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[return to "A Crisis comes to Wordle: Reusing old words"]
1. trotha+lg[view] [source] 2026-02-01 20:08:49
>>cyanba+(OP)
If I remember correctly, the original version of wordle used a word list that was run past the creator's wife, who had learned English later in life. The result was a really accessible game - none of the words felt like ones you wouldn't know. It probably makes sense to reuse words than risk losing that accessibility.

(I kept a copy of original wordle, and it seems to have 2,315 words that are possible answers.)

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2. hyperb+3A[view] [source] 2026-02-01 22:43:10
>>trotha+lg
It’s this. There are many five letter words that are not “wordley”. Words such as, idk, bokeh, are technically part of the lexicon but would never appear as a solution. The wordle bot will even tell you this if you guess them — “good guess, but unlikely to appear as a solution”. The crossword has a similar sort of unwritten rule, maybe not as strict, but really hard technical words seldom appear.
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3. gretch+lA[view] [source] 2026-02-01 22:46:17
>>hyperb+3A
> The crossword has a similar sort of unwritten rule, maybe not as strict, but really hard technical words seldom appear.

Not my experience at all.

Ask me how I know what an EPEE is

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4. rhplus+LS[view] [source] 2026-02-02 01:29:50
>>gretch+lA
EPEE is a common fill word from a lexicon informally known as crosswordese.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosswordese

Really no harder than memorizing all the 2 and 3 letter words in Scrabble and many players will pick most up in a few months.

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5. cyode+2b1[view] [source] 2026-02-02 04:37:57
>>rhplus+LS
I didn’t know it was called crosswordese! I wonder what the most common term used is. As a very occasional player, for some reason ARIA, IBIS, and VENI/VIDI/VICI stick out, but I’m sure it’s actually one with an E.
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