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| JOINED AT THE WORDLE: Rose Rice and the author, back before Wordle or colours were invented. |
The speaker was my cousin Roseanne Rice. (I know. Her name Rose Rice sounds like the fancy car, the one that's known for not making any sound! Haha.)
Roseanne was referring to Tracy Bennett, the Wordle Editor at the New York Times. I'd asked Rose if she thought today was the first time in Wordle history that the word started with .. oh never mind...but that's when Roseanne advised I consult Ms Bennett.
Tracy Bennett's not really my friend.
We've never met. For all I know, by the time I post this, she might have been promoted. Maybe now Tracy Bennett oversees six-letter words. Haha.
That's a very good joke. Tracy Bennett works at the New York Times; arguably the finest newspaper on the planet. Motto: "No slouches need apply." Thinking about Ms Bennett's skill level brings to mind the expression, "she has probably forgotten more about editing than you'll ever know. Peter."
Imagine how many people benefit from Bennett's deft Wordle work. Two years ago I was in the All That Jazz coffee shop near my house. I turned to the woman behind me, whom I had never seen before and without any introduction, asked, "Get your Wordle this morning?"
As if she'd been expecting the question, the stranger immediately started in about how close that morning's answer was to her go-to opening word.
Me, I don't use a standard opening word. I have no "system." In any part of my life.
But every day, around North America, more than 10 million people stare at their phones and then punch in five starting letters, hoping they will be---out of the more than 165,000 five-letter words there are in English (I looked it up)--right.
So, you, Tracy Bennett, for doing your part in making this daily ritual a life-affirming event for everyone, deserve a high five. (Five? Get it?)
Same as all those other anonymously working editors out there: Wordy craftspeople who do precisely what you might have assumed your grandma believed you did when you told her you worked as an editor.
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| GAMED AND CONFUSED: Often, my Wordle chart looks eerily like Tetris. |
Jen Lauriault is one such. She's the copy editor at the publication I work at, Law360 Canada. I'm not saying nice stuff about Jen solely because she was a high school student at Elliot Lake Secondary School when my nephew Hugh and nieces Norma and Jennifer were there. Or because she met her husband Marc when they played on the same hockey team. That scenario alone conjures up a heartwarming Netflix holiday feature.
In the few months I've worked with Jen, she has edited my choice of words and politely suggested the equivalent of, "Peter if you say that, you'll not only sound like a jerk you might bring this whole place down."
An extraordinary editor doesn't merely make sure words and colons and stuff are in the right places, they guard against tone deafness. When we're all exactly three clicks away from being cancelled, tone deafness can be fatal.
Back at Chatelaine I wrote a lot of headlines, including for gardening stories. One day, I thought I'd cleverly incorporate a popular Oprah Winfrey saying; i.e., "You go, girl!" Our story was about hoeing. Do you see where I'm going with this? Can you believe I thought "You hoe girl!" would make a great attention-grabbing headline?
More times than I want to admit, people like Jen, the Chatelaine editors and Tracy Bennett keep the world safe other people's klutziness.
In doing so, they make all our lives better.
Which brings me to a something I've noticed and wondered about Wordle.
Am I the only one who thinks Wordle words are always sorta positive?
As far as I can tell, Wordle never sparks anxiety. They're always, well, nice. Has anybody been "triggered" by a Wordle answer? My guess is no.
Which, even if it does cut the number of opening-word possibilities down to, say, a piddling 100 grand, is more scientific proof why all skilful editors go to heaven.
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