IT General

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a tree hugger.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 28, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 28, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Stem.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

No, there are no recurring letters.

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Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

TRUNK

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

Linux Mint has a reputation for being the friendly face of Linux and the perfect first step. The one people point to when they say switching from Windows is easier than you'd think. I believed that for a while. I installed it on my Lenovo IdeaPad Y70, got comfortable, and figured I'd finally made the jump for good. What followed was about a year of regretting that choice entirely, and I would take it back if I could. I wish more people told you what to expect when you switch from Windows to Linux.

I didn’t expect to get this attached to Android Auto, but here we are.

I love reading. My home is stuffed full of books, and so are my eReaders. The problem is that with so many great books to read, I find it hard to finish the book I'm on before I start the next one. I ended up adding a small script to my jailbroken Kindle that stops me from opening any other books until I've finished the one I'm reading.

It's business as usual for Netflix, as the streamer continues to put out new movies this month. Unabomber, a new thriller about the life of Ted Kaczynski, shot straight to No. 1 on Netflix. I expect that movie to stay at No. 1 for at least the next week.

Remember when the most expensive consumer GPUs in the world actually melted? Or, most of the time, when their connectors melted? I do too. But it's not a thing of the past.

TL;DR: Learn how to get more out of Claude with the Claude AI Professional E-Degree, on sale for $14.97 (reg. $49) through Sept. 29.

Opens in a new window Credit: Eduonix Learning Solutions Claude AI Professional E-Degree $14.97
$159 Save $144.03   Get Deal

More companies are building their workflows around Claude, and Forbes reports it has become the enterprise favorite. That shift can feel like one more thing to keep up with, but it can also be an opening. Knowing how to get strong results from Claude could make you the go-to person on your team when questions come up, and this four-course bundle can help guide you there for $14.97 (reg. $49). That breaks down to less than $4 per course.

The courses come from Eduonix Learning Solutions, a team of industry professionals who teach technology the way it’s used on the job. You get over 8 hours of video lessons that start with the basics and progress to more advanced material. It fits whether you’ve only asked Claude a handful of questions or already use it every day.

Here’s what the lessons cover

• Writing more effective prompts and building chain-of-thought workflows

• AI-assisted coding and debugging techniques

• Connecting Claude with Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Chrome, and MCP connectors

• Hands-on projects for marketing workflows, AI websites, and automated systems

The project work is where you turn your learning into action. Instead of watching someone else use the tool, you’ll build things that mirror the tasks you’d actually hand off to Claude at work. Quizzes along the way show you what’s sticking, and you’ll earn a professional eDegree certification when you finish.

It’s a great low-effort way for developers, freelancers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to move beyond basic chats and into AI use that saves real time. The material is split into four modules so that you can take them one at a time.

Get the Claude AI Professional E-Degree for $14.97 (reg. $49) through Sept. 29.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

A PC desk setup is like an iceberg: on the surface, it looks good, but beneath it lies much more. The hidden portion usually consists of messy cables and wires leading to various ports and outlets.

I’ve used OneNote for years, which apparently gave me just enough confidence to assume I knew what I was doing. I have notebooks for work, random ideas, recipes, travel plans, and all the little things I swear I’ll come back to later.

I never disliked working in the Linux terminal. In fact, I always look around for different terminal tricks to save time and make me more productive. I also like to customize the terminal to make it look stunning. Out of so many ways to upgrade the terminal, these are the tools I chose to get the best of both worlds.

Multicolor and multi-material 3D printers aren't new, but they are quite a recent development if we're talking about the world of affordable, consumer 3D printers.

I used to think a $50 Android tablet was the kind of device you bought when you couldn't justify spending more on a proper one. These days, though, I've started looking at cheap tablets very differently. You don't necessarily need a powerful processor, a beautiful display, or the latest version of Android when you're buying a device for a very specific job. In fact, a cheaper tablet can be perfect for the kind of projects where you wouldn't want to spend tons of money, anyway.

First came the hand across the dinner table. Then the second drink, the carefully cropped shoulder, and the suspiciously tall shadow. Now Instagram has a new way to hint that you’re seeing someone.

The platform’s new Pixel effect lets you blur a person or object in a Story by describing what you want pixelated in a text prompt. In a post showing off the effect, Instagram leaned into its dating potential: "Soft launching? We got you."

If you’re unfamiliar with the ritual, a soft launch lets your followers know there’s a new person in your life without telling them exactly who it is. You might post their hand or the back of their head. Pixel takes that idea a step further: Everyone can see that your date is in the photo, but their identity remains a mystery.

And there’s an audience for that kind of reveal. Tinder data reported by Mashable in 2023 found that 26 percent of UK 18- to 34-year-olds would rather gradually reveal a new partner online, compared with 8 percent who preferred a big announcement. In a recent Tinder survey, 46 percent of single Gen Z social media users in the U.S. said they soft-launch relationships, while 37 percent said they hard-launch them.

SEE ALSO: Young people want to soft launch their partners, Tinder says

Of course, blurring a date is its own kind of announcement, and people have thoughts about what it might feel like to be on the other side of it. In an r/popculturechat thread about the feature, one commenter asked whether a pixelated partner was in "witness protection." Another summed up the appeal, or lack of it, as "For when you want to share pictures but not really." Someone else could already see the argument coming: "Fights about why someone blurred the other happening in 3..2..1."

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There’s another option, too: Keep the relationship off Instagram. In a 2024 survey of 1,000 Gen Z and millennial adults, 45 percent said they didn’t share their relationships online or didn’t use social media. The same survey found that respecting their own or their partner’s privacy was the top reason respondents gave for soft launching. For some couples, a partial reveal feels like a comfortable middle ground. For others, it might be more attention than they want.

Pixel also has uses unrelated to dating. You could blur a child’s face in a family photo or obscure a stranger who ended up in the background. "This makes most sense for background people in your picture who didn’t consent to being in a picture posted online," one Reddit commenter wrote.

That concern lands amid other questions about how Meta handles people’s images. In July, the company briefly let users reference public Instagram accounts in AI-generated images, then removed the feature after criticism. Its camera-equipped smart glasses have also raised concerns about bystanders being recorded without their knowledge. Now, Pixel gives someone posting a Story a way to blur a person first.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

As for dating, Pixel makes the soft launch easier to pull off — though it doesn’t tell you how your date will feel about it. That may be a conversation to have before the Story goes up.

Wi-Fi is super convenient, but when it comes to its ability to travel through walls and cover the entire house, things can get a little sketchy. It's not just about the stability of your connection, but also about the speeds.

I’ve been using an OTA antenna for TV for a while. I hate monthly subscriptions and this is another way I can make the most out of what’s available for zero cost. I can access all the major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX, but if there is a specific show I want to watch, I have to be there when it starts and watch until it’s over. Network shows, NFL games, and reruns are all there, but what I really miss most is being able to watch them when I want, and more importantly, fast-forward through the commercials.

Have you ever opened Blender hoping to create something, only to get overwhelmed by the interface and close the app a few minutes later? If so, you’re in good company. A lot of people, myself included, have wanted to use this powerful software to create something beautiful, especially after hearing about Flow — the animated film that won the 2025 Oscar for Best Animated Feature and was entirely created using Blender. However, as soon as you open the app, all the panels, modes, menus, submenus, and hundreds of settings make it seem like an insurmountable learning curve, leading many of us to give up on the idea.

"We do not condone what we are doing." It’s a bold thing for an AI company CEO to say on television, even when that CEO is actually Jane Wickline in a wig.

During the Sept. 26 premiere of Saturday Night Live’s new season, Wickline played Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Weekend Update, answering Michael Che’s questions as two versions of the same man. One tried to sound like a reassuring tech CEO. The other kept saying things a reassuring tech CEO probably shouldn’t say on television.

The second version won. "AI is the devil and I its maker!" Wickline’s Amodei declared. Asked about the industry’s position on its own work, the character offered another less-than-comforting assurance: "We do not condone what we are doing."

Even the segment’s attempt to find a bright side took a turn. Asked whether AI could cure cancer, Wickline’s Amodei replied, "In 10 years, there’s about a 10% chance that cancer won’t be a problem for anyone," leaving audiences wondering if he's predicting a cure or a world with no one left to get cancer.

SEE ALSO: Anthropic's CEO urges the industry to slow down, and Sam Altman agrees

Amodei leads the company behind Claude, but he has also warned about the risks of developing increasingly powerful AI too quickly. In a recent essay, he called for companies to slow the pace of development so safety work has time to catch up, with outside evaluators and shared standards to help keep them accountable. He argues that AI could bring enormous benefits, too; his proposal is to develop it more carefully.

With SNL back for a new season, it was only a matter of time before the AI debate reached the Weekend Update desk. Wickline got plenty of material out of one CEO trying to explain himself. We’ll see which tech executive the show characterizes next.

I used to think Samsung’s edge panels were one of those features that sounded useful in theory but didn’t really have much practical value. After spending some time with them, though, I’ve changed my mind. The retractable shortcut drawer gives me quick access to a ton of things I use a lot without forcing me to leave whatever I’m doing or hunt through a cluttered app drawer. For something that’s always sitting quietly at the edge of the screen, it can make everyday tasks noticeably less frustrating.

On an average workday I spend about 10 hours at my computer and that's before you count the many hours I spend on my PC doing things that I enjoy. When you sit behind a keyboard that much, you realize how many simple things you do require too many clicks. Sure, they might only take a couple of seconds in the moment, but at the end of the day all that time adds up.

A refrigerator has one job you really don’t want interrupted by a software update. For some Samsung owners in South Korea, though, an update left their fridges unable to keep food cold.

The trouble began Sept. 22, when customers installed refrigerator software through Samsung’s SmartThings app. Owners reported dark interior lights, screens stuck on an "updating" message, and fridges that had stopped cooling. The affected models were reportedly mostly Bespoke AI four-door refrigerators released since 2024.

SEE ALSO: Apple's iPhone Duo is here, and Samsung is already throwing shade

The timing made a bad situation worse. Chuseok, a major Korean holiday centered on family gatherings and food, was about to begin. One owner told Seoul Shinmun they had thrown away 20 kilograms of food; others worried about meat and other groceries they had bought for the holiday.

Samsung acknowledged the problem on its community forum, saying an error during software testing had caused power and screen problems for some customers. According to South Korean reporting, software meant for internal testing was mistakenly sent to customers. Samsung stopped distributing it, offered free repairs, and aimed to restore affected refrigerators by Sept. 24. The company said it was still reviewing compensation for spoiled food. It has not publicly confirmed how many fridges were affected or whether every repair was completed by that target date.

The outage raises a question that goes well beyond Samsung. Fridges can recognize food and suggest recipes. LG sells washers that detect fabric types and adjust the cycle. Dyson’s new CameraJet toothbrush even uses a tiny camera and AI to find the gaps between your teeth. Some of those features may be genuinely useful.

But Samsung’s fridge failure shows what’s at stake when the software inside an everyday appliance goes wrong: you might lose the basic thing you bought the appliance to do in the first place.