The biggest Wordle cheaters live in these US states — and got stuck on these tricky words

They had to have the last Wordle.

Puzzled players are so desperate to score that they’re willing to cheat at an online word jumble competition.

A new survey by Preply found that the most rabid riddlers reside in the Northeastern US, revealing the most Google searches for “Wordle hint” per 100,000 people.

The states at the top of the list were Maine, followed by New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut.

It’s nothing new for New England, where in 2022, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont were home to the most Wordle cheat attempts, Preply reported.

By contrast, the online learning platform found that the South boasted the highest number of humble players. More than any others, players in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas were content to be bested by the New York Times-produced puzzle without clues.

Meanwhile, the word that tripped up most Americans was “INBOX,” prompting the most Google searches for “Wordle hint,” per Preply data.

This list of trickiest words also included “EDIFY,” KEFIR,” “MYRRH” and “KNELL,” while players found “CHAIR” and “BLUNT” were a cinch to solve.

“What we see in this data is that the hardest puzzles aren’t always the most obscure words, but the ones that combine familiar letters in unfamiliar ways,” said Preply rep Yolanda Del Peso Ramos, according to Daily Mail, and “force you to think beyond everyday vocabulary and pay attention to patterns, prefixes, and endings.”

And that’s what it takes to win at Wordle, Ramos said: “Noticing patterns, staying curious about words you don’t know, and being willing to make an educated guess.”