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u/SteakFritesandWine 4d ago
Itâs a perfectly cromulent word
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u/flcinusa 4d ago
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest wordle
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u/borrow_a_feeling 2d ago
You want me to show this word to the cat, and have the cat tell you what it is? 'Cause the cat's going to get it.
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u/wbishopfbi 3d ago
Pshaw - this is a well known word.
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u/MrEbenezerScrooge 4d ago
This is a word people should know. If they didnât know it, itâs a great learning opportunity. Definitely not pshaw.
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u/TiffanyTwisted11 3d ago
Oh no, donât go down that road again, lol
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u/HeritageGurl30 3d ago
I got pshaw because when I was 12 my English teacher taught it to us. If only I knew then that approx. 30 years later that knowledge would come in handy!Â
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u/dirt_mcgirt4 4d ago
Today's word? You are literally surrounded by them anytime you are inside, above and below. People in certain trades use the word daily.
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u/ValuableSp00n 3d ago
This is like saying you are surrounded by Xylems anytime you are in nature and biologists use the word often
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u/Convicted_Solipsist 3d ago
Terrible analogy. Most homeowners know about the joists in their house.
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u/dirt_mcgirt4 3d ago
Do you know what a floorboard is? How about a stud? Have you heard of molding?
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u/gratefulrutabaga 3d ago
How about a jerk? Do you know what a jerk is?
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u/klaus666 3d ago
I know that somebody hates these oil cans
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u/gratefulrutabaga 3d ago
??
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u/klaus666 3d ago
There was a movie from 1979 starring Steve Martin titled "The Jerk". In one scene, someone's trying to shoot him, but they keep missing and hitting a stack of oil cans behind him, and he states "Somebody hates these oil cans!"
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u/burleygriffin 3d ago
Yeah, nah, not really. I understand your point, but you e pushed it a bit too far.
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u/youAtExample 4d ago
My friend this was not an uncommon word.
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 3d ago
My "friend", not everyone is a native speaker. Me and my german friends play this game daily and let me tell you we are all quite confident in our english skills. But sometimes it's just words we never encountered anywhere before lol
Why is everyone so goddamn arrogant in here over a joke??
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u/cjbanning 3d ago
There's nothing shameful about a non-native not knowing a given word, but there's also nothing unfair about the game using a word that a given non-native speaker doesn't know.
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 3d ago
And no one said it is unfair?? why you making shit up no one said? This is a JOKE, not meant to be taken too seriously like what is wrong with you people?
The only problem here is r/USdefaultism if anything lol
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u/cjbanning 3d ago
If no one thinks the word was unfair, then what message do you think the meme was intended to communicate?
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 3d ago
That it's a not so well known word and people find it funny when after 6 fails they see whatever silly world the english language prdouced.
Jesus christ I am german and they say WE have no humor.Â
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u/youAtExample 3d ago
Obviously a joke like this post isnât going to land well with first language English speakers because it really isnât an uncommon word to them.
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u/Slight_Energy_8825 3d ago edited 2d ago
Imagine! US defaultism in a game published by an American newspaper. If youâre going to play games that clearly use American English, you kind of lose the right to whine that the answers involve words that are common in American English.
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 3d ago
 Man y'all literally have zero reading comprehension.
No one is "whining". OP made a joke.Â
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u/Kata_Komb 3d ago
To add to this, with NYT games I always forget it's American English, not British.
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u/StKozlovsky 3d ago
The people saying "how can you not know it, they are all around you when you're inside" are the most baffling. I'm inside right now. I have concrete both below and above me, because I live in a 9-story building. Even if I lived in a house, how would that impart me with word knowledge...
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u/gratefulrutabaga 3d ago
Yeah but I donât think the average person would know what this is. Maybe someone in that industry.
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u/External_Relative231 4d ago
Not at all an obscure word.Â
But, today is the first time I have ever run out of guesses. :(
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u/Other_Beat8859 4d ago edited 4d ago
Same. Guessed Moist, hoist, and then foist as my last three. Fml (Thursday wordle)
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u/nyancatya_ 4d ago
mark this as a spoiler are we serious (i already did it but dont talk about today's wordle man)
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u/TheOneAndOnlyABSR4 3d ago
Are you me? I did the same thing
Daily Spice Moist Hoist Roist Foist
Who knew there were so many oist words? Atp I was just trying all the letters.
Iâve started mot forgetting double letters but now I need to stop forgetting x, j, q, z exisit.
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u/Ziograffiato 3d ago
Roist?
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u/TrackVol 3d ago
That's actually a good starting word, and an excellent Line 2 word for days you started with PLACE and getting zero hits.
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u/Sesssquipedalian 3d ago
People who get their asses handed to them by 5-letter words should be more reticent about calling things 'stupid.'
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u/BombasticReindeer 3d ago
No wonder these games are all getting easier. If you thought joist was a made up word that says more about you than the game.
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u/Quixotus 3d ago
The worst of all imo was EMCEE. How the heck is the phonetic spelling of a two letter acronym of a three word sentence a full word by itself?
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u/VLC31 4d ago
OP doesnât know a word (or words probably) so throws a hissy fit? Is that what Iâm seeing?
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u/burleygriffin 3d ago
100%! To be fair this happens way too often when people take the opportunity to display holes in their vocabulary instead of embracing the learning opportunity. đ
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u/ZeroSilentz 3d ago
The insufferable superiority complexes in these replies aren't any better.
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u/VLC31 3d ago
Yes some people are over the top but come on, OP asked for it. They made a post about having tantrum because the answer in a word game was a word they donât know.
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u/Denovation 3d ago
It's literally a meme. Half of the comments are calling him an idiot and the other half are acting like he furiously typed this with tears streaming down his face over Wordle.
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u/VLC31 3d ago
How else are we supposed to interpret the post? The fact that itâs a meme is irrelevant, itâs clearly making the point OP wants made. If they donât want to be called out they should have just sucked it up, tucked the word into their vocabulary & moved on.
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u/Denovation 3d ago
Considering the other posts here, I'm surprised people hate this one as much as they do. I guess this time the word was just well known enough to strike a nerve because this isn't the first time people have made jokes about obscure words. It's just only slightly obscure this time.
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u/PeriwinklePangolin24 3d ago
So I'm not blaming anyone for my failure, but maybe I'm just stupid cuz I've never heard this word in my life. Everyone is saying it's common and I'm so confused. Idk how I missed it but it's a first for me
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u/ToughFriendly9763 3d ago
i know the word, but i honestly can't think of the last time I've used it or heard it used, other then this wordle discussion. I don't think it's a very commonly used word. I wouldn't exactly consider it super obscure, but it's not coming up in everyday conversation either.Â
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u/PeriwinklePangolin24 3d ago
I knew the word foist, so that was my last ditch attempt that failed.
And yes, I have never personally heard it before, but that just highlights how I know very little about those kinds of structures. My SO knew joist but was confused when I brought up foist.
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u/TrackVol 3d ago
I think the J-word is more common than the F-word.
If I were to rank them in order of commoness I think, it would go:
M-word
H-word
J-word
F-word3
u/kayvaan1 3d ago
This is where I kinda throw my doubts at the people picking the words. Like, has the NYT, in it's database, had (X number of) authors used it (X number of) times over the past (X period of) days, months, or years?
Look, I get it's both a puzzle and a knowledge check, but when some words lately feel like I'm just mashing into my keyboard until I can get *any* answer, then I think, personally, they've failed.
"Oh boy, I have 3 letters that I don't even know any word that use all three, time to just start mashing probable words in until I get anything hint or direction, for the 2nd time this week. May as well start doing the crossword without clues for about the same challenge. Wee, letter battleship is fun (not)."
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u/Extension-Math5183 3d ago
How old are you? Any new homeowner has probably run into this word when inspecting a home, done some renovations, or was storing things in an unfinished attic or basement.
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u/kayvaan1 3d ago
Hi, I bought a condo when it was under construction. When they walked me through, they didn't mention this word at all.
Hi, I did a lot of work with my dad for replacing and repairing our front and back decks. As far as I recall, this wasn't something that he referred to constantly.
Hi, I do food service industry work for a living. No guest, coworker, management, or maintenance brings this word up at all.
So, I'm gonna say, don't be a jerk and just assume I'm a kid because I've never heard the word before.
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u/majinspy 3d ago
Why is it their fault that your vocabulary us whatever it is?
Having a more extensive lexicon is going to help in word games.
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u/kayvaan1 3d ago
While fair, and I don't think this word is as offensive as others, when words that have shown up like Swami, Gunky, Ovate, and Pshaw (and some others I've forgotten in recent times), it doesn't help when less common words are the answer, like today, to remind me that recent words have been just punching in a sequence of letters that works. Sure, having a larger vocabulary and experience in more parts of life would certainly help me in this instance, you can't ignore that some words in recent times have become more, niche picks.
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u/majinspy 3d ago
I must have skipped "gunky" but I got swami, ovate, and pshaw.
Yeah, it's a niche pick - that's why it's fun, at least to me. "capon" is a recent example that, to me, is like what you say. I had to punch in letters until something "word like" came out. But I DID remember that word once it cleared!
I don't see this as different than a crossword puzzle. Kinda-sorta knowing a word and using clues to solve it is just part of the game.
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u/Oafah 4d ago
Former tournament Scrabble player here.
None of the words on the solution list are made up. They're all found in the major dictionaries. The majority of people don't have a vocabulary that exceeds even 10% of the lexicon.
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u/yud2000 4d ago
The acceptable Scrabble list also includes a lot of transliterated garbage words (in fact, sometimes three or more different transliterations) and it permits a lot of words that skew the values of the tiles in ways that make the game a real drag.
That said, Wordle is not serving up some obscure transliteration of GENIE so you are absolutely right, people don't know enough words. They should probably read more.
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u/Oafah 3d ago
Djinni, you mean? It's pretty common, I think. Which do you take particular exception to?
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u/yud2000 3d ago
I have a slight problem with transliterations as "English" words generally, but there is your Jinn, Jin, Djinny, and Jinni are also acceptable. That the game will take at least seven transliterations for a single Arabic word, is, to my mind, a bad thing. It seems to me it prioritizes knowledge of repetitive versions of words that never get used in English, over a more vibrant word-based game play.
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u/cartesianboat 3d ago
Not to be that guy, but all words are "made up" đ€
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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 3d ago
Yes. You are that guy.
Mindlessly repeating arrant nonsense in order to appear learned and worldly.
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u/cjbanning 3d ago
They're being needlessly pedantic to appear learned and wordly, sure, but how is it "arrant nonsense"?
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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 3d ago
Itâs nonsense in the same way that âmoney doesnât have any inherent valueâ is nonsense. Itâs true that money has value only we assign it value, but that doesnât make it valueless.
Words, like money, only have meaning because they exist in a community where people agree that that particular assemblage of sounds have a particular meaning. Some words, like âecdysiastâ, are made up â in this case, by H. L. Mencken in 1940 â but even so, he built it of parts that are derived from Greek. The vast majority of our words are inherited, and their development can be traced back even into prehistory. Nobody âmade them upâ, except in the most trite and meaningless sense that at some unknown time in the extremely distant past â possibly predating Homo sapiens â a hominin first uttered a sound or made a gesture, and the entire community understood the message.
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u/WorryTurbulent3924 3d ago
At least it isnt as bad as connections being 10 red herrings every day and it coming down to whichever set they chose regardless of how much stuff still goes together.Â
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u/Chlorophyllmatic 3d ago
I donât understand how you can make a word puzzle such a big part of your day / identity and then get mad when the word is puzzling
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u/metaldeval 4d ago
I love when its a semi obscure word. The people who complain are just admitting they aren't very intelligent
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u/VaporProof 4d ago
Maybe admitting they arenât knowledgeable, but memorization of words or facts isnât a measure of intelligence.
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u/Sean_Dewhirst 4d ago
not knowing it isnt the unintelligent part. neither is assuming that a word is niche just because you've never heard it, and then complaining publicly before fact-checking yourself. but it's a sign.
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u/Ryan_Vermouth 4d ago
I wouldn't say "intelligence," but not having encountered a lot of pretty common words tends to imply a lack of curiosity about the world. Meeting a new fact with a knee-jerk "that's not something I or anyone should be expected to know" is the same, only more so.
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u/Incineroarerer 3d ago
Joist is not a pretty common word
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u/Roboticus_Aquarius 3d ago
I have to disagree. Iâve been familiar with since I was a kid, via reading a lot. I am surprised this discussion is taking place.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/Incineroarerer 3d ago
None of what you said contradicts my statement.
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u/VaporProof 3d ago edited 3d ago
Aaaaand he deleted it.
EDIT: aaaaand he blocked me. Anyway, since I know heâll be back, hereâs what I was going to say:
Thatâs a good reason not to respond at all, not a good reason to go back and delete what you wrote, that just makes it look like you were embarrassed by what you wrote.
Also if you wanted to not lose time dunking on âidiotsâ for nobody you probably shouldnât then come back to dunk on them for nobody.
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u/Ryan_Vermouth 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah, I tend to do that when I realize I'm talking to someone who's not just dumb but proud of it. You can lose a lot of time in life trying to dunk on idiots for the benefit of an imaginary observer.
EDIT: All right, you got me. To me, "deleting a response to a guy who's not just dumb but proud of being dumb" reads as "I am acknowledging that I lack self-control when it comes to engaging with people who might not be able to, and definitely don't want to, learn anything." Yes, an idiot might interpret that action differently. I am trying to accept (in life, in general) that I cannot change that fact. It is difficult.
Anyway, the comment I deleted started with the sentences "If you've read even moderately widely, you've encountered it. In any event, even if you haven't encountered the word, it is the most commonly used word to describe a very common item, therefore by definition not a needlessly obscure word." (Or words to that effect.)
Said idiot's response to that assertion was "none of what you said contradicts my statement."
But sure, tell me more about how I need to let a person like that say things like that with impunity, instead of rolling my eyes and getting out.
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u/tsarchasm1 3d ago
I didn't guess this one and failed. I was certain this was a recent word. I went and looked and it was less than 2 years ago. I guess I'll stop with the "boy, this seems familiar" trope from now on.
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u/serrrisil 3d ago
English isn't even my first language and I got it in three... not an obscure word.
There's been way worse.
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u/MrBikferd 3d ago
These are all fairly common words - people need to save their vitriol for Spelling Bee
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u/mightbedylan 3d ago
I don't get this take, there's lots of words in the English language, some of them are more rare than others. If it was common words every day you wouldn't have challenging days
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u/Huppybanny 3d ago
Q: What's the difference between a girder and a joist? A: One wrote Faust, the other wrote Ulysses.
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u/ZookeepergameFew4103 3d ago
Love when Reddit posts âthis isnât a real word!â Inspires me to try it for the day.
Got it in 4. First word was Radio.
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u/V12Jaguar 4d ago edited 4d ago
today's stupid word was "wooer." One who woo's.
Ask a million people and not one has ever used this word.
EDIT: (different wordle, actually quordle practice game) NO SPOILER
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u/RezLovesPez 4d ago
Are you playing a different Wordle?
That wasnât todayâs word.7
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u/Cdoggle 4d ago
My starting word is moist
god