Sure! Here’s a rewritten version of the article:
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**Hello! Are you prepared for today’s Wordle challenge?**
If you’re here, it’s likely time to tackle today’s Wordle puzzle. As usual, we’re ready to offer you useful tips and techniques to solve the mystery.
If you’re simply in search of today’s solution, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this article where the answer is disclosed. However, if you prefer to figure it out on your own, stay tuned for some hints and clues to assist you along the journey.
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### **What exactly is Wordle, and how did it originate?**
Wordle was created by engineer Josh Wardle as a meaningful gift for his partner. It swiftly became a worldwide phenomenon, with countless players engaging with the daily puzzle. The game’s surge in popularity even motivated fans to create their own variations, including entertaining spin-offs like:
– **Squabble**: A Wordle in battle royale format.
– **Heardle**: A game for guessing music.
– **Dordle** and **Quordle**: Variants in which players guess multiple words at once.
Wordle’s enormous success ultimately garnered the interest of *The New York Times*, which acquired the game. It also gained traction on TikTok, where content creators broadcast their Wordle-solving experiences live.
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### **What’s the optimal starting word for Wordle?**
The optimal starting word is one that feels right to you! However, if you’re leaning towards a more tactical approach, think about selecting a word that contains at least two different vowels along with a blend of frequent consonants like S, T, R, or N. Seeking inspiration? We have some ideas to kickstart your game.
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### **What became of the Wordle archive?**
Previously, players had the option to explore an archive of earlier Wordle puzzles for leisurely play. Nevertheless, this feature was removed at the behest of *The New York Times*. The silver lining? The *Times* now provides its own Wordle Archive, but it’s exclusively for NYT Games subscribers.
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### **Is Wordle becoming more difficult?**
It may appear that Wordle has gotten trickier, but rest assured that the difficulty level remains unchanged since the game launched. If you’re seeking an additional challenge, you can always activate Wordle’s **Hard Mode**, which requires you to use revealed letters in your following guesses.
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### **Hints for today’s Wordle**
Need a bit of help to crack today’s puzzle? Here are some hints to assist you:
– **Subtle clue**: It signifies to publicly condemn.
– **Duplicate letters?** Nope, today’s word doesn’t include any repetitive letters.
– **Initial letter**: The word starts with the letter **D**.
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### **And today’s Wordle answer is…**
Time’s up! If you’re ready for the big reveal, here’s today’s Wordle answer:
**DECRY**
Don’t stress if you didn’t nail it this time—there’s always tomorrow’s puzzle to anticipate! We’ll return with more hints and strategies to support you.
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**Searching for more puzzles?**
If you love Wordle, why not check out other games? Visit Mashable’s [games hub](https://games.mashable.com/) for Mahjong, Sudoku, crosswords, and more.
Missed yesterday’s Wordle? [Here’s the answer to December 27’s puzzle](https://mashable.com/article/wordle-today-answer-december-27-2024).
Enjoy puzzling!
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*This article was contributed to by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg.*