Wordle and the World News
What is THE one connection between these five letter words?
“VIVID,” “SPILL,” “CHANT,” “CHOKE,” “RUPEE,” “NASTY,” “MOURN,” “AHEAD,” “BRINE”?
When I posed the question to my friends most of the answers were -
These five letter words appear to be the “Word Of The Day” in the addictive puzzle game of Wordle. While the answer is not wrong, it could have been little more precise.
The precise and correct answer which I was looking for was — these are the words which were the “Words Of The Day” between 25th of Feb 2022 till the 5th of Mar 2022.
We are entering the 10th day of the devastating war between Russia and Ukraine which has shaken up the world.
We may be far away from the war zone, and we may be playing the puzzle in the comforts of our home. But when the Wordle-Green letters tumble out of the grid making a word seem to convey to us a subtle and yet unerring message.
Let us take a quick deep dive into the “Words Of The Day” since 25th Feb 2022 and relate to the ongoing war, the costs of which have been dire in terms of loss of lives and suffering.
“The “VIVID” and round the clock commentary and visuals-
The “SPILL” ing of the war in southern Europe and ominously transcending the world-
Not to ignore the relentless “CHANTS” and the rally of the war cries-
The inescapable “CHOKE” which the industries and economies are bracing for-
The unabating depreciation of “RUPEE”as a currency-
When the “NASTY war seems to be getting prolonged-
While we MOURN” the innocents suffering and dying-
With no one sure on how to predict what lies “AHEAD”-
When the Day 9 gave all a scare with the alleged Russian attack on the Ukrainian nuclear establishments-
then we thankfully get “BRINE”, possibly to form an ice wall to limit the radioactivity at the source.”
At the first glance, this may look to be a contrived and a lazy correlation. It, however, does remind us of the realities and ravages of war, lest we forget as we get immersed in the puzzle.
One is aware that the Wordle words are pre-decided and are algorithmically driven. But given that the venerable New York Times owns Wordle, the influence of the world news on the choice of words is unmistakable. Is Wordle the predictor of the world happenings as we observe the afore-mentioned string of words?
Is the universality and the virality of the puzzle are bringing its unintended significance to the world and humanity?
Let us play and pray.
Your fellow Wordler,
Somjit Amrit
