Today's Wordle #609 Answer, Hints and Tips for Saturday, February 18 Game

When Josh Wardle, a New York based software engineer, first invented Wordle during coronavirus lockdown he surely had no idea that he was about to launch a global sensation.

The game became wildly popular online after it was released to the public in October 2021, and in January 2022 it was purchased by the New York Times for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

Speaking to Newsweek Erhan Aslan, associate professor of applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the U.K., argued social media played a key role in Wordle's viral spread.

He said: "Before the digital age, word puzzle games, particularly crossword puzzles, would usually appear in newspapers and magazines. People would do them while waiting for the bus or train, in the toilet, or just to kill time.

"In today's digital age, like many other things, many simple games like Wordle can be played online. I think that Wordle gains its popularity not only from its simple rules but also from its virality on social media platforms as a result of people sharing/posting their scores to demonstrate a sense of accomplishment and validation."

Wordle's popularity has helped inspire a number of other online puzzles, such as Nerdle for math fans and the geography based Worldle.

To help you solve today's Wordle, Newsweek has provided some tips. The answer to today's puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself.

'Wordle' #609 Tips and Clues for Saturday, February 18

Wordle players can use these five hints to help solve puzzle #609.

Hint #1: Today's Wordle contains three vowels. Yes three!

Hint #2: The first and third letters are the same.

Hint #3: Synonyms for today's answer include "advantage" and "usefulness."

Hint #4: The fourth letter is a vowel.

Hint #5: Can be associated with offering help.

'Wordle' #609 Answer for Saturday, February 18

The answer to today's Wordle is "Avail."

Having three vowels, including the letter 'A' twice, today's Wordle certainly wasn't the toughest we've yet faced, but it was still a good challenge.

Congratulations if you figured it out but please don't worry if not – one of the best things about Wordle is seeing if you can improve your score over time. Newsweek will be back on Sunday with another round of hints and tips for the latest Wordle.

What Does 'Avail' Mean?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "avail" as "to be of use or advantage."

For example: "Our best efforts did not avail."