It happened again. You woke up, grabbed your phone, opened the NYT Games app, and stared at a wall of gray squares. We’ve all been there. Honestly, the Wordle answer April 18 is one of those words that feels easy until you realize you only have two guesses left and the "Green" tiles are nowhere to be found.
Wordle has this weird way of making you feel like a genius or a total fraud before you've even had your first cup of coffee. Today is no different. If you are struggling with the Wordle answer April 18, don't beat yourself up. The letter distribution is tricky. It’s one of those words that uses common letters but in a configuration that isn't exactly the first thing that pops into your brain.
Sometimes the New York Times editors, led by Tracy Bennett, like to throw us a curveball. They've been known to favor words that have double letters or those pesky "Y" endings that ruin a perfectly good streak.
The Struggle for the Wordle Answer April 18
Let’s get real. Most people start with "ADIEU" or "STARE." It’s basically a religion at this point. If you used one of those today, you probably found a couple of yellow tiles, but they aren't exactly helping you narrow down the specific structure of the word.
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The Wordle answer April 18 is VALET.
Yeah. VALET.
V-A-L-E-T.
It’s a simple word. We see it at hotels. We see it at fancy restaurants. But for some reason, when you're looking at five empty boxes, the letter "V" feels like a stranger. "V" is what we call a low-frequency letter in linguistics. While "E" and "A" are the prom queens of the English language, "V" is the kid sitting in the back of the class that nobody remembers until they have to.
Why VALET is Harder Than It Looks
The problem with "VALET" isn't the vowels. You likely got the "A" and the "E" early on. The issue is the placement.
When you have _ A _ E _, your brain immediately goes to "BAKER," "CAKED," or "SAFER." You spend three guesses hunting for a common consonant like "R" or "S," and suddenly you're on guess five with a looming sense of dread. This is a classic Wordle trap. It's called "The Rabbit Hole."
Josh Wardle, the guy who originally created the game before selling it for a seven-figure sum, intentionally curated the initial list of 2,315 words to avoid the most obscure stuff. But even "common" words become puzzles when they start with a "V."
Strategy for Future Grids
If you lost your streak today, I'm sorry. It hurts. I lost a 142-day streak once because of the word "FOUND" (there are just too many possibilities for _ O U N D).
To avoid another disaster like the Wordle answer April 18, you need to stop guessing words just to find the answer. You need to "burn" a turn. If you have _ A _ E T and you don't know if it's VALET, PALET, or something else, use a word that contains both "V" and "P" even if you know it's not the answer. This is called the "elimination strategy." It’s what the pros do.
The "V" in Wordle answer April 18 is a reminder that we shouldn't ignore the left side of the keyboard. We focus so much on the "RSTLN" combo (thanks, Wheel of Fortune) that we forget words can start with "V," "W," or even "Z."
Fun Facts About Valet
The word itself has a bit of a weird history. It’s French, obviously. Historically, a valet was a male servant who acted as a personal attendant to a nobleman. Nowadays, we just think of it as the person we give $20 to so they can park our car in a tight garage.
Interestingly, the pronunciation of the Wordle answer April 18 is a point of contention. Is it "val-AY" or "val-ETT"? In the US, we usually go with "val-AY" for the parking service, but the "T" is often pronounced in the UK when referring to the historical servant. Since Wordle uses American English standards (usually), the spelling is consistent, but the mental phonetics might have tripped you up.
Actionable Tips for Tomorrow
Stop using the same starting word every day. It’s boring. Switch it up. Try "SLANT" or "CRANE."
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If you're stuck on a word like Wordle answer April 18, look at the keyboard and see which letters you haven't used. Often, the answer is hiding in the letters you think are too "rare" to be the solution. Also, remember that Wordle doesn't use plurals ending in "S" as answers. It saves you a guess every single time.
Now that you've got the Wordle answer April 18, go enjoy your day. Your streak is safe for another 24 hours.