Today's Wordle answer (game #1677) is… CUBIC. C is a pretty common letter to be repeated, in that there are 29 games among the original 2,309 which feature it in duplicate form. But it's not often that those letters appear at the start and end of an answer – there are only five of these in the original list.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 21.

Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns.