"Wordle" today #1,293 hints, clues and answer for Thursday, January 2

If your brain is yet to kick into gear this new year, don't worry, Newsweek is here to help with Thursday's Wordle.

Years after coming up with the initial concept, New York-based software engineer Josh Wardle perfected the word-based game during the COVID lockdowns—before releasing it to the public in October 2021.

Following its public debut, Wordle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021, to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure fee soon after, and it went on to become the publication's most popular game.

Players get six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Gray tiles behind each letter indicate that they are not in the word at all; yellow means the letter features, but is in the wrong position; while green lets players know the letter is in the word and in the correct place.

There are some tactics to boost your chances of solving the puzzle in as few tries as possible. You should opt for some of the most-used letters in your first guess, Erhan Aslan, an expert in applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, previously told Newsweek.

It's important to pick a strategic starting letter, such as commonly used vowels like "e," or "a," Aslan said. Consonants like "r," and "t," are also a good bet, Aslan added.

"Choosing a word that starts with 'q,' 'z,' 'j,' or 'x,' for instance, may not be the best choice. As you get more feedback after a few guesses, users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking."

According to The New York Times, Thursday's average difficulty is 4.4 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging.

Newsweek has provided some clues below for Thursday's Wordle puzzle. The answer will be revealed at the end of this article, so please scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself.

Wordle #1,293, Clues for Thursday, January 2

Hint #1: Thursday's answer contains two vowels.

Hint #2: "C" is the first letter of the word.

Hint #3: There are no repeated letters.

Hint #4: Thursday's answer is a verb and a noun.

Hint #5: Synonyms include "elect" and "adopt."

Wordle #1,293, Answer for Thursday, January 2

Thursday's Wordle answer is "Chose," which is the past tense of choose.

According to Merriam Webster, the transitive verb is defined as "to select freely and after consideration" and the intransitive verb is defined as "to make a selection."

The noun is defined as "a piece of personal property."

Wordle updates every day at midnight, at which point the next puzzle becomes available. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.

Players who would like something to keep themselves busy with while they wait can have a go at other word-based puzzles such as Typochondria and Spellspire.