For a global sensation, Wordle has remarkably humble origins; it was first invented during the coronavirus lockdown by New York-based software developer Josh Wardle, who simply wanted a game “for me and my partner to enjoy.”

In October 2021, Wardle released Wordle to the general public, after which it quickly became a global sensation, with some players sharing their answers, along with hints and tips on social media each day. Such was the game’s popularity that, in January 2022, it was bought by The New York Times for an undisclosed low seven-figure sum, though it remains free for players.

Speaking to Newsweek, Erhan Aslan, who teaches applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the U.K., gave some advice for Wordle players.

He said: “One thing that I think is important in this game is the starting word chosen. Starting off with words that include commonly used vowels, for example, e and a, consonants such as r and t, and sound sequences might be helpful. Choosing a word that starts with q, z, j, or x, for instance, may not be the best choice.

“As you get more feedback after a few guesses, users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking. For example, if the second letter of the target word is l (indicated by green) and the player feels that the word starts with a consonant, they will need to know that there are only a few consonant cluster possibilities (such as bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl).”

The answer to Sunday’s puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself.

Wordle #1,345, Clues for Sunday, February 23

Hint #1: The second and third letters are the same.

Hint #2: The answer contains two vowels.

Hint #3: Think animals.

Hint #4: Related to water.

Hint #5: The first letter is a consonant.

Wordle #1,345, Answer for Sunday, February 23

The answer to today’s Wordle puzzle is “otter.”

Well that was a fun one! Did you figure it out? If so congratulations, but please don’t be put off if not. One of the best things about Wordle is seeing if you can improve your performance over time and Newsweek will be back on Monday with another round of hints and tips.

What Does ‘Otter’ Mean?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “otter” as “any of various largely aquatic carnivorous mammals (such as genus Lutra or Enhydra) of the weasel family that usually have webbed and clawed feet and dark brown fur.”

For example: “We went for a nice walk down the river and even saw an otter.”