Today I write to you from Bozeman, MT, the town in which I was born and—for some short while—raised. We have traveled back here to celebrate the 90th birthday of my grandma—who everyone calls Nana—the whole lot of us. My mom’s mom had eight kids, and most of them had children of their own.
I was the oldest of the grandchildren. I have cousins younger than my own kids. Many of my cousins have little broods of tiny ones. The family grows and spreads like branches on a great, green tree. At its center is Nana. (Though, to be fair, she was once a branch in this analogy, of some other tree—perhaps families are more like the root systems of aspen trees, which form a fascinating lattice beneath the earth).
Whatever the case, it is from this lovely town in the Gallatin Valley that I type these words. These days, Bozeman has been even more popularized—ironically—by the Taylor Sheridan show Yellowstone, which itself takes on the trappings of an anti-colonialist vignette about the worrisome outsiders who have descended on these lands like vultures: The Californians and coastal elites and hedge-fund managers that seek to displace the Duttons. There are bits and pieces of truth in that show, but only bits and pieces. There are few dramatic gunfights in the streets or office-building bombings. Outsiders should fear the winters more.
Your Wordle Wednesday riddle is:
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
I’ll post the answer tomorrow!
For now, we are here to Wordle, and so we shall!
How To Solve Today’s Wordle
The Hint: A favorite Wordle opening guess for many.
The Clue: This word has more consonants than vowels.
The Answer:
.
.
.
Crane!
Wordle Bot Analysis
Today, rather than post the rundown of my guesses, I post a comparison between my guesses and Wordle Bot’s. Partly this is to brag. I beat the Bot by two! More so, however, it is to underscore the importance and value of a sense of humor. Allow me to explain.
My opening guess, speak, left me with 267 remaining solutions according to the Wordle Bot analysis. Not great! My second guess, later, slashed that down to just 25. Much better, sure, but still a long ways off.
At this point I had lots of words to choose from and I knew it, but I realized that one possible choice was crane, once the Wordle Bot’s #1 pick before slate took over. I thought, “Oh wouldn’t it have been funny if this was the word and I’d decided to guess it today!” So I chose it for my third pick and much to my amusement, all the boxes turned up green.
Today’s Score: I wish this was 2XP Friday! I get 1 point for guessing in three and 1 for beating Wordle Bot for a grand total of 2 points! Huzzah!
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The word “crane” has an interesting etymology. It originated from the Old English word “cran,” which can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word “kran-” or “krana-.” This Proto-Germanic root is believed to be derived from the Proto-Indo-European root “*gerh₂-,” meaning “to cry out” or “to call.”
The association between the crane bird and the word “crane” comes from the bird’s distinctive loud and resonant call, which resembles a trumpet-like sound. The bird’s vocalizations played a role in shaping the word’s evolution in various languages.
It’s worth noting that the word “crane” has a close cognate in several other Germanic languages. For example, in German, the word for crane is “Kranich,” and in Dutch, it is “kraanvogel.” These cognates reflect the shared heritage of these languages.
Overall, the etymology of the word “crane” suggests a connection between the bird’s vocalizations and the name given to it in various Germanic languages.
Play Competitive Wordle Against Me!
I’ve been playing a cutthroat game of PvP Wordle against my nemesis Wordle But. Now you should play against me! I can be your nemesis! (And your helpful Wordle guide, of course). You can also play against the Bot if you have a New York Times subscription.
- Here are the rules:1 point for getting the Wordle in 3 guesses.
- 2 points for getting it in 2 guesses.
- 3 points for getting it in 1 guess.
- 1 point for beating Erik
- 0 points for getting it in 4 guesses.
- -1 point for getting it in 5 guesses.
- -2 points for getting it in 6 guesses.
- -3 points for losing.
- -1 point for losing to Erik
You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.
I’d love it if you gave me a follow on Twitter or Facebook dearest Wordlers. Have a lovely day!
As always, I’d love it if you’d follow me here on this blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel and my Substack so you can stay up-to-date on all my TV, movie and video game reviews and coverage. Thanks!
Read the full article here
