Wordle puzzle
Wordle puzzle

NEW YORK — The New York Times released a new Wordle puzzle at midnight local time Friday, and while the answer is a familiar word, its letter pattern may trip up players and take a few more guesses than usual.

Puzzle No. 1945 is now available. Below are hints for players who want to solve it on their own, followed by the answer for those who need help. Readers who want to avoid spoilers should stop before the answer section.

How Wordle works

Wordle challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six tries or fewer. After each guess, the tiles change color. A green tile means the letter is correct and in the right position. A yellow tile means the letter is in the word but in a different spot. A gray tile means the letter is not in the answer.

The puzzle resets at midnight in each player's local time zone.

How hard is today's puzzle?

Friday's puzzle may be a challenge. According to the New York Times' Wordle review, players are taking an average of 4.7 guesses to solve it, more than Thursday's puzzle.

The difficulty comes from the word's structure. It has only one standard vowel, which can make it harder to pin down with common vowel-heavy opening guesses.

Hints for Wordle No. 1945

These clues are listed from least to most revealing.

Hint 1: The word is an adjective.

Hint 2: It can describe a spot sheltered from direct sunlight, such as a bench beneath a tree.

Hint 3: It can also describe someone or something that seems suspicious or not entirely honest.

Hint 4: The word has only one of the vowels A, E, I, O and U, and no letter appears twice.

Hint 5: The answer starts with S and ends with Y.

Strategy tips

Starting words that include common consonants performed well today. A guess such as SLATE leaves only about two dozen possible answers, while CRANE and the vowel-heavy ADIEU leave more than 40 options.

Because the word has only one standard vowel, players who find the A early should focus on testing consonants, particularly common pairings at the start of words.

Remember that Y can act as a vowel at the end of a word. If you have tried several vowels without luck, consider placing a Y in the final position.

SPOILER WARNING: The answer is below.

Today's Wordle answer

The answer to Wordle No. 1945 on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, is SHADY.

The word is an adjective with two common meanings. It can describe a place sheltered from bright sunlight or heat, such as a shady patio. It is also used informally to describe someone or something that seems dishonest, suspicious or of questionable character, as in a shady business deal.

The word comes from "shade," which has roots in Old English.

Yesterday's answer

For players catching up, the answer to Wordle No. 1944 on Thursday, Oct. 15, was DUNCE.

Recent Wordle answers

  • Oct. 15 (No. 1944): DUNCE
  • Oct. 14 (No. 1943): PSYCH
  • Oct. 13 (No. 1942): WIDER
  • Oct. 12 (No. 1941): YODEL
  • Oct. 11 (No. 1940): UNCAP
  • Oct. 10 (No. 1939): BUMPY
  • Oct. 9 (No. 1938): MAJOR
  • Oct. 8 (No. 1937): STREW
  • Oct. 7 (No. 1936): PROVE
  • Oct. 6 (No. 1935): DIMLY

Several recent answers, including PSYCH, BUMPY and DIMLY, have ended in Y, a pattern worth remembering when the vowels in your early guesses come up short.

Repeat answers possible

The New York Times began reintroducing older words into Wordle's rotation on Feb. 2, 2026, starting with CIGAR, the game's first-ever answer. That means players should not rule out a word simply because it has appeared before.

About Wordle

Wordle was created by software engineer Josh Wardle and acquired by The New York Times in early 2022. Its once-a-day format and shareable grids of colored squares turned it into one of the most popular word games in the world.

Tips for future puzzles

Experienced players recommend using a consistent starting word and paying close attention to yellow tiles to eliminate letter positions. When several possible answers remain, using a guess to test multiple new letters can be more efficient than guessing a single likely word.

A new Wordle puzzle will be available at midnight local time.

Article 2

NYT Connections Today: Hints and Answers for Puzzle 1223 on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, With Tricky Hungary Trap

NEW YORK — The New York Times released its latest Connections puzzle at midnight local time Friday, featuring a geography-heavy grid with spelling twists designed to catch players who move too quickly.

Puzzle No. 1223 places HUNGARY and HUNGRY side by side, a deliberate trap for players who do not look closely at spelling. Below are hints for each category, followed by the full solution. Readers who want to avoid spoilers should stop before the answers section.

How Connections works

Connections presents a grid of 16 words that players must sort into four groups of four based on a shared theme. Each puzzle has only one correct solution.

The groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the easiest, followed by green, blue and purple, the hardest. Players can make four mistakes before the game ends.

Today's words

The 16 words on Friday's board are: HUNGARY, HUNGRY, HIPPO, CHICKEN, CHIP, CHAD, COOLIDGE, CYRUS, SPAN, MARK, LAOS, NICK, PARAGUAY, SMARTIES, BULGARI and SCRATCH.

Hints for each category

Yellow: Things that can damage or blemish a surface.

Green: Countries that have no coastline.

Blue: Nations in Europe with something missing.

Purple: Look at the beginning of each word for something fashionable.

One word from each group

  • Yellow: NICK
  • Green: LAOS
  • Blue: CYRUS
  • Purple: HIPPO

Watch out for these traps

The biggest trap is the pairing of HUNGARY and HUNGRY. Only one of them belongs in the group of landlocked countries, while the other fits a category based on spelling.

CHIP and CHICKEN both begin with "CH," and CHIP could also seem like a food word, but they belong to different groups. CHAD is also a person's name, which may distract players.

SPOILER WARNING: The answers are below.

Today's Connections answers

The solution to NYT Connections No. 1223 on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, is:

Yellow — SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS: CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH

Each word describes a small flaw or blemish on a surface, such as a chip in a mug or a scratch on a car.

Green — LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY

Each country has no coastline. Chad is in Africa, Hungary in Europe, Laos in Asia and Paraguay in South America.

Blue — EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER: BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN

Removing one letter from a European country produces each word: BULGARIA without the final A, CYPRUS without the P, HUNGARY without the A and SPAIN without the I.

Purple — STARTING WITH WORDS FOR "STYLISH": CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES

Each word begins with a term meaning stylish or fashionable: CHIC in CHICKEN, COOL in COOLIDGE, HIP in HIPPO and SMART in SMARTIES.

Why this puzzle can be tricky

Friday's puzzle rewards careful reading. The blue category requires players to recognize country names with a single letter removed, and the presence of real country HUNGARY alongside HUNGRY makes it easy to group the wrong word.

The purple category hides its connection at the start of each word, a common approach in the game's hardest group. COOLIDGE, the surname of the 30th U.S. president, may stand out as an unusual entry and offer a clue.

Players who solve the landlocked countries first can narrow the remaining options, making it easier to spot the missing-letter pattern.

About Connections

Connections launched in 2023 and is edited by Wyna Liu. It has become one of The New York Times' most popular daily games, alongside Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword.

Tips for future puzzles

When two words look nearly identical, check whether one belongs in a spelling-based category. Hidden words at the beginning or end of entries are a frequent purple theme, and solving the most obvious group first can help narrow the remaining choices.

A new Connections puzzle will be available at midnight local time.