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
Friday, April 26, 2013 6D Not be square with Michael Ashley
Tuesday, October 23, 2012 42D Part of i.o.u. (2) Jules P. Markey
Sunday, July 15, 2012 73D "I ___ you one" (3) Randolph Ross
Sunday, June 24, 2012 45A Have loans Elizabeth C. Gorski
Thursday, June 7, 2012 49A Be behind (4) Joe Krozel
Sunday, June 3, 2012 86A Not be entirely independent Patrick Berry
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 47A Have bills (9) Milo Beckman
Thursday, February 16, 2012 34D "You ___ me" (2) Jim Page
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 57D Be in debt to (2) Allan E. Parrish
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 61D Run a tab (2) Aimee Lucido
Thursday, June 16, 2011 11D Be shy (3) David Steinberg
Saturday, May 14, 2011 42A What unsettled people do? Mike Nothnagel
Monday, May 9, 2011 56A Be in debt (2) Nina Rulon-Miller
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 65D Have bills (9) Jeremy Newton
Sunday, January 30, 2011 118A Be shy (3) Kevin G. Der and Jessica A. Hui
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 18A Have payables Robert A. Doll
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 59D Be short (4) Mike Nothnagel
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 11A "I ___ you one!" (3) Ian Livengood
Sunday, October 3, 2010 113D Be behind (4) Daniel A. Finan
Sunday, May 23, 2010 120D Fall behind (2) Yaakov Bendavid
Monday, April 5, 2010 47D Fall behind financially Nancy Salomon
Thursday, March 25, 2010 13D Get behind Dan Naddor
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 37D Run a tab (2) John Farmer
Friday, July 17, 2009 35A Have yet to settle Doug Peterson and Barry C. Silk
Thursday, May 14, 2009 29D "You ___ me!" (2) David J. Kahn
Sunday, April 5, 2009 128A Be short (4) Charles Deber
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 33D Be in the red (10) Oliver Hill
Saturday, November 8, 2008 57D Come up short Byron Walden
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 53A Be in hock (2) David Pringle
Monday, January 28, 2008 49D Be in the red (10) Michael Blake
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 66A Be short (4) Pete Muller
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 32D Have a tab (4) John Underwood
Friday, April 6, 2007 25A Be outstanding? Will Nediger
Sunday, December 17, 2006 22A Be in a hole Joe DiPietro
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 22A See red? (7) Stella Daily and Bruce Venzke
Sunday, November 12, 2006 60D Have bills to pay Patrick Berry
Sunday, November 5, 2006 90D Show a deficit Derrick Niederman
Monday, October 30, 2006 40D Have bills (9) Nancy Salomon
Saturday, September 16, 2006 38D Have to return Michael Shteyman
Saturday, August 26, 2006 22D Be short (4) Henry Hook
Sunday, August 13, 2006 67D Fall behind (2) Derrick Niederman
Monday, March 13, 2006 36D Be in the red (10) Bernice Gordon
Monday, February 20, 2006 60D Have bills due Doug Peterson
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 59D Have a tab (4) Jay Leatherman
Sunday, May 22, 2005 5A Have bills (9) A. J. Santora
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 39D See red? (7) Sherry O. Blackard
Thursday, May 12, 2005 60D Be shy (3) Manny Nosowsky
Thursday, December 30, 2004 2D Need dough Kyle Mahowald
Monday, October 4, 2004 21D Be behind in payments Seth A. Abel
Wednesday, July 28, 2004 27D See red? (7) Mark Elliot Skolsky
Sunday, April 11, 2004 63A Need to pay (2) Patrick Merrell
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 56D Be in the hole Ethan Friedman
Wednesday, February 4, 2004 25A Be in the red (10) Roy Leban
Tuesday, January 20, 2004 31D Have markers out (2) Eric Berlin
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 16A Have a mortgage Sheldon Benardo
Sunday, May 4, 2003 35A "I ___ you one" (3) Tyler Hinman
Thursday, December 19, 2002 21A Need to pay (2) Patrick Berry
Friday, August 30, 2002 21D What borrowers do Patrick Merrell
Tuesday, May 28, 2002 33D Be beholden to (4) Ed Early
Monday, April 8, 2002 37D Be indebted to (3) Richard Chisholm
Sunday, January 27, 2002 108D Really should give Patrick Berry
Thursday, December 6, 2001 37A Postpone paying Richard Silvestri
Thursday, October 18, 2001 55A Part of i.o.u. (2) Elizabeth C. Gorski
Thursday, June 7, 2001 53D "To what do I ___ ...?" Randolph Ross
Thursday, May 10, 2001 37D "You ___ it to yourself" Manny Nosowsky
Sunday, April 22, 2001 46D Be behind (4) Patrick Berry
Sunday, January 14, 2001 10D Be beholden to (4) Nancy Salomon
Wednesday, June 21, 2000 39D Be in the red (10) Greg Staples
Friday, April 28, 2000 5D See red? (7) Joe DiPietro
Monday, March 13, 2000 8D Have debts David J. Kahn
Wednesday, February 9, 2000 63D Be light, in poker Charles E. Gersch
Monday, December 27, 1999 39A Have bills (9) Gregory E. Paul
Thursday, October 21, 1999 41D Be behind (4) Manny Nosowsky
Monday, September 6, 1999 41D Be indebted to (3) Manny Nosowsky
Tuesday, August 3, 1999 41D Be in debt to (2) Dave Tuller
Monday, April 5, 1999 20A Be in the red (10) Gregory E. Paul
Sunday, February 28, 1999 51A Be attributable (to) Dave Tuller
Monday, November 9, 1998 46A Have a debt Peter Gordon
Wednesday, November 4, 1998 36A Be in arrears (2) Rich Norris
Wednesday, October 28, 1998 60D Have to pay back Alan Arbesfeld
Thursday, October 1, 1998 8D Part of 52-Across Manny Nosowsky
Wednesday, August 26, 1998 32D Have chits out (2) A. J. Santora
Monday, July 13, 1998 59D Be indebted to (3) Bill Ballard
Wednesday, May 6, 1998 51D See red? (7) Richard Hughes
Sunday, April 19, 1998 76A "To what do I ___..." Rich Norris
Friday, March 20, 1998 4D See red? (7) Martin Ashwood-Smith
Tuesday, March 10, 1998 36D Have bills (9) Patrick Jordan
Sunday, March 1, 1998 63D Need to reimburse Cathy Millhauser
Wednesday, February 4, 1998 46A Have chits out (2) Fred Piscop
Monday, January 19, 1998 11D Be in arrears (2) Gregory E. Paul
Thursday, September 18, 1997 60D Have a tab (4) Cathy Millhauser
Tuesday, September 2, 1997 30D Be in debt (2) Alan Arbesfeld
Thursday, May 29, 1997 54D Take credit? Gilbert H. Ludwig
Wednesday, May 21, 1997 38A Be in hock (2) John D. Leavy
Sunday, April 20, 1997 115D Have markers out (2) Charles M. Deber
Thursday, January 2, 1997 39D Have bills (9) M. Gaffney
Thursday, October 17, 1996 61D Have bills (9) J. R. Conrad
Tuesday, May 14, 1996 63D Have bills (9) G. E. Paul
Sunday, October 29, 1995 28A Be beholden to (4) Maura B. Jacobson
Sunday, September 24, 1995 112D Be in for Randolph Ross
Sunday, August 6, 1995 49A Be beholden to (4) Manny Nosowsky
Wednesday, April 26, 1995 2D Be in the red (10) Wayne Robert Williams
Sunday, April 16, 1995 22A Part of 59-Across Matt Gaffney
Tuesday, February 7, 1995 50A Be in the red (10) Matt Gaffney
Thursday, November 10, 1994 48A See red? (7) Alfio Micci
Sunday, June 19, 1994 98A Be in the red (10) Nancy Scandrett Ross
Thursday, March 10, 1994 39D Be in the red (10) Lois Sidway
Monday, December 13, 1993 60A Have a tab (4) Thomas W. Schier