The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
MUSSEL
Definition of MUSSEL
noun
Any of several groups of bivalve shellfish with elongated, asymmetrical shells. A saltwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Mytilida in subclass Pteriomorphia. A freshwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Unionida in subclass Palaeoheterodonta. Any of certain other bivalves of somewhat similar appearance, such as the zebra mussel and quagga mussel of the family Dreissenidae in subclass Heterodonta.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English muscle (“mussel”), from Old English muscle, from Proto-West Germanic *muskulā, from Late Latin muscula, from Latin mūsculus (“mussel, muscle”, literally “little mouse”). Doublet of muscle.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (26,276)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, MUSSEL · 1 relative in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
MUSSEL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 153, 20 October 2026. The most recent board was Day 172, 8 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 153, 20 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MUSSEL starts with M and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read ELMSSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. S appears more than once, including a double letter.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Could you have found MUSSEL?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 153 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER