The solution to today’s Wordle puzzle (#633 — March 14, 2023 ) is surly. Surliness is a menacing, sour character or appearance or a haughty, gruff demeanor. Surprisingly, the word originally meant lordly or majestic, or literally “like a sir,” because it was derived from “sir” or “sire,” which are titles used to address men of authority. Per Etymonline, “sire” itself is from the Old French word of the same spelling, which meant “lord,” or from Latin “senior,” meaning older or elder.
Merriam-Webster notes that the evolution of the word “surly” to its current meaning probably owes to the fact that men of rank or position were known for arrogant or domineering behavior. It took four tries to unriddle the puzzle today — we went with “juice” as our starting word, and that turned one tile green. We got smarter after the second guess “dummy,” and the solution became clear after the third guess “nutty.” We hope you have better luck.
