Wordle’s Editor Talks Taylor Swift Fan Encounter, Games Hacks and Her Favorite Celebrity Fan
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Tracy Bennett's job satisfaction is close to 100 percent. Since November 2022, Bennett has been the editor of The New York Times game Wordle — the viral daily word puzzle played by millions worldwide. "It's a dream job," she told Us Weekly during a recent interview. "Being a puzzle person and getting to work full-time in puzzles? It's amazing, because I'm almost 60. It's like starting over all over again!"
The longtime Ann Arbor, Michigan, resident got her start copy editing "Phd.-level mathematics" for academic journals and had been a professional puzzle constructor for nearly a decade when she applied for and nabbed the Wordle gig. (The Times acquired Wordle from its independent creator, Josh Wardle, in January 2022.). As players everywhere — including famous fans like Meghan Markle, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper and others — prep to play the 1,000th Wordle word this Friday, March 15, Bennett spoke to Us about hacks, the most controversial word ever, her go-to pop culture and Taylor Swift.
Us Weekly: Before you got the job, did you play Wordle for fun?
Tracy Bennett: I became aware of it, like everybody else, and I got into it. I didn't share [my results] — I'm not much of a social media person, but I did enjoy it every day and would compare among my friends.
Taylor Swift Through the Years: From Nashville Upstart to Pop Superstar
Us: Do you remember a word that stumped you and made you lose your streak?
TB: I [didn't] get all hung up on if I broke a streak or anything like that. Tomorrow's another chance, another day to get it.
Us: What is the process for putting together these puzzles?
TB: I'm working about six weeks in advance, and I will be looking to set up a week's worth of words. I may use a search engine like random.org. And then I'll question my team. Last week I had SCION, and it seemed difficult; not everyone would know that word necessarily. And do we want to run something that's not accessible to every single solver out there? I did take it out for that week, but I didn't delete it from the database, so it can come up later; I like the difficulty to be varied through that week. Then I will look each word up in the dictionary and see if it's got any secondary or tertiary meanings that are potentially offensive. I think about the news cycle — you wouldn't want to run CRASH if there was just a terrible plane crash. I have to keep my senses alert even after scheduling. If you schedule six weeks in advance, something could happen, and you can swap out a word if so.
By the time six weeks have gone by, I can play like a regular person, because I don't remember the words! But if I'm going to be on top of the news cycle and checking that, then I lose that ability. So, over time I have evolved a flow where I lightly check every week what's coming up — but I try to forget it.
Us: So you still play Wordle every day? What about some of the other Times games?
TB: I do. I wake up every morning and play Wordle and Spelling Bee. I have an advantage for Wordle, but not Spelling Bee. And I'm a test solver for Connections. Otherwise I would play that every day too.
Us: Do you share your daily results with anyone?
TB: No. I do have people share with me; people tell me they didn't like the words over text.
Us: What, in your memory, has been the most controversial word?
TB: It was in the very first few weeks of my taking over the editing of Wordle. I ran FEAST on Thanksgiving and there was a contingent that really, really resented that choice. I was so new and I felt like it was the end of the world. It did help me realize how significant this role really is to millions of people. It was eye-opening. The theme that the editor is choosing adds an element to the game that wasn't there in its design, and that feels unfair.
Us: Do you ever find word inspiration out in the wild?
TB: Sometimes I pick a book off my shelf and I find five-letter words in the book. One time I chose the Joni Mitchell songbook, and they were all sad, depressing words. And I'm like, Oh, I can't use this, this is not gonna work out. I also went to a middle school to give a talk to English-as-a-second-language learners. I let them put words in a hat. I took that hat home and I used some of those words.
Us: Let's talk strategy. Are you pro or con picking the same starter word every day, or picking a vowel-rich word like ADIEU?
TB: Actually, neither has been to your advantage. But statistically, if you start with a word like TRACE, a good mix of common letters but not all of them vowels, you're going to have a better chance of getting [the answer] in six.
Us: Any other hacks?
TB: It's more what not to do. Having a favorite word that you use every day is just as good as whimsically choosing a word every day, I think. I don't think it's good to start with a word that has two of the same letters. For example, don't choose PANDA, because you're wasting a chance to figure out a letter. Otherwise I prefer in my own guessing to just randomly choose a word and not the same every day.
Us: What is your pop-culture diet? TV shows, movies, musicians, famous people that you're obsessed with?
TB: I really, really love Fargo. That's my favorite series. I'm also a fan of Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things. I think we have to wait until 2025 for the next season, which is driving me crazy. For funny stuff, Abbot Elementary. I have insomnia sometimes, and to fall asleep I watch reruns of Friends. I've seen every episode multiple times and it soothes me with this nostalgic, warm, fuzzy feeling when I'm falling asleep.
Us: What music are you listening to?
TB: I love Janelle Monae. I'm a jazz person, and I also like old singer-songwriter stuff, like Joni Mitchell. I do love Brandi Carlisle. And then for the jazzy side of things, newer talent in that category would be Samara Joy and Esperanza Spalding. I love both of them and they both won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
Us: Any thoughts on Taylor Swift?
TB: I have great respect for her, the way she manages her life and her fame. Just amazing. I'm not a huge fan of her music but I am still a fan of her. I had someone at a party come up to me and say "I know you put this word in Wordle because Taylor Swift's album just came out and one of the titles is this," like a product placement sort of [theory], and it was completely not true. I don't remember what the word was, which is driving me crazy.
[Ed. note: We're pretty sure it was STYLE, which was the word for July 31, 2023 — 10 days before Taylor Swift finally announced 1989 (Taylor's Version).]
Us: What celebrities are you obsessed with?
TB: My favorite person growing up as a little girl was Carol Burnett. I religiously watched her show every single week and loved her. So when it turned out that she was a Wordle fan I went through the roof! [Burnett said in an interview that she plays every day with Allison Janney].
Us: Have you heard from any of the famous people that are Wordle players?
TB: I don't think I've had anyone directly speak to me, but I've been on Andy Cohen's show, Watch What Happens Live!, twice and he's a big fan. He's really friendly and really kind anyway, but he especially likes New York Times games.
Us: Ben Affleck shared in an interview that he has a group Wordle thing going with Matt Damon and Bradley Cooper. What's your response to that?
TB: They're famous and that makes it really cool, but I actually get the same feeling when someone writes to me and says, You ran this word today and it had such meaning in my life because… and they tell me a story. Regular people write to me about something amazing that happened. For example, I put CAROL in Wordle — it's a noun as well as a name. And someone who was a huge Wordle lover who had passed recently had their memorial service that day. And her name was Carol. And so her daughter wrote to me and said, "My phone was blowing up this morning because people were waking up and doing the word all and it was, you know, our Carol's name was the word that day." It ended up getting worked into the eulogy at the memorial service. That kind of story gives me the same feeling as hearing about famous people who are also into the game and take value in it. It's a magical thing.
Celebrity BFFs: Hollywood’s Closest Pals
Us: Let's do a lightning round about Wordle's celebrity players besides Carol Burnett.
TB: What's your take on these famous fans? I'll go one by one. Meghan Markle.
She's brave with a twist of savvy. I admire her poise and grace.
Us: Carrie Bradshaw [Sarah Jessica Parker’s character on And Just Like That].
TB: She's an urban woman with a sharp sense of style who is quick with witty words. She's a writer from the heart. I've aged along with Carrie/Sarah and the other Sex and the City ladies, so the sequel And Just Like That ... is right up my alley.
Us: Ben Affleck.
TB: A smart and solid actor with skill in many roles, who seems to have a thing for Jennifers.
Us: Bradley Cooper.
TB: What charm, that smile! He's honed his craft. Give that man an Oscar!
Us: Matt Damon.
TB: Close buddy of Ben's and a great actor in his many well-chosen roles. I loved him in The Martian.
Us: Helen Mirren.
TB: I'm in awe of her talent and beauty. I struggle to find five-letter words to describe her. I'd love to meet her, though in her presence I'd probably be at a loss for words of any length. I love that she loves Wordle!
To celebrate Wordle's 1000th word, New York Times Games has planned a slew of special events and giveaways around New York City from March 14 to 21, including lighting the Empire State Building (SPIRE) in the game's iconic green and yellow colors, a free BAGEL in the East Village, a gratis DONUT in Brooklyn's Greenpoint and much more. Read about all the celebrations here.
