Today's 'Wordle' #1,047 Clues and Answer for Wednesday, May 1 puzzle

When Josh Wardle created Wordle, he had no idea it would become a viral sensation. The Brooklyn-based software engineer developed a prototype for Wordle in 2013, but his friends were unimpressed with the game, so he shelved it.

Almost a decade later, and COVID-19 had plunged much of the world into lockdown. It was then that Wardle revisited the game, refining it as a gift for his crossword-loving partner, Palek Shah. The pair had been playing word games together during the pandemic, with Wordle meant to be nothing more than a couple's activity.

This time, his friends and family loved the game, so Wardle decided to upload it to the web in October 2021 for other people to enjoy. In November, Wordle had 91 players. By the following January, it had over 2 million. The New York Times took notice, purchasing the game for a seven-figure sum.

Wardle attributes the game's success to two things. The first is Wordle's five-letter, six-guesses format.

"There is a reason that every word is five letters long and that you are allowed six attempts to guess it," he told Newsweek in January 2022. "That might seem arbitrary but, with the prototype version, I tested different word lengths and experimented with the number of tries that players were allowed.

"Through that process of refinement, I figured out that five letters and six tries was the ideal sweet spot. It's just limited enough to feel challenging and to make you think, but most of the time people still manage to solve it. So, you feel a real sense of real accomplishment."

The second factor, according to Wardle, is that players can only solve one puzzle a day.

"The idea to impose a limitation came when my partner and I started getting into crosswords during the pandemic," Wardle explained. "In particular, The New York Times have this puzzle called 'Spelling Bee,' which has this once-a-day model that I thought was really effective.

"I liked the idea that everyone around the world was trying to solve the exact same word at the exact same time. It created a shared communal experience. [If] there were multiple puzzles to solve and everyone was at a different stage, then there wouldn't be that kind of conversation, which I think is the most fulfilling part of Wordle."

If you need a hand figuring out today's brainteaser, we've put together five hints to help you out.

'Wordle' #1,047, Clues for Wednesday, May 1

Hint #1: Today's Wordle contains two vowels.

Hint #2: The answer is a noun.

Hint #3: There are no repeated letters.

Hint #4: The last letter is a consonant.

Hint #5: Related words include "notebook," "blog" and "journal."

'Wordle' #1,047, Answer for Wednesday, May 1

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

Did you get it? Then go you! If not, you can always try again when Wordle resets at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek will be back tomorrow with more hints, so take a look if you find yourself struggling.