Word puzzle gameWordlecame out of nowhere, skyrocketing in popularity seemingly overnight and becoming a mainstream fad in the process. Its success drew the attention ofThe New York Times, the award-winning newspaper that’s been in circulation for over 150 years.The New York TimesacquiredWordlefor a seven-figure sum, and since then, there have been some subtle changes to the game.
SinceNew York Times' acquisition ofWordle, there have been tweaks to the game, not all of which have been popular. SomeWordleplayers have reported issues with their streaks being broken, and others have discovered that there are now less words that can be guessed than before. It seems that, in total,The New York Timeshas removed at least six words fromWordle’s upcoming answers list, as well as 19 words from the game’s list of guesses.
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Reddit user randybruder did the leg work to figure out which words have been removed fromWordlesince theNew York Timesacquisition, discovering that AGORA, FIBRE, LYNCH, PUPAL, SLAVE, and WENCH are all gone from the game. Randybruder didn’t specify the 19 other words that were removed from the game, as they are “offensive” with some being “ethnic slurs.” The reasoning behind removing some of theseWordlewordsseems obvious, as they could potentially be used in an offensive context or may upset users. The reasons behind removing some of the other words may be less clear, however, like with “FIBRE.”
One possibility for “FIBRE” being removed is because the word is spelled differently in different parts of the world. “FIBRE” is the British spelling of the world, whereas “FIBER” is how it’s spelled in America. Based on our own testing, FIBRE has indeed been axed fromWordle, though FIBER still works. One theory presented by Reddit users is that FIBRE was removed because of the controversy surroundingWordle235 when “HUMOR” was the answerdespite those outside the US spelling it “HUMOUR.”
While these words have been removed fromWordle, there are over 10,000 words that still work at the time of this writing, including many swear words. So even thoughThe New York Timeshas seemingly censoredWordleto a certain degree, it doesn’t appear to be going overboard. And ultimately, mostWordleuserslikely would never have noticed these words were removed anyway.
In the meantime, anyone that still wants to use words like “FIBRE” in their guesses can check out the multitude ofWordleclonesout there.
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