Today's Wordle 549 answer and hint for Tuesday, December 20

Whatever help you need with today's Wordle, you'll find all you need and more on this very page. I can offer you helpful hints, a clue to help nudge you in the right direction, and if you'd like something a little more direct the answer to the December 20 (549) Wordle is just below.

I managed to make something very simple far more complicated than it needed to be today, skillfully avoiding the answer that was virtually laid out in front of me because… because we're all allowed off days, I suppose. I did get there just before the end, but I definitely could've reached the same conclusion two or three guesses sooner.

Wordle hint

A Wordle hint for Tuesday, December 20

The answer today shouldn't cause you too much trouble once you've read this hint. What's one place after second and one place before fourth? For example, the Earth is the ____ planet from the sun.  

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day 

If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:

• A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. 
• A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
• The solution may contain repeat letters.

There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank.

Today's Wordle answer

What is the Wordle 549 answer?

You're only a sentence away from a win. The answer to the December 20 (549) Wordle is THIRD. 

Previous answers

Wordle archive: Which words have been used

The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.

Here are some recent Wordle solutions:

• December 19: SLATE
• December 18: TAPER
• December 17: CHORD
• December 16: PROBE
• December 15: RIVAL
• December 14: USUAL
• December 13: SPOKE
• December 12: APPLY
• December 11: NAIVE
• December 10: KNOCK

Learn more about Wordle 

Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.

You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you've got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. ???? means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. ???? means you've got the right letter in the right spot.

You'll want your second go to compliment the first, using another "good" word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer.

After that it's just a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there's an E). Don't forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you'll find those below.

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.