This page covers Wordle puzzle #821, played on Monday, September 18, 2023. 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.
The answer has 1 vowel (A, E, I, O, U).
It starts with the letter F.
It ends with the letter K.
No, all five letters are different.
noun — Free postage, a right exercised by governments (usually with definite article).
The answer to Wordle #821 on September 18, 2023 was:
FRANK
FRANK has been the Wordle answer only once so far.
Frank (noun): Free postage, a right exercised by governments (usually with definite article).
Look-alike answers: CRANK, FLANK, PRANK.
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.
| Opener | Feedback | Answers left |
|---|---|---|
| SLATE | SLATE | 43 |
| CRANE | CRANE | 5 |
| TRACE | TRACE | 21 |
| STARE | STARE | 24 |
| RAISE | RAISE | 65 |
| AUDIO | AUDIO | 355 |
On this puzzle, CRANE was the most useful opener, leaving 5 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →
Here is one efficient way to reach FRANK. 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.
| Guess | Feedback | Words still possible |
|---|---|---|
| 1. SLATE | SLATE | 47 |
| 2. DRANK | DRANK | 3 |
| 3. CRANK | CRANK | 2 |
| 4. FRANK | FRANK | Solved |
Solved in 4 guesses. After SLATE, 47 everyday words still fit. Try your own guesses in our Wordle solver to see which words were left at each step.
| Position | Letter | Appears in (all answers) | In this exact spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | F | 8.8% | 5.3% |
| 2nd | R | 36.1% | 11.6% |
| 3rd | A | 39.6% | 14.1% |
| 4th | N | 24% | 7.8% |
| 5th | K | 8.6% | 4.5% |
Answers from the same date in other years:
The answer to Wordle #821 on September 18, 2023 was FRANK.
We rate it 6.0 out of 10 (Medium-Hard), harder than about 71% of all Wordle puzzles.
Of the popular openers, CRANE did best, leaving 5 possible answers after the first guess.
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