Funny Word Search with Real Words That Are Fun to Say

Press New puzzle for 15 silly real words, then read the leftover letters for the answer to a riddle.

Name Date

Funny Word Search

Riddle: What do you call a word search with no words in it? Find every word, and the leftover letters spell the answer.

0 of 15 words found

AHLPHABETSOBUPN

HOGWASHYOHSRBJY

AOEQVDGFTUCOACK

ODHYROOABLFULGA

SWTWSOBAWLCHDOW

HIGDCHBIOAKAEOK

ENPTHILENBEHRFQ

NKFEOCEGKARADYI

AADSRKDEYLFCALH

NBWNTEYEDOUESNT

IOTOLYGYVOFXHEN

GOEBEPOCIEFTNII

AMGIZMOHBKLXNPB

NMEAGPKDAOERBUC

SGHWADDLEDLCYPI

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

KerfuffleKERFUFFLE
HullabalooHULLABALOO
BrouhahaBROUHAHA
GobbledygookGOBBLEDYGOOK
BalderdashBALDERDASH
HogwashHOGWASH
HoodwinkHOODWINK
ShenanigansSHENANIGANS
WaddleWADDLE
KaboomKABOOM
ChortleCHORTLE
DoohickeyDOOHICKEY
GizmoGIZMO
WonkyWONKY
GoofyGOOFY

15 of 28 words from the Funny list.

The first 12 letters left over, read row by row, spell a hidden message:

Which word is the most fun to say out loud? Write a sentence that uses it.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

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Show clues, not words

Word list

Hidden message

Your message has 12 letters and this grid has 110 unused squares. 98 random letters follow it. A smaller grid or more words brings a perfect fit closer.

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Funny Word Search

AHLPHABETSOBUPN

HOGWASHYOHSRBJY

AOEQVDGFTUCOACK

ODHYROOABLFULGA

SWTWSOBAWLCHDOW

HIGDCHBIOAKAEOK

ENPTHILENBEHRFQ

NKFEOCEGKARADYI

AADSRKDEYLFCALH

NBWNTEYEDOUESNT

IOTOLYGYVOFXHEN

GOEBEPOCIEFTNII

AMGIZMOHBKLXNPB

NMEAGPKDAOERBUC

SGHWADDLEDLCYPI

KERFUFFLE, HULLABALOO, BROUHAHA, GOBBLEDYGOOK, BALDERDASH, HOGWASH, HOODWINK, SHENANIGANS, WADDLE, KABOOM, CHORTLE, DOOHICKEY, GIZMO, WONKY, GOOFY

Hidden message: ALPHABET SOUP

Next step Hide a riddle in a cryptogram Make a word search from your own words

All 140 words

Fuss and Commotion 17

Ballyhoo Loud, showy talk meant to grab attention.
Brouhaha A noisy uproar over very little. English borrowed the word from French.
Dither To flap about because you cannot decide.
Foofaraw A big to-do over a small matter, or far too many frills.
Frazzle To wear out until your nerves feel frayed.
Fuss More worry or excitement than a thing deserves.
Hubbub The mixed-up noise of a busy crowd.
Hullabaloo A loud, excited uproar. English speakers have used this word since the 1600s.
Kerfuffle A fuss over something small. The word probably came from Scots.
Palaver Long, tiresome talk that gets nowhere.
Pandemonium Wild noise and confusion. John Milton made up the name in 1667 for a city in his poem Paradise Lost.
Razzmatazz Flashy, noisy showing off meant to dazzle a crowd. A form of the word was in print by 1888.
Rigmarole A long, fussy way of doing something. It grew from ragman roll, an old name for a long list.
Ruckus A noisy disturbance.
Rumpus Loud, rough play.
Squabble A noisy little quarrel about something that hardly matters.
Tizzy A flustered, worked-up state.

Show all 140 words (123 more)

Nonsense Talk 21

Balderdash Senseless talk. In the 1590s the word named a poor drink made of mixed-up liquids.
Baloney Foolish or untrue talk.
Blarney Charming talk that flatters. It is named for a stone at a castle in Ireland, said to give the gift of smooth talk.
Blather To talk on and on without saying much.
Bloviate To talk at length in a puffed-up way. The word was first printed in Ohio in 1845.
Bosh A short word for nonsense. It comes from a Turkish word that means empty.
Bunkum Empty talk. It is named for Buncombe County, North Carolina, after a speech its congressman gave in 1820.
Claptrap Showy, empty talk. Around 1730 it was theater slang for a trick to win applause.
Codswallop A British word for rubbish talk. Its first known use was on a TV comedy show in 1959.
Fib A small untruth about something that does not matter.
Fiddlesticks What you say when you think something is nonsense. The word first meant violin bows.
Flapdoodle Foolish talk, in a word that sounds as silly as its meaning.
Folderol Foolish nonsense. It began as a sing-along sound in the chorus of old songs.
Gibberish Speech or writing that makes no sense.
Gobbledygook Wordy talk nobody can follow. Maury Maverick of Texas coined it in a 1944 memo, thinking of a turkey.
Hogwash Talk that is not true. At first the word meant kitchen scraps fed to pigs.
Hokum Nonsense dressed up to sound important.
Hooey Silly talk that nobody should believe.
Jabberwocky Made-up, meaningless language. It is the title of a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll.
Malarkey Silly, untrue talk. The cartoonist Tad Dorgan made the word popular in the 1920s.
Piffle Silly talk about nothing important.

Tricks and Mischief 17

Antics Playful, silly actions that make people laugh.
Bamboozle To trick or confuse someone. In print since 1703; nobody is sure where it came from.
Cahoots A secret partnership. Two people plotting together are said to be in these.
Caper A playful leap, or a playful adventure.
Chicanery Clever trickery, mostly with words.
Finagle To get something by clever, tricky means.
Hijinks Lively, noisy fun. It is also written as two words, high jinks.
Hoodwink To fool someone. In the 1500s the word meant to blindfold.
Hornswoggle To trick someone. It is a joke word from the United States, first seen in 1829.
Humbug Something meant to fool people, or what a grump says to mean nonsense.
Jape An old word for a joke or a trick.
Monkeyshines Playful tricks and pranks.
Ruse A clever plan meant to fool someone.
Shenanigans Playful mischief. The word has been in print since 1855.
Skulduggery Sneaky, tricky doings.
Tomfoolery Silly behavior. Tom was once a name for any ordinary man.
Wheedle To coax someone with sweet talk.

Funny Ways to Move 21

Absquatulate To leave in a hurry. A mock-Latin joke word from the United States of the 1830s.
Dawdle To move so slowly that you fall behind.
Dillydally To waste time by being slow to decide.
Gallivant To roam about looking for fun.
Galumph To move in a heavy, clumsy way. It comes from a word Lewis Carroll made up in 1871.
Lollygag To waste time when there is work to do. An American word, in print since at least 1859.
Mosey To walk along slowly with nowhere special to be.
Sashay To walk in a showy, confident way. It comes from the name of a French dance step.
Scamper To run with quick, light steps.
Scoot To move along quickly, or to slide over and make room.
Scurry To hurry along with short, quick steps, the way a mouse does.
Shimmy To shake or slide along with a wriggle.
Skedaddle To run off in a hurry. It showed up in a New York newspaper around 1861, during the Civil War.
Teeter To sway as if about to tip over.
Traipse To tramp about, often wearily.
Trundle To roll along slowly and heavily.
Vamoose To leave fast. It comes from a Spanish word that means we go.
Waddle To walk with short steps, swaying side to side like a duck. English has had this word since about 1400.
Widdershins In the direction opposite to the hands of a clock. An old word, recorded around 1513.
Wiggle To move with small, quick twists.
Zigzag To move in sharp turns, left, then right, then left again.

Sound Effects 23

Boing The sound of something bouncing.
Borborygmus The science word for a rumbling tummy. It came from Greek, and it copies the sound.
Burble The bubbling sound of a small stream.
Chortle A laugh that is part chuckle and part snort. Lewis Carroll made the word up in 1871.
Clunk A dull, heavy sound of metal on metal.
Fizz The hiss of tiny bubbles.
Gargle To bubble water at the back of your throat.
Harrumph A throat-clearing sound that shows you are not pleased.
Hiccup A sudden little jump in your breathing that comes out as a squeak.
Honk The call of a goose, or the sound of a car horn.
Kaboom The sound of a big blast in a comic strip.
Kerplunk The sound of something heavy dropping into water.
Oink The grunt of a pig.
Onomatopoeia The name for words that sound like what they mean. It comes from Greek words for name and make.
Plop The sound of a small thing dropping into water.
Splat The sound of something soft and wet hitting the floor.
Splosh A heavy splash.
Squawk The loud, harsh cry of a startled bird.
Squelch The sucking sound of boots in deep mud.
Thwack The sound of a sharp, flat hit, like a bat meeting a ball.
Whoosh The sound of something rushing past.
Yodel To sing with quick jumps between a low voice and a very high one.
Zap The sound of a sudden burst of electricity. An American word from the 1920s.

Gizmos and Doodads 20

Bauble A shiny little ornament.
Contraption An odd-looking machine.
Doodad A small decoration, or an object with no clear name.
Doohickey A small object whose name you cannot remember. The word was first seen in 1914.
Gadget A small, clever tool.
Galoshes Waterproof overshoes for rain and slush.
Gewgaw A showy little thing of no real value.
Gizmo A small device whose real name you forgot. Nobody knows where the word came from.
Hodgepodge A jumbled mix. It goes back to a Dutch dish of meat cut small and boiled together in one pot.
Jalopy An old car that rattles. The word was first written down in 1924.
Kazoo A small tube that buzzes when you hum into it.
Knickknack A small ornament kept on a shelf.
Mishmash A confused mixture of things.
Pantaloons Baggy trousers from long ago.
Smorgasbord A buffet with many dishes, or a wide mix of anything. It comes from Swedish words for sandwich and table.
Thingamabob One more name for an object you cannot name.
Thingamajig A thing whose name you do not know. A form of the word was in print by 1824.
Whatsit A thing you cannot name. It is three little words run together.
Whirligig A toy that spins in the wind.
Widget A stand-in name for any small factory-made part. It was coined in a play of 1924.

Muddled and Moody 21

Befuddle To muddle up someone's thinking.
Bewilder To puzzle someone until they feel lost.
Cantankerous Grumpy and ready to argue.
Catawampus Askew, not lined up straight.
Collywobbles A fluttery, upset feeling in your tummy. The word was listed in a London dictionary of slang in 1823.
Discombobulate To mix someone up completely. A joke word first seen in the United States in 1834.
Dumbfound To surprise someone into silence.
Finicky Very hard to please, mostly about food or small details.
Flabbergast To amaze someone so much they cannot speak. The word has been in print since 1772.
Flummox To confuse completely. Charles Dickens used the word around 1837.
Giddy Dizzy with excitement.
Gobsmacked So surprised you cannot speak. A British word from the north of England.
Goofy Silly in a friendly way.
Kooky Odd in a fun, harmless way.
Lopsided Heavier or bigger on one side than the other.
Ornery Stubborn and grouchy.
Persnickety Fussy about tiny details. The word came into American English from Scots.
Snazzy Bright, stylish and eye-catching. American slang, in print since 1922.
Spiffy Neat and smart-looking.
Wonky Crooked or shaky, not quite right.
Woozy Dizzy and a little unsteady.

How this list was compiled: 140 real English words that are funny to say, chosen and defined for this site: seven themed lists (fuss and commotion, nonsense talk, tricks and mischief, funny ways to move, sound effects, gizmos and doodads, muddled and moody), a 28-word starter list, 12 short words and every word of 8 letters or more. The list is classroom-clean: no name-calling words for people and no toilet words. Every date, place and word origin was checked on 19 September 2026 on the Wiktionary entry of the word, at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ followed by the word in lower case (kerfuffle, hullabaloo, brouhaha and the rest). Bamboozle was checked again on 20 September 2026 at https://www.etymonline.com/word/bamboozle, which gives 1703 and an unknown origin where Wiktionary derives it from bam, so its line gives the date alone. Also checked on 19 September: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobbledygook and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pand%C3%A6monium_(Paradise_Lost). Where a source gives only an earliest quotation, the detail line says in print since or first seen, and not invented in. Licence: own work

How it works

This funny word search hides real English words that are fun to say, from Kerfuffle and Lollygag to Bamboozle, 28 in the starter list. Circle them all and the leftover letters spell the answer to a riddle.

Read the full guide

Seven themes of silly

Fuss and Commotion, Nonsense Talk, Tricks and Mischief, Funny Ways to Move, Sound Effects, Gizmos and Doodads and Muddled and Moody are the themes under Start from a list. Long and Tricky holds the 60 words of 8 letters or more, up to Discombobulate at 14. For a printable funny word search, press Print or save as PDF.

The riddle in the leftover letters

The sheet opens with a riddle: what do you call a word search with no words in it? Once every word is circled, the first 12 leftover letters, read row by row, spell the answer, and the sheet prints 12 blanks for them. To swap the riddle, open More options, type a new question into Instructions and its answer into Hidden message.

A riddle to swap in: What is a lollygagger's favorite day of the week? TOMORROW.

Questions and answers

Are these real words?

Yes. Each of the 140 has a dictionary entry. Gobbledygook was coined in a 1944 memo by Maury Maverick of Texas, who had a turkey's gobble in mind. Chortle and Galumph go back to Jabberwocky, the nonsense poem Lewis Carroll published in 1871.

Is the list clean enough for a classroom?

Yes. It holds no name-calling words for people and no toilet words, so Nincompoop is out and Kerfuffle is in. The puzzle maker also drops any layout whose letters would spell a blocked word.

Can I mix in my own funny words?

Yes. Type each one at the end of the word list under the grid, and it joins the words already there. A pasted list of two or more words takes their place instead. The riddle stays until you open More options and change Hidden message.

All 140 words

Fuss and Commotion 17

Nonsense Talk 21

Tricks and Mischief 17

Funny Ways to Move 21

Sound Effects 23

Gizmos and Doodads 20

Muddled and Moody 21

How it works

Seven themes of silly

The riddle in the leftover letters

Questions and answers

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