Today's Wordle answer is so hard it nearly cost me my 1,045-game streak – and it's all the NYT's fault

A woman sitting in a living room stares at a phone in confusion.

Having a very, very long Wordle streak is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it grants me immense bragging rights over those mere mortals with their streaks in the hundreds. On the other, it turns every game into a must-win ordeal. After all, what would I be without my Wordle streak? A so-called 'expert' with no credentials, that's what. I'd be laughed out of town.

I joke, of course, but having gone 1,046 games without a loss I would rather not give up my streak all the same. I nearly had to today, though, because game #1,244 (Thursday, 14 November) nearly sent me back to ground zero.