What is the Hardest Hangman Word? (opens in new tab)

It seems like a simple enough question. Which word should you choose so that it takes your opponent the most guesses to discover it? Should you choose a long word to use up your opponent’s guesses? Or perhaps a short word with obscure letters? In this document I look into this question. But first, a bit of background. If you’re not familiar with the rules of hangman, it is a guessing game played between two people. Player A chooses a secret word, and tells player B the length of the secret wo...