Today's Wordle Answer #615 - February 24, 2023 Solution And Hints

Nils Huenerfuerst/Unsplash

By Keyede Erinfolami/Feb. 24, 2023 12:01 am EST

Yesterday's Wordle answer was vague (literally), but it was still clearer than many of the words we've encountered in this month's puzzles. Today's answer is one of those words dividing players into two camps: those who think the term is obscure and those who think it is commonplace.

WordleBot reports that it took the average player five attempts to figure out the word, so it looks like there are more people in the former camp, although that might have more to do with the letter combination than its popularity. To help you unravel the mystery in fewer tries, we'll share some hints that should point you toward the solution word. If you'd rather not do the head-scratching, you can skip to the second section for a full reveal, no teasers.

The word of the day is a noun that describes an arch-shaped wooden shelter in a garden around which plants, usually climbing shrubs or vines, grow. You might see one at a garden or a garden wedding.

Our mystery word has two vowels, A and O — with O as the fourth letter. The word's second letter is also repeated as the fifth. It almost rhymes with a verb that means to loathe or detest something. If you add the letter H to the beginning of the word, you'd have the name for the place where ships or boats are docked.

Enric Cruz López/ Pexels

If you're still unsure, the solution you seek is "arbor." An arbor is a pergola covered with creeping vines, used as shelter or decoration, usually in a garden. According to Merriam-Webster, the word also describes the axle of a wheel or a mounting shaft for a revolving cutting tool.

Per Etymonline, arbor originates in Old French "erbier," which means field, meadow, or kitchen garden, from the Latin "herba," meaning grass or herb. Around the 14th century, its meaning evolved to "a shaded nook" or "bower formed by intertwining of trees, shrubs, or vines," which is still used.

Interestingly, the use of the word in the sense of a structure covered with vegetation is not directly traced to the Latin "arbor," which means tree. However, some etymological sources propose that it might have influenced the spelling. This Latin "arbor" is the base of an alternate definition of today's word, "the main support or beam of a machine."

In solving today's puzzle, we chose "bland" as a starting word, but it took three more guesses — pasty, waive, and crook — before we arrived at the answer. WordleBot did it in four guesses, and we hope you finish faster.

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5 games Wordle fans should check out now

chordbug (Lynn)/Hello Wordl

By Rob Rich/Feb. 1, 2022 6:10 pm EST

If you've been enjoying Wordle's brain-teasing word puzzles but have started considering alternatives for any particular reason, there are certainly many options out there — so many, in fact, it could be overwhelming. Having an idea of where to look may be useful, and so we've assembled a short list of Wordle-adjacent games you might want to check out.

These titles include everything from spatial organization to grid-filling games, plus there's a clone if that's what you really want. Several of the options on this list are available on more than one platform, including web browsers, Android and iOS devices, Steam, and game consoles.

Though these alternatives aren't all specifically word games, we did try to keep the spirit of Wordle's accessible-yet-challenging approach to puzzles in mind. As well, we did find a nearly direct copy of Wordle, one that brings some small additions to the formula.

Spry Fox

Triple Town's puzzles are far more focused on space and object placement, but no less taxing on your brain. Everything on the board – from rocks and trees to buildings and bushes – can be combined in connected groups of three or more to create one "upgraded" piece (three grass tiles become a bush, three bushes become a tree).

What's so insidious about Spry Fox's puzzle game is that the board can fill up pretty fast, leaving you with fewer good locations to place whatever the next piece is. The wandering bears don't help, either. The game may not use words, but it can be extremely difficult to put down all the same – even if (or when, really) you lose. But if you're prepared to take on the challenge, you can find Triple Town on iOS and Android for free, or on Steam for $9.99.

Barry Gilbert

You won't be guessing letters and words, but nonograms still require a fair bit of deductive logic. All you have to do is use the numbers provided in the various rows and columns to figure out which squares to fill in and which ones to leave blank – similar to something like sudoku, but more visual and a little less math-y.

Barry Gilbert's Nonograms Online gets a recommendation because it's a solid place to start for new nonogram players or a good way for more seasoned players to brush up on their techniques. There are no real penalties for being wrong, puzzles can be adjusted from 5x5 grids up to 25x25, and there are quite a few to cycle through.

Really, the only downside is that, unlike some other nonogram puzzles, you aren't left with a pixelated image when you're done. Nonogram-style puzzles are available in many varieties spread across just about every platform imaginable, but Nonograms Online is specifically available in your web browser.

Rocketship Park

Unlike Wordle, the goal in Rocketship Park's Word Forward is to use a grid of letters to spell a bunch of words rather than piece together a specific one. It's sort of like Boggle in a sense, except that successfully spelling a word makes the rest of the puzzle more difficult. Every time you complete a word your letters disappear, so you'll have to plan ahead in addition to all the spelling you'll already be doing.

This is made all the more difficult when you consider that every move you make is locked-in, so you can't go back and change your mind. At least that used to be the case, but a recent update did add an Undo feature. And while it's not a free download, Word Forward is available across multiple platforms including Android ($2.99), iOS ($3.99), Switch ($4.99), and Steam ($4.99).

Zach Gage

Zach Gage and Jack Schlesinger's SpellTower is another strategic word search, but now you're on the clock! Or more specifically, you have to spell words and clear letter tiles quickly enough to prevent everything from piling up and reaching the top of the screen. If even one letter touches the top, it's game over, so you'll have to keep your cool while also trying to spell under a time limit.

This game also adds a layer of complexity by having the tiles shift and settle every time space is cleared. This dynamic will change where different letters are in relation to one another as you play to open up new spelling opportunities — or close others off completely. If you aren't careful, you could end up making things harder for yourself. If you want to check out SpellTower, you can download it for free for iOS or Android, or get it through Apple Arcade.

chordbug (Lynn)

If anything other than Wordle won't do, there's always hello wordl, which is basically just Wordle. It's the same "six guesses to figure out a five-letter word via the process of elimination" approach you're likely already familiar with. Except it's also not, because along with the one-try daily word puzzle you can also just keep playing random ones to your heart's content.

In addition, the size of the word is adjustable using a slider at the top of the page that allows you to choose between 4-letter to 11-letter brain-teasers. Just like Wordle, you can play the game in your web browser or save the bookmark to your phone's home screen, effectively making it function like an app. The game is free to play, and the info page states it will remain that way forever.

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