Thursday, October 22, 2026

Sortie! answer for October 22, 2026

Oct 22’s Sortie! hints

Hint 1

The six prompts today cover geography, music, sports and history. One well-known name per prompt is all you need.

Hint 2

Read the rule under each prompt: 4 reward the bigger number today, 2 reward the smaller or closer one.

Hint 3

For the first prompt, the best answer starts with “D” and beats the runner-up by 2 counties.

Reveal the answer

1. Name a U.S. state. — Best: Delaware (3 counties); also strong: Hawaii (5 counties).
2. Name a language of the Americas. — Best: K'iche' (1,100,000 speakers); also strong: Q'eqchi' (1,100,000 speakers).
3. Name a song by Beyoncé. — Best: Baby Boy (100 peak); also strong: Break My Soul (100 peak).
4. Name a Zodiac sign. — Best: Aquarius (17 Scrabble); also strong: Capricorn (15 Scrabble).
5. Name an F1 team. — Best: Ferrari (250 wins); also strong: McLaren (205 wins).
6. Name a U.S. president's first name. — Best: James (6 presidents); also strong: John (4 presidents).

Why this is the answer (spoilers)

This daily ran six prompts, each scored by a measured rule rather than by rarity. On “Name a U.S. state.”, the winning answer was Delaware at 3 counties, ahead of Hawaii at 5 counties. On “Name a language of the Americas.”, the winning answer was K'iche' at 1,100,000 speakers, ahead of Q'eqchi' at 1,100,000 speakers. On “Name a song by Beyoncé.”, the winning answer was Baby Boy at 100 peak, ahead of Break My Soul at 100 peak. Naming mattered too: K'iche' is also accepted as Kiche, Quiche, which helps if you only know the short form. The counterintuitive one was “Name a U.S. state.”, where fewer counties, the higher you fly — so Delaware outscored the more famous picks. Magnitudes and sources are the game's own, as listed in its archive notes for this date.

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