'Half the alphabet could have been the start letter': September 3’s difficult Wordle answer is ending streaks — here’s why it’s so tough

Things have been busy over at the NYT's puzzle department. A day after announcing they're bringing new puzzles to subscribers we get another devious Wordle answer for September 3. If it's got you reaching for today's Wordle hint, I don't blame you.

According to our own in-house Wordle expert, today's answer is 'unusual' for the very reason that it starts with a letter you hardly ever find at the front of a word. That's enough to trip up a lot of people and according to the New York Times' WordleBot, the average player completes Wordle #1,902 in 4.3 moves for easy mode, or 4.2 if playing by hard rules.

If you need help protecting your streak, then you can jump over to find today’s Wordle hint here. But in the meantime, let's take a look at why today's answer is so tricky and if you can't take it anymore, I'll reveal the full answer (with a spoiler warning) down below.

What makes today’s Wordle answer so difficult?

Even the New York Times itself called today's answer "moderately challenging", which is probably a bit of an understatement. But if you've already taken a couple of tries at today's puzzle, you're going to run into a few hurdles designed to trip you up.

Let's look at what makes today's Wordle hint such a doozy.

• Uncommon first letter: As mentioned above, the starting letter for today's answer is one of the least frequently used starting letters in five-letter words. In fact, there are only 20 possible words that begin with this letter.
• The rhyme trap: Today's answer may start with a tricky letter, but the rest of the word follows a pattern that matches with several other rhyming words. Players locking in the last four letters will easily burn through further guesses trying to make it work.
• Specialized vocabulary: It's fair to say that today's word isn't one you're likely to come across in general conversation. It's almost a piece of technical jargon that you wouldn't know about unless you're familiar with the particular industry it's used in.
• Best start words aren't much help: If you're using one of the best Wordle start words, you may miss two of the crucial letters entirely. The vowel combo in today's answer is an uncommon pairing that occurs less often in five-letter words. Like the starting letter, it's going to make it tough to guess.

September 3’s Wordle answer

So, what’s the answer to today’s Wordle #1,902?

…Are you sure you want to know before I give it away?

Ok, the answer to today’s Wordle is “JOIST”.

If you've never been a fan of architecture or had the pleasure of remodeling a house, it's understandable you may not know this word. It's a horizontal structural beam used in building construction. In fact, in my own experience, I've just heard them referred to as RSJs (rolled steel joists) due to the H-shape of the beam used for support.

According to the Merriam-Webster definition, a joist is "any of the small timbers or metal beams ranged parallel from wall to wall in a structure to support a floor or ceiling."

Social media reacts

Unsurprisingly, players have taken to X/Twitter to share their experiences with today's answer.

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• Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streak
• Check out all the latest puzzles and quizzes handcrafted by Tom's Guide
• Today's Wordle hint