Wordle today: Hint and answer for #854 Saturday, October 21

Today's Wordle being played on a phone
(Image credit: Future)

Quickly find your feet in today's Wordle with a clue written just for the October 21 (854) game, brush up on your general guessing, or simply bask in the warm glow of an easy victory with the answer to today's puzzle. Whatever your Wordle aims today, we can help you out.

It was only good use of all the grey letters I'd stumbled on previously that saved today's game, helping me home in on the answer. It wasn't quick but hey, some days any kind of win is better than none at all. As clever as I felt for finding the answer in the letters left behind, I'd definitely appreciate a few more greens next time. 

Today's Wordle hint

(Image credit: Josh Wardle)

Wordle today: A hint for Saturday, October 21

Today's answer refers to a particular kind of smile, the sort with a self-satisfied, smug edge to it rather than any warmth. Four of today's five letters are consonants. 

Is there a double letter in Wordle today? 

No letters are used twice in today's puzzle. 

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day 

If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success: 

  • A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. 
  • A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
  • The solution may contain repeat letters.

There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason not to treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank. 

Today's Wordle answer

(Image credit: Future)

What is the #854 Wordle answer?

There's no way you're losing on a Saturday. The answer to the October 21 (854) Wordle is SMIRK.

Previous answers

The last 10 Wordle answers 

The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.

Here are some recent Wordle solutions:

  • October 20: OCCUR
  • 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

Learn more about Wordle 

(Image credit: Nurphoto via Getty)

Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.

You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters 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.

You'll want your second go to compliment the first, 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.

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. 

Kerry Brunskill
Contributing Writer

When baby Kerry was brought home from the hospital her hand was placed on the space bar of the family Atari 400, a small act of parental nerdery that has snowballed into a lifelong passion for gaming and the sort of freelance job her school careers advisor told her she couldn't do. She's now PC Gamer's word game expert, taking on the daily Wordle puzzle to give readers a hint each and every day. Her Wordle streak is truly mighty.

Somehow Kerry managed to get away with writing regular features on old Japanese PC games, telling today's PC gamers about some of the most fascinating and influential games of the '80s and '90s.