'The hardest and most unfair I've done in all my years': Why July 15's brutal Wordle answer could be your streak-killer

If you've taken an attempt at Wordle today, you'll know there's absolutely nothing wrong with using a Wordle hint to help get you across the line. Why? Because July 15's answer may just be one of the toughest that's ever been served up.

In fact, it's so difficult I received an email from our in-house Wordle expert this morning. He said that puzzle #1,852 "may be the hardest and most unfair that I've done in all my years of doing the column."

According to the New York Times' WordleBot, he's not alone — the average player completes today's Wordle in 4.7 moves in easy mode, or 4.6 if playing by hard rules. That's likely enough to be a streak-killer for many players. The last time we saw a puzzle this difficult was back in May.

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If you need a helping hand, you can find our article on today's Wordle hint right here, as well as some of the best start words to try. I'm going to dive into exactly why today's answer is such a doozy below, and I'll also reveal the full answer (with a spoiler warning) to put you out of your misery.

If you haven't played yet, good luck!

What makes today's Wordle answer difficult?

I'll be straight up honest with you: I've made a living as a writer for almost two decades and I've never heard of — let alone used — the answer to today's Wordle puzzle.

So let's break it down a bit and explore the reasons why you'll find today's puzzle so hard to overcome. Firstly, the two starting letters are very rarely ever paired together. It occurs in a couple of medical terms that are derived from ancient Greek — so you'll understand why we're calling it archaic.

Secondly, today's answer contains only one vowel. If you're used to using vowel-heavy starting words (like our Wordle expert's favorite: ORATE) you're going to get a single yellow and not much of an instinct about where to go next. What's more, the consonants used in today's word aren't among the most common letters in the game. Think of popular letters you might try, like R, N or T and you'll be left guessing.

Finally, the actual word itself isn't a standard noun, verb or adjective; it's a historical exclamation. Unless you're a fan of medieval literature, it's unlikely you'd ever even come across this word in the modern world.

Ready to find out what it is? Scroll past the spoiler alert below to see.

June 15's Wordle answer

So, what's the answer to today's challenging Wordle #1,789?

Ok, the answer to today's Wordle is "Pshaw".

Have you ever heard of that word? I'll admit that I hadn't — and several of my colleagues (despite being writers themselves) also had to bid farewell to their streaks today.

Pshaw, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is used to express irritation, disapproval, contempt, or disbelief. Its first recorded usage was all the way back in 1607.

One member of my team, Reviews writer Nikita Achanta, managed to get it, though it was close. "Got it in five with all yellow letters leading up to the answer, and it was a random guess in the end. I didn't even realise that was a legit word," she told me.

If you've taken a look at our daily Wordle hints page, you'll know how tough our seasoned player, Alan Martin, found today's answer:

"Wordlers, I am not exaggerating when I say I must have spent ten minutes trying every possible combination of the remaining letters I could. Eventually, I dimly remembered seeing PSHAW in my list of WordleBot-approved answers from a past column and tried it," he wrote.

"I was relieved when PSHAW was correct, but also felt a bit cheated. It's such an archaic word that it doesn't really feel fair putting it as the daily answer. I expect a lot of streaks will be broken today."

Social media reacts

As you'd expect, a number of players took to social media to blast today's Wordle answer and lament the loss of their hard-earned streaks.

How did you do? Did today's Wordle end your streak or did you guess it in time? Let me know in the comments below.

And if today's answer has ended your love affair with Wordle, check out our own Tom's Guide games to get your fix there instead.

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More from Tom's Guide

• I analyzed every Wordle answer to look for patterns
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• Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streak