The answer to today’s Wordle puzzle (#492 – October 24, 2022) is fault. A fault is an imperfection, mistake, or misdemeanor. The word varies in meaning depending on context; in geology, a fault is “a fracture in the crust of a planet (such as the Earth) or moon accompanied by a displacement of one side of the fracture with respect to the other usually in a direction parallel to the fracture,” according to Merriam-Webster. The word is also used in tennis, showjumping, and similar games to describe an error or misstep.
The word fault is from Old French’s “faute,” which was earlier “falte,” which means opening, gap, failure, blemish, or lack. It also has roots in the vulgar Latin word “fallita,” which means a shortcoming, or falling, itself from Latin’s “falsus,” meaning deceptive, feigned, or spurious (via Etymonline). We solved the puzzle in four tries today, and as usual, we ditched the recommended starter words and chose the word flown as an opening guess. Next, we followed up with the words false and fatal, and after that the answer was apparent. We hope you have better luck. Also, here are more games like Wordle to further scratch your puzzle itch.
