QUAIL

Meaning

To waste away; to fade, to wither.

• verbTo daunt or frighten (someone).
• verbTo lose heart or courage; to be daunted or fearful.
• nounAny of various small game birds of the genera Coturnix, Anurophasis or Perdicula in the Old World family Phasianidae or of the New World family Odontophoridae.

QUAIL as a word-puzzle answer

QUAIL is a 5-letter word with 3 vowels (U, A, I) and 2 consonants (Q, L). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

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

QUAIL by the numbers

Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, A appears in 40% of answers (the 2nd most common letter), I appears in 29% of answers (the 6th most common letter), L appears in 26% of answers (the 8th most common letter). 16 other answers share the opening “QU-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 2/5 — approachable, because it uses at least one genuinely rare letter.

Put it to use

Words like QUAIL 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.