ELVES

Meaning

A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.

• nounAn upper atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, rapidly expanding disk-shaped regions of luminosity, lasting less than a thousandth of a second, which occur high above energetic cloud-to-ground lightning of positive or negative polarity

ELVES as a word-puzzle answer

ELVES is a 5-letter word with 2 vowels (E, E) and 3 consonants (L, V, S). It repeats 1 letter, which is a classic trap — guessers who assume five distinct letters get stuck.

It leans on high-frequency letters (E, S), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. Watch for the less-common letter V — saving a guess to test it once the vowels are placed is usually the fastest route.

ELVES by the numbers

Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, E appears in 50% of answers (the 1st most common letter), S appears in 28% of answers (the 7th most common letter), L appears in 26% of answers (the 8th most common letter). 4 other answers share the opening “EL-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 3/5 — moderate, because the repeated letter hides one position, and it uses at least one genuinely rare letter.

Put it to use

Words like ELVES are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover all nine.