The answer
What kind of word
Wiktionary lists it as an adjective.
Where the vowels sit
The only vowel is the third letter.
How it ends
Ends in Y.
The middle letter
The middle letter is A.
How it starts
Begins with F.
Reveal the answer
FLAKY
Word500 · Advanced
Word500 Advanced hints for
This is the permanent record for this puzzle. Choose each clue or answer separately.
Publisher archive replay. This is the state returned by Word500's current archive for the selected date. Its yearly schedule repeats; this is not a claim that we captured the original game on that day. The same replay state has one main reference page.
UTC
Just enough help
1 word. Every reveal is your choice.
Continue with this puzzle in the solver
Puzzle source: Word500 official game. The date above follows UTC.
Understand this puzzle
Choose a worked example after solving, or open just the part you need. These explanations are calculated from this recorded puzzle.
Compare the letters after solving
For FLAKY, the pattern _L_K_ fixes positions 2 and 4. It matches 14 of 14757 words in our independent five-letter dictionary: ALIKE, BLOKE, CLOKE, FLAKE, FLAKS, FLAKY, FLUKE, FLUKY ….
7 dictionary words differ at exactly one position: FLAKE, FLAKS, FLAMY, FLARY, FLAWY, FLAXY, FLUKY. Check that differing position before treating a familiar spelling as the solution.
This comparison explains spelling constraints. These are dictionary matches, not the publisher's accepted guesses or historical answer pool.
Worked Word500 feedback for this answer
A hypothetical SLATE guess against FLAKY produces 2 green, 0 yellow and 3 red.
Exact-position matches occur at 2, 3. The two words share A × 1, L × 1, counting each copy at most once. Subtract 2 exact matches from that overlap to obtain 0 misplaced matches.
The game reports totals rather than identifying coloured positions. The positions shown here explain the calculation after revealing the answer. This example belongs to the Advanced answer for this date; it is not a recorded guess or an optimal-opening claim.
Continue with your own clues
Green totals count correct positions; yellow totals count matching letters in other positions.
Open the solver or play at the official site. FiveLetterWords is an independent helper.
Also on May 18, 2024
Source and record information
Recorded from the existing verified source adapter. Source retrieved .
Reproduces the current official archive for the selected date and mode. Its year-relative selection can repeat between years; this is not a claim that the same build was live on the original date.
Letter clues and worked solving examples are deterministic calculations. Record revision: b0c7e0e43b9f.
Report a problem; include word500:advanced:main:en:2024-05-18 and revision b0c7e0e43b9f.