Funny hangman words
86 silly words words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 15 easy, 31 medium, 40 hard.
Average score
5.8
Across all 86 words
Hardest
fuzzy
Scores 12.3
Easiest
onomatopoeia
Scores -1.7
This is the hardest category on the site and it is not close. Kerfuffle, snollygoster and codswallop combine rare letters, doubled consonants and lengths nobody expects, and the average score here is roughly double the animals list.
The reason they play so badly is that a guesser cannot use meaning at all. With animals, a partial pattern narrows the field; with balderdash, knowing it is a silly word tells you nothing about which letters are in it.
Use these when you want the round to be about laughing rather than winning. If you actually want a fair contest, filter this list to easy and medium and leave the rest alone.
Advertisement
Easy silly words words15
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bric a brac | Assorted small ornaments | 9 / 5 distinct | 2.2 | Easy |
| brouhaha | An uproar, usually overblown | 8 / 6 distinct | 3.3 | Easy |
| canoodle | To cuddle affectionately | 8 / 7 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| contraption | A machine that looks improvised | 11 / 8 distinct | 1.1 | Easy |
| gargantuan | Enormous, and the word is too | 10 / 6 distinct | 1.6 | Easy |
| heebie jeebies | A feeling of unease | 13 / 6 distinct | -0.1 | Easy |
| helter skelter | In disorderly haste | 13 / 7 distinct | 2.5 | Easy |
| hooligan | Someone causing trouble in public | 8 / 7 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| nincompoop | A fool, said almost fondly | 10 / 6 distinct | 2.6 | Easy |
| obstreperous | Noisily resisting instruction | 12 / 8 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| onomatopoeia | A word that sounds like the thing | 12 / 8 distinct | -1.7 | Easy |
| rambunctious | Boisterous and hard to control | 12 / 11 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
| rapscallion | A mischievous rascal | 11 / 9 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| shenanigans | Mischief, generally in a group | 11 / 7 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| snollygoster | A shrewd person with no principles | 12 / 9 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
Medium silly words words31
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| balderdash | Nonsense, said firmly | 10 / 8 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| bamboozle | To confuse someone deliberately | 9 / 7 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| bonkers | Completely mad, affectionately | 7 / 7 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| cacophony | A harsh, discordant mixture of sound | 9 / 7 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| cattywampus | Askew, crooked, out of alignment | 11 / 9 distinct | 6.4 | Medium |
| curmudgeon | A bad-tempered older person | 10 / 9 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| discombobulate | To thoroughly unsettle somebody | 14 / 12 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| doohickey | A small object whose name escapes you | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.4 | Medium |
| flabbergasted | So astonished you cannot speak | 13 / 10 distinct | 4.5 | Medium |
| flapdoodle | Nonsense again, but sillier | 10 / 7 distinct | 4.9 | Medium |
| gallivant | To roam about enjoying yourself | 9 / 7 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| giggle | A light, repeated laugh | 6 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| harum scarum | Reckless and disorganised | 11 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| hobbledehoy | A clumsy adolescent | 11 / 7 distinct | 5.4 | Medium |
| hobnob | To mix socially with important people | 6 / 4 distinct | 4.3 | Medium |
| hocus | The first word of a magic phrase | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| hodgepodge | A jumble with no plan behind it | 10 / 6 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| hullabaloo | A great deal of noise about very little | 10 / 6 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| kaboom | The sound of an explosion | 6 / 5 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| malarkey | Talk that means nothing | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| mishmash | Same idea, fewer letters | 8 / 5 distinct | 4.9 | Medium |
| persnickety | Fussy about small details | 11 / 10 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| ragamuffin | A scruffy, untidy child | 10 / 8 distinct | 4.2 | Medium |
| razzmatazz | Showy, noisy display | 10 / 5 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| scrumptious | Extremely tasty | 11 / 9 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| snicker | A laugh you were trying to hide | 7 / 7 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| thingamajig | Same problem, different solution | 11 / 8 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| topsy turvy | Upside down and disordered | 10 / 8 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| whatchamacallit | The word for when you forgot the word | 15 / 8 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| whippersnapper | A young person with too much confidence | 14 / 9 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| widget | A generic small gadget | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
Hard silly words words40
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blubber | To cry noisily, or whale fat | 7 / 5 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| chuckle | A quiet, private laugh | 7 / 6 distinct | 9.9 | Hard |
| codswallop | Utter rubbish | 10 / 8 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| collywobbles | A nervous stomach | 12 / 8 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| dawdle | To move far more slowly than required | 6 / 5 distinct | 7.7 | Hard |
| dillydally | To waste time, pleasantly | 10 / 5 distinct | 7.9 | Hard |
| fluffy | Light, soft and full of air | 6 / 4 distinct | 10.7 | Hard |
| fuddy duddy | Old-fashioned and proud of it | 10 / 4 distinct | 9.0 | Hard |
| fuzzy | Covered in soft short hairs, or unclear | 5 / 4 distinct | 12.3 | Hard |
| gizmo | A gadget you are impressed by | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| gobbledygook | Language designed not to be understood | 12 / 8 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| gobsmacked | Astonished, informally | 10 / 10 distinct | 7.2 | Hard |
| guffaw | A loud burst of laughter | 6 / 5 distinct | 9.4 | Hard |
| higgledy piggledy | The first half of a very untidy phrase | 16 / 8 distinct | 6.4 | Hard |
| hurly burly | Noisy commotion | 10 / 6 distinct | 7.6 | Hard |
| jumbo | Very large indeed | 5 / 5 distinct | 9.0 | Hard |
| kerfuffle | A fuss, and rather a silly one | 9 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| kerplop | The sound of landing in something soft | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| kerplunk | The sound of something dropping into water | 8 / 7 distinct | 7.7 | Hard |
| knickknack | A small ornament of no use | 10 / 5 distinct | 7.1 | Hard |
| kowtow | To be excessively deferential | 6 / 4 distinct | 7.3 | Hard |
| lollygag | To dawdle when you should be moving | 8 / 5 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| mollycoddle | To treat far too gently | 11 / 7 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| mumbo | The first half of meaningless ritual talk | 5 / 4 distinct | 7.2 | Hard |
| numbskull | Another fool, more bluntly | 9 / 7 distinct | 9.2 | Hard |
| pell mell | In a confused rush | 8 / 4 distinct | 6.4 | Hard |
| poppycock | Nonsense, said with more disdain | 9 / 5 distinct | 8.9 | Hard |
| quibble | To argue about something trivial | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.3 | Hard |
| quirky | Odd in a way people quite like | 6 / 6 distinct | 9.0 | Hard |
| scallywag | Same idea, a bit more affectionate | 9 / 7 distinct | 8.1 | Hard |
| skulduggery | Sneaky behaviour with a dishonest edge | 11 / 9 distinct | 8.2 | Hard |
| squabble | A petty, noisy argument | 8 / 7 distinct | 6.7 | Hard |
| squishy | Soft and yielding when pressed | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| twaddle | Empty, tedious chatter | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| wacky | Amusingly eccentric | 5 / 5 distinct | 11.8 | Hard |
| waffle | To talk at length without saying anything | 6 / 5 distinct | 7.7 | Hard |
| willy nilly | Whether you like it or not | 10 / 5 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| wobbly | Unsteady, and about to go over | 6 / 5 distinct | 10.7 | Hard |
| zany | Comically unconventional | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| zigzag | A line that keeps changing its mind | 6 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
Questions
What are good silly words words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 86 silly words words are listed and 40 of them rate hard.
How many silly words words are on this list?
86, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 15 easy, 31 medium and 40 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
FUZZY, at 12.3. The easiest is ONOMATOPOEIA at -1.7. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this funny list, so every word you get is one of the 86 below.