Enter a word to see all the clues used for it, or enter a pattern to see all answer words that match that pattern.
Standard matching: Patterns use ? for unknown single letters. For example, P??CH will find both POOCH and PEACH.
Use * to mean any number of letters.
A*Z finds both ADZ and ALCATRAZ, *CRY gets words that end with CRY, etc.
Up to 1000 results are shown from each word list.
This page finds words from Daily, Sunday and Variety puzzles, and also from a dictionary search. See FAQs for dictionary info.
You can use $v to mean a single vowel or $c to mean a consonant. The v and c must be lower case.
For consistency with other search engines, Y is always considered to be a consonant. Try these sample links:
$c??$c displays 4-letter answers that start and end with a consonant.
$v$v*$v$v returns words of any length that start and end with two vowels.
Some extensions are available using standard matching. For example,
[QJXZ]???[^A-M] finds 5-letter words starting with Q, J, Z, or Z
and ending with a letter not in the first half of the alphabet.
New regex matching (advanced): You can now choose to use full regular expression (regex) syntax in your searches.
You must explicitly click the RegEx button to perform a regular expression search.
Up to 10,000 results from the combined databases (Shortz, Variety, Pre-Shortz, Dictionary) are returned in a single list.
Standard matching patterns will not work in regex mode. The syntax is completely different.
XWord Info cannot help with regex syntax but the web is full of
helpful sites about this .
The Regex Dictionary has a particularly good tutorial .
The one extension I provide is that $c and $v can be used as shorthand for any consonant and any vowel.
Queries can be arbitrarily complex but here are a few simple ones to get you started.
Find words that include the string ABC somewhere inside:
ABC
Words that can be spelled using only the names of musical notes:
^[A-G]+$
Entries that do not include a vowel:
^[^AEIOU]*$
Words ending in c + 2 vowels + a single consonant:
C$v$v$c$
15-letter words containing neither A nor E:
^[^AE]{15}$
Words containing at least one Q and one V in any order:
(V.*Q)|(Q.*V)
Date Grid Clue Author
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 46D Speechify (15) Barry Franklin and Sara Kaplan
Monday, January 7, 2013 30D Make a big speech Jim Peredo
Thursday, August 16, 2012 45A Make grand statements Ethan Cooper
Monday, July 2, 2012 30D Speechify (15) Bernice Gordon
Sunday, May 6, 2012 63D Tub-thump Alex Vratsanos
Friday, April 6, 2012 40A Stump the crowd? Mike Nothnagel
Sunday, March 11, 2012 22A Give out one's address? Victor Fleming and John Dunn
Monday, December 19, 2011 16A Speechify (15) Richard Chisholm
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 44A Spout forth Gareth Bain
Sunday, September 4, 2011 103D Speak to the masses (2) Dana Delany and Matt Ginsberg
Monday, July 4, 2011 57A Speechify (15) Paul Johnson
Sunday, June 19, 2011 103A Speak for everyone in the room Patrick Berry
Sunday, April 24, 2011 57A Speak on C-Span, say Caleb Madison and J.A.S.A. Crossword Class
Monday, December 6, 2010 13A Make a grand speech (2) Richard Chisholm
Saturday, November 13, 2010 47D Stand and deliver? Mark Diehl
Monday, October 4, 2010 46D Pontificate (3) Adam G. Perl
Monday, August 30, 2010 55A Make a grand speech (2) Richard Chisholm
Thursday, April 22, 2010 48A Be Ciceronian Caleb Madison
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 45A Be grandiloquent Alan Arbesfeld
Monday, November 16, 2009 53D Give a grand speech James Mulhern and Ashton Anderson
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 45D Hold forth (7) Joon Pahk
Sunday, April 5, 2009 21A Speak for the Congressional Record, say Charles Deber
Monday, February 23, 2009 11D Talk bombastically Alan Arbesfeld
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 54D Speak before throngs John Underwood
Thursday, November 27, 2008 27A Stand and deliver Patrick Berry
Friday, November 14, 2008 58A Avail oneself of a rostrum Brad Wilber
Thursday, October 9, 2008 12D Deliver a stemwinder Doug Peterson
Saturday, May 10, 2008 46D Make an impressive delivery Karen M. Tracey
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 33D Filibuster, in a way (2) Patrick Blindauer
Monday, September 17, 2007 9A Speechify (15) Sarah Keller
Friday, August 31, 2007 48D Give a stemwinder Paula Gamache
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 34A Give a keynote Jayne and Alex Boisvert
Sunday, April 15, 2007 38A Sound off (2) Brendan Emmett Quigley
Monday, April 9, 2007 21A Speak from a soapbox (3) J. K. Hummel
Sunday, February 18, 2007 3D Make a delivery David Kwong and Kevan Choset
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 34D Use a soapbox (6) Randall J. Hartman
Monday, July 24, 2006 14A Speechify (15) Richard Chisholm
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 67A Deliver a keynote, say Barry C. Silk
Friday, June 2, 2006 67A Elocute Jim Page
Monday, May 22, 2006 47D Speak from a soapbox (3) Edgar R. Fontaine
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 42A Be bombastic (3) Richard Silvestri
Wednesday, January 4, 2006 14A Hold forth (7) John Minarcik and Nancy Salomon
Sunday, December 25, 2005 94D Hold forth (7) Nancy Salomon and Harvey Estes
Sunday, September 25, 2005 86A Be bombastic (3) Matt Skoczen
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 61A Use a soapbox (6) Mel Taub
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 22D Sound off, perhaps Roy Leban
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 26D Speak at length Trip Payne
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 39D Pontificate (3) Sarah Keller
Monday, June 13, 2005 15A Speechify (15) Earl W. Reed
Monday, October 25, 2004 32D Speak from a soapbox (3) Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette
Sunday, June 20, 2004 2D Make an allocution Manny Nosowsky
Sunday, June 13, 2004 20A Be bombastic (3) Richard Silvestri
Wednesday, June 9, 2004 11D Use a soapbox (6) Seth A. Abel
Friday, January 9, 2004 3D Captivate a crowd, perhaps Bob Peoples
Monday, December 29, 2003 39D Preach Gregory E. Paul
Sunday, May 18, 2003 108D Be on a soapbox Nancy Nicholson Joline
Friday, May 16, 2003 32D Spiel (2) Michael Shteyman
Monday, March 31, 2003 43A Speechify (15) Patrick Merrell
Thursday, December 19, 2002 26D Declaim (5) Patrick Berry
Sunday, November 17, 2002 34A Play to a C-Span camera Richard and Judith Martin
Sunday, October 27, 2002 89D Harangue Nancy Nicholson Joline
Thursday, August 29, 2002 30A Hold the floor (2) William Schaub
Sunday, July 28, 2002 65D Emulate Cicero (4) Nelson Hardy
Friday, June 21, 2002 23D Spout off Bob Peoples
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 16A Use a soapbox (6) Sarah Keller
Sunday, January 13, 2002 91D Provide an address (2) Nelson Hardy
Sunday, December 23, 2001 75A Hold forth (7) Frances Hansen
Saturday, October 13, 2001 24D Captivate the crowd, maybe Jim Page
Monday, September 3, 2001 40D Give a speech (3) Peter Gordon
Friday, August 17, 2001 27D Spout rhetoric Elizabeth C. Gorski
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 31D Emulate Demosthenes Randall J. Hartman
Tuesday, July 31, 2001 16A Use a soapbox (6) Sarah Keller
Tuesday, June 19, 2001 68A Take to the soapbox (2) Tyler Hinman
Monday, May 28, 2001 19A Sound off (2) Gregory E. Paul
Tuesday, May 22, 2001 48A Wax eloquent John D. Leavy
Monday, April 30, 2001 27A Give a speech (3) Peter Gordon
Sunday, April 8, 2001 45A Give one's address Randolph Ross
Tuesday, December 19, 2000 41A Give an address Fred Piscop
Wednesday, August 9, 2000 65A Pontificate (3) Kelly Clark
Friday, June 30, 2000 6D Declaim (5) Martin Ashwood-Smith
Monday, February 21, 2000 57A Give a speech (3) Randy Sowell
Friday, December 31, 1999 3D Provide an address (2) Peter Gordon
Wednesday, October 27, 1999 37D Speak Chris Sallade
Sunday, July 11, 1999 22A Do some campaign work Nancy Salomon
Sunday, May 30, 1999 7D Electioneer Cathy Millhauser
Sunday, April 25, 1999 102D Hold forth (7) Joe DiPietro
Tuesday, April 13, 1999 65A Speechify (15) Fred Piscop
Sunday, March 28, 1999 21A Emulate Cicero (4) Cathy Millhauser
Thursday, October 29, 1998 30D Emulate Cicero (4) Cathy Millhauser
Wednesday, September 23, 1998 31D Hold the floor (2) Michael S. Maurer
Tuesday, September 15, 1998 26D Take to the soapbox (2) Gilbert H. Ludwig
Monday, August 3, 1998 64A Speechify (15) Nancy Salomon
Monday, May 18, 1998 66A Emulate Cicero (4) Ed Early
Wednesday, January 28, 1998 68A Speechify (15) Mark Gottlieb
Friday, January 9, 1998 31D Be Bryanesque Manny Nosowsky
Sunday, December 7, 1997 46A Emulate Webster (2) Randolph Ross
Thursday, December 4, 1997 42A Declaim (5) Eileen Lexau
Monday, September 8, 1997 28D Declaim (5) Robert Goldberg
Thursday, June 19, 1997 34D Spiel (2) Patrick Jordan
Friday, June 13, 1997 52D Magniloquize Bob Klahn
Tuesday, April 29, 1997 15A Filibuster, in a way (2) Jeff Herrington
Tuesday, February 4, 1997 58A Take to the stump G. R. Ferguson
Wednesday, July 24, 1996 49D Speechify (15) A. Micci
Wednesday, April 17, 1996 45D Enulate Pliny the Younger F. Heaney
Wednesday, March 6, 1996 60A Emulate Cato N. S. Ross
Monday, October 30, 1995 62A Speak to the masses (2) Gregory E. Paul
Sunday, September 3, 1995 65D Hold forth (7) Ernie Furtado
Friday, July 7, 1995 53A Use a soapbox (6) Wayne Robert Williams
Sunday, June 18, 1995 62D Emulate Webster (2) Rich Norris
Monday, April 10, 1995 46D Give a keynote address Sidney L. Robbins
Monday, January 30, 1995 64A Speechify (15) Ernie Furtado
Monday, September 5, 1994 49D Speechify (15) Julian Ochrymowych & Amy Goldstein
Monday, August 22, 1994 70A Declaim (5) Sidney L. Robbins
Monday, May 23, 1994 15A Speak publicly Jonathan Schmatzbach
Friday, April 29, 1994 4D Speak to the Senate Randolph Ross
Friday, March 4, 1994 43A Hold forth (7) Betty Jorgensen
Tuesday, February 22, 1994 62A Address grandly Fred Piscop
Saturday, January 29, 1994 50A Wax Websterian Bob Klahn
Monday, January 24, 1994 59A Speechify (15) Janie Lyons