Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1973, and a familiar idea arrives in a spelling that can make a promising board feel stubborn. Whether you’re protecting a streak or joining fresh, there’s a useful lesson in keeping your options open.
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 #1973 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 3 vowel(s)
Consonant Count: 2 consonant(s)
Repeated Letters: No repeats today
Letter Rarity: Includes the rare letter X
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): Picture someone stepping forward when everyone else hangs back.
Level 2 (The Category): A noun for spirited confidence and the nerve to act.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with M, ends with E.
Level 4 (The Structure): All five letters are different, and the vowels sit in positions 2 and 4 and 5.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): The guts and gumption to tackle something intimidating.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: M
Last Letter: E
Vowels Present: O, I, E
Double Letters: No
Rhymes With: FOXY, BOXY
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 #1973 is: MOXIE
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
MOXIE means courage, determination, or energetic initiative. Someone shows it by pitching a bold idea or standing up for a colleague despite pressure to stay quiet.
Origins: The noun comes from the name of an American soft drink marketed with claims of restoring energy. That association helped the name become a word for spirited determination.
Word Family: moxie
Fun Fact: A drink name became a compact word for courage, giving this answer a connection between branding and everyday speech. In Wordle, that familiar meaning can be easier to recognize than its spelling is to uncover.
The Streak Saver Rating
I’d rate this 4 out of 5 for the central-X trap. Three vowels and no repeated letters offer useful footholds, but the X between O and I makes the spelling harder to assemble from partial clues.
Finding the vowels can tempt you to keep testing familiar consonants while leaving X untouched. If your clues permit it, a probe such as TOXIC tests X alongside O and I, but every guess should respect the evidence already on your board.
What This Puzzle Teaches
When several vowels are confirmed but the word still won’t come together, reconsider the consonants you’ve left untested. Choose a guess that resolves a specific uncertainty instead of recycling letters whose roles you already understand.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1974 drops at midnight in your timezone, Friday handing the streak over to a fresh board.
Did the unusual consonant click into place, or did you need the meaning hint to finish? Take that lesson into your next board with a fresh start.
See you at midnight for the next challenge.