavy words. The F-start isn't particularly rare, and the Y-ending is common for adjectives.
What This Puzzle Teaches
This word demonstrates the value of testing common consonants early - F, L, K, and Y are all in the top 20 most common English consonants. A good opening guess that includes several of these letters would provide excellent elimination data.
The single vowel pattern (A in position 3) shows that not all Wordle answers follow the common vowel-heavy patterns. Players should remember that some valid answers have only one vowel, especially when that vowel is the common A.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1686 drops at midnight in your timezone. Did today's FLAKY 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.
