Stuck on today’s Hurdle? Get all five hints and answers for March 18, 2026 — QUEUE, CURLY, CUPID, LINER, and TARDY — with explanations for every round.
What Is Hurdle?
Hurdle is a five-round word guessing game that builds on the Wordle format. Each round, you try to guess a five-letter word, with tiles turning green (correct letter, correct position), yellow (correct letter, wrong position), or gray (letter not in the word). The key twist: once you solve a round, that answer becomes your first guess in the next round — giving you a head start, or sometimes no help at all, depending on how different the words are.
The final round (Word 5) is the most challenging and rewarding. All four previous answers are shown as guesses, with every green and yellow tile visible. You need to piece together the patterns word. One important note: the number of times a letter appears highlighted across previous rounds does not necessarily indicate how many times it appears in the final answer.
If you’ve hit a wall on any of today’s five words, here are all the hints and answers for March 18, 2026.
Word 1 — March 18, 2026
Hint
Think of people waiting in a line, one behind the other.
Answer
QUEUE
QUEUE is one of those rare English words where four of the five letters are vowels. It means a line of people or vehicles waiting their turn. The word comes from the French queue, meaning tail. Today’s puzzle kicks off with a tricky spelling challenge — many players instinctively reach for words that follow familiar consonant patterns, and QUEUE throws all of that out the window.
Word 2 — March 18, 2026
Hint
A type of hair that spirals or coils naturally.
Answer
CURLY
CURLY describes hair with a natural wave or spiral shape. As the second word in today’s Hurdle chain, QUEUE feeds directly into this round as your opening guess. There’s a shared U between them, which may or may not land in a helpful position depending on the letter count in CURLY.
Word 3 — March 18, 2026
Hint
The Roman god associated with love and desire, often depicted with a bow and arrow.
Answer
CUPID
CUPID is the Roman deity of love, the counterpart to the Greek god Eros. He is famously depicted as a winged cherub carrying a golden bow, whose arrows cause people to fall in love. The name has become a cultural icon well beyond mythology — from Valentine’s Day imagery to pop songs. In today’s puzzle, CURLY as a starting guess carries the letters C and U, both of which appear in CUPID, giving players a useful foothold heading into Round 3.
Word 4 — March 18, 2026
Hint
A cosmetic product applied along the edge of the lips or eyes.
Answer
LINER
LINER can refer to a lip liner or eyeliner — cosmetic pencils used to define and shape the lips or eyes. The word also has broader meanings: an ocean liner (a large ship), a bin liner (a trash bag), or a one-liner (a joke). In context of the hint, the beauty definition is the intended one. CUPID into LINER offers the letter I, which shifts position but stays in play.
Word 5 — Final Hurdle — March 18, 2026
Hint
Not on time. The opposite of punctual.
Answer
TARDY
TARDY means late or delayed, typically used to describe a person who after the expected time — most often heard in school settings when a student misses the start of class. The word comes from the Latin tardus, meaning slow. In today’s final Hurdle, the four previous answers — QUEUE, CURLY, CUPID, and LINER — are all shown as guesses. The letters scattered across those rounds provide an array of green and yellow clues to work from. The D and Y in TARDY are the letters most likely to emerge from this process.
Quick Answer Summary
- Word 1: QUEUE
- Word 2: CURLY
- Word 3: CUPID
- Word 4: LINER
- Word 5 (Final): TARDY
More Daily Puzzle Help
Looking for hints and answers from recent Hurdle puzzles? Check these out:
- March 16, 2026 Today Hurdle Hints and Answers
- March 15, 2026 Hurdle Hints and Answers
- March 14, 2026 Hurdle Hints and Answers
Want to try other daily puzzles? Here are some from the same week:
- March 16, 2026 Today Wordle #1731 Hint and Answer
- March 16, 2026 NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- March 16, 2026 NYT Connections Sports Edition #539 Hints and Answers
Shahid Maqsood is a digital entrepreneur and SEO specialist focused on building engaging web experiences. He is the creator of DotWordle, combining creativity with smart, user-friendly design.

