Alphabet Slice

The rules

One guess. One cut.

Find a hidden five-letter word by shrinking its place in the dictionary. You are sorting, not spelling.

Play in three moves

  1. Read the slice

    The hidden word comes alphabetically after the left boundary and before the right boundary.

  2. Guess inside it

    Enter any recognized five-letter word that belongs between those boundaries. Invalid, repeated, and out-of-range attempts do not count. Every accepted guess does, including the answer.

  3. Keep the right side

    Alphabet Slice tells you whether the answer comes before or after your guess, then moves one boundary inward. It also shows how many guesses that cut ruled out and how many remain. A small hump in the range line points toward the next part to search. Keep cutting until you find it.

Example

Cut at horse

Suppose the answer is between CABLE and MELON. Guessing HORSE places a clean cut inside that range.

If the hidden word comes after HORSE, the discarded side falls away and your new slice becomes HORSE to MELON. The remaining count tells you how much search space is left. The hump snaps to one of five broad zones without revealing the answer's exact position. The meaning of the words does not matter—only their dictionary order.

When you get stuck

Open Suggest a guess for one possible cut. A suggestion is never presented as the hidden word. Looking is free; the Daily is marked Assisted only if you actually use the suggested word.

There is no timer and no permanent lockout. The Daily is about making increasingly useful cuts, then finishing the puzzle. Afterward, keep playing unscored bonus puzzles for as long as you like.