Canuckle Word Puzzle Nerds – Your Best Starting Words

Canuckle is a Wordle word puzzle spin-off with a Canadian theme. I’m hooked on both games, and I started keeping a private list of words that I think are very good candidates for future Canuckle answers.

I claim no insider knowledge. This list is simply what I believe to be likely candidates for future Canuckle answers since they have a Canadian flavour to them.

My list of expected Canuckle puzzle answers

If you are a fellow Canuckle nerd and have some favorite starting words of your own, drop me a line and let me know if you find this list helpful. Or let me know if you have some words that should be added. Words that are struck-through have been the puzzle answer since I started maintaining this list.

Here is a recap of all the previous Canuckle words all the way back to puzzle #1.

You can play Canuckle here.

Fun Fact: updated May 12, 2023

I made this list of what I thought would be good 5-letter “Canadian” words, and suspected they would at some point eventually be the Canuckle puzzle answer for the day. I made it about a year ago, when I first got hooked on Canuckle. The words that are struck through are words that did actually get used, and I strike them through so I will know not to try them again. As you can see, a lot of them have been the Canuckle answer. I’ve got the answer in 1 on 3 different occasions using these as my starting words, and in 2 in around 20 times. I wonder if ‘alien’ and ‘latte’ will ever be the Canuckle answer? Hmmm…. 🙂

Update December 21, 2023.

Alien has been used! YESsss! Now I’m just waiting on “latte“… I’ve updated the list with some Chrismassy five-letter words that may get used this season.

My list of expected future Canuckle puzzle answers:

ABOUT – as in “out and about”

ACORN – Canada has some of the largest forests in the world, with lots of ‘nuts’ out there 🙂

ACRES –

ALERT – the northernmost continuously inhabited town in the world is Alert, NWT.

ALIEN – there is a UFO landing pad in St. Paul, Alberta, for the purpose of inviting alien visitors from space.

ALONE – The reality TV survivor show Alone is filmed in Canada, and for good reason. With one of the lowest population densities on the planet, much of our country is as remote as you can get on this planet.

ANVIL – pioneer blacksmith shops used anvils. Back in the day, every village had at least one.

APPLE

ARTIC – misspelled, I know, but it is a valid Scrabble word and it wouldn’t be the first time our friends at Canuckle played fast and loose with spelling. (see the puzzle answers ABOOT and TOQUE)

BANKS – Canada has one of the most stable banking systems in the world

BEACH

BEANS – we grow lots of them

BEAST – lots of wild animals out there in our vast wilderness

BIKER –

BIKES – a popular national pass time

BLACK – Ottawa Red Blacks

BOATS

BRANT – a famous Mohawk warrior and leader who settled in the Brantford area

BREAD – Canada is the bread basket of the world

BROCK – famous British general who defeated the Americans in several battles during the War of 1812

BUCKS – males deer. We have lots of them in our vast woods

BUILT

CABIN

CEDAR

CIDER – apple cider is a big industry

COATS – Canada has an extreme climate, going from really hot and muggy in the summer (plus 30 isn’t uncommon) to insanely cold in the winter (minus 40 is normal in many parts, and in the artic minus 50 is typical!). And we get everything in between during the spring, early summer and fall. Which means Canadians need a large variety of coats, (not to mention boots, hats and shoes) for different seasons and temperatures, from light rain coats, to heavy parkas for minus 40 weather, to lighter jackets in the fall and spring.

COMIC – many famous comedians are Canadian – John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Brent Butt, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, to name just a few off the top of my head. If you happen to be a famous Canadian comedian reading my post, and your name isn’t listed, please accept my deepest apologies. All I can say, in the finest of Canadian traditions, is “Sorry”. (By the way, ‘sorry’ has already been used in the puzzle – it was #9 – otherwise it would be on my list).

CRANE – as in the bird, we have lots of them

CRAZY – Olympic gold medal winners in downhill skiing were nicknamed the ‘Crazy Canucks’

CREAM – huge dairy industry

CREEK

DEERS – we have millions of them

DOCKS

DONUT

DREAM – moving to Canada is a dream for thousands of immigrants fleeing impoverished and war torn countries

DUCKS

EAGLE – vast populations of eagles

EARTH – Canada is the 2nd largest nation on earth

ELVES

FIGHT

FISHY

FLOUR – the wheat fields of the prairies are the bread basket of the world

FORCE

FORTS – historical societies have preserved thousands of old forts across the country

FOXES

FREED –

FRESH – Canada has the most fresh water of any country, with 20% of the world’s fresh water here

FROST – we have long frosty winters

FROZE – ditto

FUELS – one of the largest oil and gas supplies in the world. Now, only if we could build a pipleline to get it to the world markets …

GEESE

GOATS – lots of farms with all the critters that go with that.

GRAIN

GRAND – the Grand River in Ontario

GRAPE – we have a huge grape industry with much of it going to make wine

GRASS

GRILL – we love our outdoor grills come the spring

GROWS

GUARD – we stand on guard for thee, from the national anthem.

HAPPY

HERON

HIKER – hiking outdoors is a popular pastime

HONEY – extensive bee industry producing honey

HORSE

HURON

HUSKY – this breed of dog is an important part of life in the north

HYDRO

IDEAL

KNIFE

LAKER – Lakers are the freighters that ply the waters of the Great Lakes from Chicago to Montreal

LASSO

LATTE

LIONS – BC Lions football team

LOCKS – extensive canals with locks in the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Rideau canal and many others

LOGIC

LOWER – as in ‘Lower Canada’, what Quebec and the maritime provinces were once called

LOYAL

LUNAR –

MAIZE

MAKER – the first artificial cardiac pacemaker was invented by John Hopps, from Winnipeg Manitoba.

MEDAL –

MERRY

METAL – huge steel industry

MILLS – lots of mills

MINES

MISTS – the coasts are known for the fog and mist

MOUNT – one of the greatest mountain ranges in the world is here

MUSIC – big music industry

MUSKY – a very popular fish for sports fisherman

NACHO

NOVEL

ORBIT – the ‘Canada Arm’, designed and built in Canada, is used on space shuttles in orbit for grabbing satellites.

PARTY

PASTA

PINES – the largest pine forests in the world

PIZZA

PHONE

PLAIN

PLOWS – as in farming. Saskatchewan has the biggest farms in the world

POLAR

POLKA

PRISM

PROUD

PUCKS

RADIO

RANCH – western ranches, vast expanses of cattle and horse ranches in the west is an important part of our culture.

RANGE – vast ranges of mountains and prairies

REBEL – Louis Riel, famous rebel leader of the Red River rebellion in Manitoba

RIDER – Saskatchewan Rough Riders CFL football team

RIDGE – Vimy Ridge

RIVER

ROADS

ROOTS

ROUGH – Rough Riders

ROUTE

ROYAL

SALTY

SANTA –

SHIPS

SAINT – Saint Lawrence River

SCUBA

SLICE –

SLOPE – some of the best ski slopes in the world

SMITH – as in blacksmith

SMORE – Canadians love camping come spring and summer, and smores are a favorite fireside treat.

SNOWS – with one of the crappiest and coldest climates on earth, need I say more?

SOLAR –

SPACE

SPUDS

STAMP

STAND – Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee! A well known line from the national anthem.

START –

STEAK

STEEL

STOCK

SUPER – Superman has a Canadian connection. He was created by Canadian artist Joseph Shuster in 1933, along with his American friend. Here are more fun facts about Superman’s Canadian heritage.

TACOS

TEAMS

TEPEE

TRACK

TRACT – as in vast tracts of land

TRAIL

TRAIN

TREES

TRUCK – the largest country in the world, with a very low population, trucking is extremely important to get stuff around,

UNITE

VOICE

VOTES – a free democracy, Canada has a very stable and reliable electoral system in which every citizen over the age of 18 can vote by right of citizenship. There is no gerrymandering, no registration needed, and no legal tricks that can be used to block voting rights for some people.

WATER

WRITE

WOODS – goes without saying. we have the largest expanses of woods in the world

WORLD –

YEARS – happy new years

Make it a great day!