Wordle's prototype code featured two distinct word lists: a small set of common answers and a large repository of over 10,000 accepted guesses, many of which were obscure terms. While the New York Times has since refined these lists, the original structure allowed for obscure entries like "xylyl" and "qaid" to be valid guesses. For more details, visit barriebramley.com . What Criteria / Rules Does Wordle Use for Its Answer List