Today's Wordle Answer #581- January 21, 2023 Solution And Hints
Ever so often, there's a Wordle puzzle answer that throws players into an uproar because it's so obscure it couldn't possibly be guessed in six attempts. Today's solution word is one of those. It's quite polarizing because it might not be strange to those familiar with publishing, but some people have never even heard of it.
And it's not only the unpopularity that makes today's answer a tough nut to crack — the letter combination is also quite unusual. It contains a repeated consonant, B, as its first and last letter, and only one vowel – U. To help you make quick work of the puzzle, here are a few hints that might bring this out-of-reach answer closer to home for you.
The mystery word rhymes with "curb," and is used to describe a short and praiseful description of a book, film, or product written for promotional purposes. If you replaced its first and last letters with S and P respectively, you'd have a verb that means to eat or drink with a loud, sucking noise.
An interesting origin story
If you've made it to this point and the light bulb still hasn't gone off, don't worry. You're solving this puzzle regardless. The word you're looking for is "blurb." A blurb is a flamboyant self-praise that acts as a sales pitch for the material it's promoting. It's typically shorter than a synopsis, and its primary purpose isn't to outline the plot but to inspire curiosity and ultimately trigger a decision to purchase. It could be a selection of quotes from the work, high praise from peers of the owner, or claims about the relevance or value of the work.
The origin of the word "blurb" is quite intriguing — it was first used in 1907 by American humorist Frank Gelett Burgess at a dinner for the American Booksellers' Association. It was a tradition for guest authors to present souvenir copies of their latest books, and Burgess, true to his comic nature, presented a mock jacket of his then newest work, "Are You A Bromide?" taking a crack at other publishers for self-endorsing their material.
Etymonline references Publisher's Weekly documentation of the event, quoting Burgess as saying: "To 'blurb' is to make a sound like a publisher. The blurb was invented by Frank A. Munsey when he wrote on the front of his magazine in red ink 'I consider this number of Munsey's the hottest pie that ever came out of my bakery." It's uncertain how true the account is, since most etymology sources credit Burgess himself for the term.
It took us all six tries to figure out the answer today, and we really hope you finish faster. To help your gameplay going forward, check out these tips for solving Wordle quickly, and if you're looking for more challenges, here are more puzzles like Wordle to try.