However you want to win today’s Wordle, I’m here to make sure it happens. Whether you want to rush towards the best bit by clicking through to today’s answer, or you’d rather spend some time thinking over a helpful clue for the October 20 (853) puzzle, everything you need is right here.

A typo in my second guess accidentally helped me out today, uncovering a letter I didn’t think was in today’s answer at all—and better yet, it turned out to be a green too. Between that and the yellow languishing in my opening attempt that I thought I’d typed in, it didn’t take very long to solve Wordle today. Here’s hoping I’ll have another lucky finger slip tomorrow. 

Today’s Wordle hint

Wordle today: A hint for Friday, October 20

A sudden thought might _____ to you, or an accident might be described as _____ing on a nearby road. Today’s word is often used as an alternative for “happen[ed]”. 

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Is there a double letter in Wordle today? 

Yes, a letter is repeated in today’s puzzle. 

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day 

A good starting word can be the difference between victory and defeat with the daily puzzle, but once you’ve got the basics, it’s much easier to nail down those Wordle wins. And as there’s nothing quite like a small victory to set you up for the rest of the day, here are a few tips to help set you on the right path: 

• A good opening guess should contain a mix of unique consonants and vowels. 
• Narrow down the pool of letters quickly with a tactical second guess.
• Watch out for letters appearing more than once in the answer.

There’s no racing against the clock with Wordle so you don’t need to rush for the answer. Treating the game like a casual newspaper crossword can be a good tactic; that way, you can come back to it later if you’re coming up blank. Stepping away for a while might mean the difference between a win and a line of grey squares. 

Today’s Wordle answer

What is the #853 Wordle answer?

Let’s make sure you win. The answer to the October 20 (853) Wordle is OCCUR. 

Previous Wordle answers

The last 10 Wordle answers 

Past Wordle answers can give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh. They are also a good way to eliminate guesses for today’s Wordle, as the answer is unlikely to be repeated. 

Here are some recent Wordle answers:

• October 19: SPLAT
• October 18: MERCY
• October 17: ADULT
• October 16: GRAPH
• October 15: LEAKY
• October 14: AGENT
• October 13: UNCLE
• October 12: KNELT
• October 11: SKUNK
• October 10: SNAIL

Learn more about Wordle 

Wordle gives you six rows of five boxes each day, and you’ll need to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them to keep up your winning streak.

You should start with a strong word like ARISE, or any other word that contains a good mix of common consonants and multiple vowels. You’ll also want to avoid starting words with repeating letters, as you’re wasting the chance to potentially eliminate or confirm an extra letter. Once you hit Enter, you’ll see which ones you’ve got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn’t in the secret word at all. 🟨 means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 🟩 means you’ve got the right letter in the right spot.

Your second guess should compliment the starting word, using another “good” word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn’t present in today’s answer. With a bit of luck, you should have some coloured squares to work with and set you on the right path.

After that, it’s just a case of using what you’ve learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there’s an E). Don’t forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you’d like to find out which words have already been used you can scroll to the relevant section above. 

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn’t long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it’s only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.