Wordle quickly developed into a global sensation after first being released to the public by Josh Wardle in October 2021.
Part of the game’s beauty is its simplicity, which means almost anyone can play even if they have no experience with word puzzles.
Each day the player has to work out a new five letter word in six guesses or less. After each attempt the letters light up, letting you know how accurate you were.
If a letter goes green it is both in the word, and in the position you put it. Yellow means the letter features, but not where you placed it, whilst gray tells you it’s not included at all.
Speaking to Newsweek in January 2022 Wardle explained why he settled on five letter words. He said: “There is a reason that every word is 5 letters long and that you are allowed six attempts to guess it. That might seem arbitrary but, with the prototype version, I tested different word lengths and experimented with the number of tries that players were allowed.
“Through that process of refinement, I figured out that five letters and six tries was the ideal sweet spot. It’s just limited enough to feel challenging and to make you think, but most of the time people still manage to solve it. So, you feel a real sense of real accomplishment.”
Wordle’s popularity has helped inspire a number of other online games, including Worldle for geography enthusiasts and Nerdle for fans of math.
In January 2022 Wardle sold Wordle to the New York Times for an undisclosed seven-figure fee, though the game remains free to play.
The answer to today’s puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself. To help you solve today’s Wordle, Newsweek has provided some hints and tips on the latest game.
‘Wordle’ #555 Tips and Clues for Monday, December 26
Wordle players can use these five hints to solve puzzle #555.
Hint #1: Today’s word contains two vowels.
Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #3: Both the second and fifth letters are vowels.
Hint #4: There is no ‘I’ in team. The same applies to today’s Wordle.
Hint #5: Think legal.
‘Wordle’ #555 Answer for Monday, December 26
The answer to today’s Wordle is “Judge.”
Well, that was a good brainteaser! Did you get it? If so, congratulations. But please don’t worry if not. One of the best things about Wordle is seeing if you can improve your performance over time. Either way we hope to see you again tomorrow for the next puzzle.
What Does ‘Judge’ Mean?
The Cambridge University Dictionary defines Judge as “a person who is in charge of a trial in a court and decides how a person who is guilty of a crime should be punished, or who makes decisions on legal matters.”
For example: “The judge reminded the witness that she was under oath.”
The next Wordle puzzle will be available at 7 p.m. ET, when the daily update occurs.
