Today's Wordle Answer #592 - February 1, 2023 Solution And Hints
We're kicking off the month of February in Wordle with a puzzle that would be medium on a difficulty scale. WordleBot says most players cracked the code in four guesses, as did we. To help you finish faster, we'll provide a few clues that should point you toward the answer word. If you've used up some of your guesses or you'd rather not do the head-scratching, you can skip to the second section for the full reveal of the solution.
Our mystery word is a verb that describes a stern talking-to or dressing down. It contains one central vowel — the letter O —and there are no repeated letters. It also contains the letter S, but we won't disclose its exact position in the word for the sake of players who like a challenge. Per The NYT's new rules for Wordle, though, you can be sure it's not the last letter. The word you're looking for rhymes with "holed," and if you removed its first letter, you'd have the name of a common viral infection or a low temperature.
Railing at and chewing out
Are you still unsure? The answer to today's Wordle puzzle (#592 – February 1, 2023) is scold. The word refers to a noisy verbal reprimand, usually by someone older or more powerful than the recipient. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word has origins in the Middle English verb "scolden," itself from the Middle English noun "scold," which meant "a person of abusive speech" or "a noisy or quarrelsome woman."
It also has possible Scandinavian origins since it is similar to the Old Icelandic word "skāld," meaning poet. Etymonline explains that the evolution of the word's meaning is probably based on the fact that Germanic poets were famous for their caustic satire — as "skaldskapr" simultaneously meant "poetry," but also, in Icelandic law books, "libel in verse."
Our first guess today, "grout," colored only one tile green and eliminated all but 114 possible solutions to the puzzle. We figured out the answer after the guesses "phone" and "block." WordleBot finished one step faster than we did, since its starting word, "slate," was more promising than ours. We hope you do better.