Wordle #81 Answer – September 8, 2021

This page covers Wordle puzzle #81, played on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. If you are playing it in the NYT Wordle archive, start with the hints. The answer comes after them, along with what the word means, how hard it was, and how the most popular starting words would have done.

Hints for Wordle #81

Hint 1: How many vowels?

The answer has 1 vowel (A, E, I, O, U).

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter P.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter Y.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

Yes, one letter appears more than once.

Hint 5: Meaning

noun — A defensive or deflective action; an act of ….

Wordle #81 Answer

The answer to Wordle #81 on September 8, 2021 was:

PARRY

PARRY has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

What Does PARRY Mean?

Parry (noun): A defensive or deflective action; an act of parrying.

How Hard Was Wordle #81?

6.8/10Hard
85%harder than this share of all 1,962 Wordles
3look-alike answers
  • Only 1 vowel, so the vowel pattern is hard to find early.
  • A repeated letter, which most players do not test until late.
  • Less common letters (Y) that starting words rarely test.
  • 3 look-alike answers share four of its five letter spots, which can turn the last guesses into a coin flip.

Look-alike answers: MARRY, CARRY, PARTY.

How Popular Starting Words Did Against PARRY

Here is the color feedback each well-known opener would have given on this puzzle, and how many past Wordle answers would still fit after that one guess. Fewer is better.

OpenerFeedbackAnswers left
SLATESLATE106
CRANECRANE48
TRACETRACE45
STARESTARE10
RAISERAISE20
AUDIOAUDIO355

On this puzzle, STARE was the most useful opener, leaving 10 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →

How to Solve Wordle #81 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach PARRY. We open with SLATE, then each next guess is the word, from those still possible, that leaves the fewest options on average. Every guess fits all the clues so far, so this path is also legal in Hard Mode.

GuessFeedbackWords still possible
1. SLATESLATE131
2. MANORMANOR9
3. HARDYHARDY2
4. CARRYCARRY1
5. PARRYPARRYSolved

Solved in 5 guesses. After SLATE, 131 everyday words still fit. Try your own guesses in our Wordle solver to see which words were left at each step.

Letter-by-Letter Breakdown of PARRY

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stP14.6%6.1%
2ndA39.6%12.4%
3rdR36.2%7.1%
4thR36.2%6.6%
5thY16.5%14.3%

On This Day in Wordle: September 8

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2026#1907LIVEN
2025#1542CHIRP
2024#1177DRAWN
2023#811ROUSE
2022#446CLASS

Wordle #81 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on September 8, 2021?

The answer to Wordle #81 on September 8, 2021 was PARRY.

Was Wordle #81 hard?

We rate it 6.8 out of 10 (Hard), harder than about 85% of all Wordle puzzles.

What was the best starting word for Wordle #81?

Of the popular openers, STARE did best, leaving 10 possible answers after the first guess.