【victorian maid eroticized】

Today's five-letter word is victorian maid eroticizedWORRY.

Josh Wardle, the creator of the popular word-puzzle game Wordle, announced Monday that he'd sold the game to the New York Timesfor a "low seven figures" payout.

"I am incredibly pleased to announce that I've reached an agreement with the New York Timesfor them to take over running Wordle going forward," wrote Wardle. "If you've followed along with the story of Wordle, you'll know the NYT games play a big part in its origins and so this step feels very natural to me."

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In response to the news, Wordle fans expressed both happiness for Wardle and concern about what the sale bodes for the game's future. That's because, at least in part, the Timesreports that the game will only "initially remain free" — aka, that could change at some undetermined future date.

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Or simply that the Timeswill just figure out a way to ruin the game in general.

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Either way, Wordle was beautiful while it lasted. TEARS.

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