Today’s Wordle answer is tough — here’s why August 20's puzzle could break people’s streaks

If you're a Wordle player then you may want to brace yourself for today's puzzle.

Every so often, a word comes along that tests players and, more often than not, can end up breaking a lot of people's streaks. Today could be one of those days.

Here on Tom's Guide we run a daily Wordle hints and answers page, which you can check out for some helpful hints. If you're really struggling, I'll give you the answer here too — but I'll put it further down the article underneath a spoiler warning.

Our in-house Wordle expert checks his progress on every puzzle through the New York Times' WordleBot. The in-game AI helper analyzes the game after you've played it and does the same for every other player. That gives you an idea of how tough people are finding the puzzle and Wordle #1,523 (August 20) is a doozy.

According to the 'bot, the average player completes today's puzzle in 4.5 moves in easy mode, or 4.4 if playing by hard rules. If you're new to Wordle, you get six guesses to figure out the daily word. One of the toughest Wordle puzzles was #454 all the way back in September 2022 — that one had a score of 6.3.

I took a quick poll of our regular Wordle players here at Tom's Guide and the general average was most people got it in five guesses. So, not enough to break their streaks but a little close for comfort. You can read their thoughts below.

So, what makes today's answer so difficult? To discuss it, we're going to need to reveal the answer — so stop reading now if you haven't done it yet and don't want it spoiled...

Spoiler alert: Today's answer below

I'm going to assume you heeded the warning ahead and know the answer to today's puzzle is "Llama"

Any time we get a word with a repeated letter, it's harder to guess. You may have tried a word with a single L and got the yellow tile, meaning the letter is in the word but in the wrong place. There's a chance you waste valuable turns trying to place the single L before realizing there's a second. And you also don't find many five-letter words that start with L in the first place.

Furthermore, the word llama is a pretty unique one. It doesn't contain any of the common letters that make for a good Wordle starting guess, like E, T, A or R. If you want to get really word-nerdy, then there are only a handful of words in English that even start with a double L besides llama. Did you know, for instance, that a llano is the name for an open, grassy plain in the U.S. southwest?

At least most people will actually know what a llama is. On previous occasions, Wordle has served up an answer that most people may not even know is a word. One memorable example is Wordle #1,385, which was "krill" — small, shrimp-like crustaceans that are a crucial part of the ocean food chain.

How did the Tom's Guide team find today's Wordle?

We've got a few seasoned players on the Tom's Guide team, so I asked for their thoughts on today's puzzle.

Millie Fender, Managing Editor, Homes: "While none of the letters in today's Wordle are that unusual, there are two repeats, which made it very hard for me to get in the groove."

Richard Priday, Assistant Phones Editor: "I haven’t done a Wordle in months, but hearing it was tricky made me want to try again. After using my usual starting word, and then trying to find another vowel with my second attempt, I then moved to figuring out the first letter that would fit with the L in the second slot. After then, considering that tricky wordles often have a repeated letter, I was able to guess a word that revealed this was the case. And after putting it in the right spot, there was little else I could guess for my fifth, successful word."

Martin Shore, Staff Writer, Streaming: "I managed to get today's answer in 2. I knew going in today's answer was apparently a tough one, so I used a starter words with lots of vowels, and with one green letter locked in in the middle position, I thought back to one of Wordle's tricks (double letters, hint hint) and then the answer just sort of came to me."

Erin Bashford, Staff Writer, Reviews: "I got it in 4 today, which is my most common successful guess. I went for my usual plan of a vowel-heavy first guess, then I tried to knock out as many common consonant combinations as possible in guess two. Usually, from then on, my Wordle tactic involves "looking at the letters and hoping something sticks out". Thankfully, after a lucky third guess, my very scientific Wordle tactic came in clutch again."

Social media reacts

As you'd expect, plenty of players have taken to social media to comment on today's answer. On Twitter, #Wordle1523 began trending as people shared how they'd fared with the puzzle.

It's not hard to see why we've been given a difficult answer — Wordle has been running for a few years now and most of the easy words have been used up.

Did you find it tough? Did you lose your streak? Let us know in the comments below.

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More from Tom's Guide

• I analyzed every Wordle answer to look for patterns — here's what I found
• This Wordle trick kept my streak going — and you'll probably hate it
• Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streak