Some gendered slurs no longer on Wordle’s word list
The (at least three) words you can no longer use on Wordle.
Have you ever typed out an NSFW word (or two or five) on Wordle in a fit of frustration? Well, it’s time for you to get your verbal recall skills out of the gutter. The New York Times has yanked a handful of gendered slurs from Wordle’s internal dictionary, reported Polygon on Friday. The words “bitch”, “whore” and “sluts” have been removed from the game’s word list.
In other words, (no pun intended) typing out any one of these terms will have the same effect as if you type out a string of random letters like “asjfk” or “jkjkj”: a grey box will appear with the phrase “not in word list” — and you’ll feel dumb. And for what it's worth, none of these expunged words have been solutions to prior Wordle puzzles, and there's not much reason to believe they ever would have been in the future.
Not every profane term or curse word has been scrubbed off Wordle’s list as of yet. According to Engadget's research, a number of slang terms for genitalia as well as some run-of-the-mill curses still pass muster.
But given the Grey Lady’s avoidance of bad language in both its news coverage and crosswords, it may just be a matter of time. One thing that is certain, however, is this: you’ll never see a winning word in The New York Times version of Wordle that you couldn’t use in front of your grandmother. “Offensive words will always be omitted from consideration,” a Times spokesperson told Polygon.
The viral game created by developer Josh Wardle for his partner was purchased by the Times for a seven-figure amount late last month. Wordle just migrated to the Time’s website yesterday, and there have been a couple of hiccups. Some have noticed that their Wordle game statistics haven’t automatically transferred over, as the Times promised. Other people have opinions on the new, NYT-like game interface and the likelihood that the game may soon be under the newspaper’s paywall (though it remains free for now).
If you’re a naturally vulgar-minded person, don’t despair. There’s always Lewdle, Wordle’s X-rated cousin.
