Wordle #286 hints for Friday, April 1 — no spoilers

Wordle on a smartphone screen
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Wordle #286 is yet another difficult one that's causing no end of trauma among the game's many dedicated players. Want proof of that? Well look no further than Twitter, where 'Wordle 286 X' is trending amid a flurry of posts showing lost streaks.

Wordle streak loss is a very real fear in 2022, up there with anxiety over Netflix canceling your favorite show after just one season or Marvel making a seriously bad movie.  

But fortunately there's a fix — and it doesn't involve searching for today's Wordle answer. Rather than go all the way and just tell you what the solution is, I'm going to give you several no-spoiler Wordle hints for game #286. 

Why should you trust me? Well I’ve played every Wordle so far and lost only once — so I've got plenty of tips and tricks to share.

So read on and we'll solve Wordle #286 together and stop the dastardly New York Times from ruining our day.

Wordle #286 hints

Before I start with the specific hints for Wordle #286, I want to make one thing clear: you should always, always, always use one of the best Wordle start words. Sure, it might be more fun to play a different start word every day, but losing your streak isn't fun at all — so don't risk it.

Right, let's move onto the Wordle #286 hints, starting with a few simple ones that might be enough to jump-start your game:

Wordle #286 hints — starters

  • Wordle #286 contains two vowels*
  • It starts with a very common starting letter…
  • …and ends with a very common ending letter

* By vowel I'm meaning A, E, I, O, U. There are other letters that are sometimes considered to be vowels, depending on how they are used. 

Obviously it helps to know what the most common starting and ending letters are, so here's the top five for each:

Most common Wordle starting letters

  • S
  • C
  • B
  • T
  • P

Most common Wordle ending letters

  • E
  • Y
  • T
  • R
  • L

I'm not explicitly saying today's starting and ending letters are in those lists… but they're certainly worth trying.

Wordle #286 hints — mid-level clues

If the above hints didn't help, then let's get even more specific for the next clues:

  • Wordle #286 is in the format consonant, consonant, vowel, vowel, consonant
  • Proboscis

Wordle #286 hints — end-game clues

Still stuck? Getting worried about that streak? Don't panic — here's my final hint: 

  • Wordle #286 is another name for a nose

You got it now, right? Good. But if you're still utterly stumped then head over to our today's Wordle answer page and cut straight to the chase. And if you want something else to play, then check out our list of the best Wordle alternatives and clones.

Marc McLaren

Formerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more. He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.