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It is Wednesday, my dudes, and a new Wordleis upon us as midnight ticks past around the globe. And while it's usually more satisfying to work it out all on your lonesome, sometimes you just get stuck — that's where we come in.

The answer to the July 6 Wordle, puzzle #382, can be found at the end of this article, with the spoiler clearly signposted. If you're not ready to find out the solution yet, read on for a few tips, gentle hints, and strategies to help you puzzle it out today and every day.

Who made Wordle? Where did Wordle come from?

Wordle's sudden explosion at the end of 2021 led to a round of press focused on its creator. Former Reddit engineer Josh Wardle actually came up with the game in 2021 as a private exercise for him and his word game-loving partner. It eventually became a staple of their family WhatsApp messaging, and that's when Wardle started to suspect he might have something special enough to merit a wider release.

So special, in fact, that the New York Timesbought it from him in early 2022. Hundreds of thousands of people now play it every day.

Not the day you're after? Here's the Wordleanswer for July 5.

Look to the future!Find July 7's Wordlesolution here.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

One Wordlea day is all well and good, but sometimes it just isn't enough. While you could once play the entire archive of past puzzles, the archive was taken down at the request of the New York Times, according to the site.

Best Wordle starting word?

We have some ideas to help you pick the perfect first move (or as close to perfect as you can get without just magically guessing the exact right word). Such tips include choosing a word with at least two different vowels in it, plus a few common consonants such as S, T, R, or N.

Is there a Wordle app for Android or iOS? Is Wordle free?

You might find "Wordle" results in an iOS App Store or Google Play Store search, but don't mistake it for the real thing. Wordle, the original one Josh Wardle came up with and kindly delivered unto the internet in late 2021, currently only exists as a browser game that lives right here. If you're playing it anywhere else, it's — at best — a shameless knock-off that's trying to capitalize on someone else's success.

And, yes, it's still free.

Is Wordle getting harder?

If you've been finding Wordletoo easy, there is a Hard Mode you can enable to give yourself more of a challenge. But unless you activate this mode, we can assure you that Wordle isn't getting harder. (This past week or so certainly has served up some real doozies, though, so don't beat yourself up too much if you broke your streak.)

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

The whole point of Wordleis that everyone's solving the same puzzle, with the same answer, no matter where you are in the world. However, occasionally the puzzle game will accept two different correct solutions on the same day, in apparent defiance of Wordlelaw.

This aberration is due to changes the New York Timesbegan making after it acquired Wordleearlier this year, removing obscure or potentially sensitive words from the original list Wardle put together. (For example, the word GAILY was originally scheduled to be a solution last week, but has been removed.) To make sure you're always getting the same puzzle as everyone else, refresh your browser before you play — don't worry, the site will keep your streak.

A subtle hint for the Wordle answer today:

One letter appears more than once. This could be a consecutive double letter, a non-consecutive repeating letter, or even... both of these.

Wordle today is a 5-letter word that starts with...

The letter F! Yes, same as yesterday's.

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What's the answer to the Wordle today?

Ready?

We're about to tell you the answer.

Today's word is...

FLUFF.

Ooh, the rare triple letter! This doesn't happen very often, so savor the moment.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Amanda Yeo and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.