Yes, there really were two correct answers to today’s Wordle. What caused the glitch?
It’s been a couple months since Wordle swept puzzle-lovers by storm, but plenty of people still play the game each day.
If you’re one of them, you might have noticed that there were two correct answers for the puzzle today, March 30.
That’s what happened to News & Observer editor Brooke Cain. She played the daily puzzle, sent her results to her mother, and the pair realized they had gotten different versions of the puzzle, with different answers.
That’s unusual, because there’s usually just one puzzle released for the game every day, with just one correct answer.
What caused the glitch? And how do you know which word you should use?
The New York Times, which acquired the Wordle game from creator Josh Wardle in February, published a tweet about the incident Wednesday, but we’ve compiled some additional information from other sources about what could have happened.
Here’s what to know.
Warning: The story below contains both correct answers to Wordle puzzle 284. If you haven’t played Wordle today and don’t want the answer to be spoiled, we advise you to stop reading here and come back after you’ve completed the puzzle.
What are the two answers to Wordle 284?
Depending on which puzzle you played today, the correct answer is either HARRY or STOVE.
How did the glitch happen?
The glitch appears to have happened when the New York Times replaced the original word for today’s puzzle, HARRY, with the new word, STOVE.
If Wordle users didn’t refresh their browser from the last time they played the game — likely yesterday — the puzzle didn’t load the new word, and players were left with the old word. The old word was erased for users who refreshed their browser, who got the new word instead.
Players also could have gotten the HARRY puzzle if they were playing a cached or archived version of the game.
Why were there two answers to Wordle 284?
There doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer about the glitch, but multiple Twitter users have said it occurred because the New York Times thought the original word for today’s puzzle, HARRY, might be too “obscure,” since it is commonly known as a proper noun.
But HARRY can also be used as a verb, which Merriam-Webster says means:
▪ “To make a pillaging or destructive raid on”
▪ “To force to move along by harassing”
▪ “To torment by or as if by constant attack”
A similar incident occurred in February, around the time the New York Times bought Wordle. In that instance, the original word, AGORA, was thought to be too obscure, and was replaced with AROMA.
The New York Times removed “a number of words,” including AGORA, from the puzzle when they acquired the game, either for being “inappropriate” or “obscure,” a February report from Yahoo News says.
Will the glitch mess up my Wordle winning streak?
In a tweet sent around 11 a.m. Wednesday, the New York Times Games account said users who played the HARRY puzzle, then refreshed the game to play the STOVE puzzle would have a “bonus win added to your stats.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 1:04 PM.
