Saturday · #1827

Wordle Hint for June 20, 2026

Five spoiler-free clues that warm up from a gentle vibe to almost-the-word — plus the full answer, revealed only when you want it.

Start with hint 1 ↓ Skip to the answer →
STEP BY STEP

The Hint Ladder

Each rung gives away a little more

By the reedy edge of the pond, the more colorful half of a paddling pair glides with an iridescent sheen, his quiet authority unmistakable among the ripples.

This word has vowels. No letters repeat.

Starts with . Ends with .

This noun refers to a male duck, often spotted dabbling in park lakes or marshes. You might hear it in a nature documentary: 'The mallard's mate waited on the bank while the glossy-headed male led the ducklings across the water.'

Rhymes with bake.

NO MORE GUESSING

Wordle Answer for June 20, 2026

Puzzle #1827
D
R
A
K
E

The tiles are face-down. Flip them when you’re ready — there’s no undo.

DRAKE — While many solvers know the word for a male duck, it doesn't often surface in everyday conversation unless you're a birdwatcher or frequent parks with waterfowl. The spelling is straightforward—no silent letters or unusual combinations—but the 'K' can be a minor stumbling block because it's less common in five-letter words. The concept is familiar to anyone who's seen a mallard, but your mind might first leap to the rapper or other short words with a similar ending. Most players will arrive at the answer in four or five guesses once a few letters are locked in. The solve usually feels satisfying because the word is recognizable but not overly obvious, placing it squarely in medium difficulty territory. The initial 'D' and final 'E' help, but the middle letters may require some narrowing down.

POST-GAME

How Hard Was It?

Difficulty & what trips people up
Difficulty
6 /10
medium

What trips people up

The biggest pitfall is the familiar D-R-A opening, which instantly brings to mind DRAPE and DRAIN—everyday words that align with common letter patterns, so many solvers will confidently try both only to discover that neither places the correct consonant in the last slot. DRAWL is a third regular guess, sharing the initial three letters and offering a logical consonant ending, but it too fails to match. What makes the word elusive is the unusual 'K' in the fourth position; in English, five-letter words with the sequence A-K-E are relatively scarce, and K is often overlooked unless you're systematically testing every possibility. The meaning also creates a subtle disguise, since a male duck isn't a word that springs to mind when you're staring at a grid of letters, so solvers often exhaust more familiar options before entertaining the correct term. The turning point usually comes when the final E and the D are settled, and solvers shift from guessing action verbs or common objects to considering specific animal names. Once the brain replaces the expected P, I, and W with the sharper K, the answer clicks, often accompanied by a mental picture of iridescent feathers on a pond.

OPTIMAL PATH

Step-by-Step Solving Path

Two openers compared

These paths show how an experienced solver reaches the answer from two popular openers. Step 1 is the opener — always shown. Reveal each next step only when you’re ready.

Starts with  Ends with  null vowels
Strategy A — SLATE Opener
1 SLATE
S
L
A
T
E
2 CRANE
C
R
A
N
E
3 DRAKE
D
R
A
K
E
Strategy B — CRANE Opener
1 CRANE
C
R
A
N
E
2 BRAKE
B
R
A
K
E
3 DRAKE
D
R
A
K
E
THE WORD

Word Story

DRAKE specifically means a male duck, recognized by the brighter, often iridescent feathers that set it apart from the drab plumage of the female. In practical usage, you hear it at parks, in birdwatching guides, or in rural settings where mallard drakes paddle serenely with their mates. A secondary, more obscure sense refers to a dragon or serpent in folklore, appearing in old tales and fantasy novels to describe a lesser, wyrm-like beast. This dual meaning gives the word a quiet stretch from peaceful ponds to mythical caverns, though the everyday sense is far more common. A vivid real-world illustration is the mallard drake in Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings, who carefully guides his family through the hazards of Boston, embodying protective patience. Whenever you spot a pair of ducks, the one with the glossy green head is unmistakably the drake.