This page is just for fun. It's a random collection of rare crossword answers — so rare that each appears only in a single Shortz-era puzzle. Not all these words make sense. Some of them are unique because they're part of some wacky theme. Some are errors that don't fit the standard Across Lite format. There are 47,662 unique Shortz-era answer words in the database.
Click any word to see it in the context of its puzzle. Click here to see a new list. Words in this color did appear in pre-Shortz crosswords.
| Word | Date | Clue | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACHES&PAINS | Sun 3/18/2007 | Basic infirmities | Craig Kasper |
| AURORAE | Sun 5/15/1994 | Night sky marvels | Charles M. Deber |
| BOWLINGALLEY | Sun 11/12/2006 | In a ___, many a ___ is rolled | Patrick Berry |
| CLAIMJUMPER | Sun 8/24/1997 | Miner's apparel? | Michael S. Maurer |
| COMMONCENTS | Wed 1/12/2000 | Pennies made in the 1990's? | Greg Staples |
| ENACTORS | Wed 12/14/1994 | Lawmakers | Wayne Robert Williams |
| FLEAMARKETERS | Mon 2/10/2003 | Sellers in stalls | Nancy Salomon and Harvey Estes |
| FLIPFLOPS | Sat 10/27/2007 | About-faces | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| GENEWILDER | Tue 2/10/1998 | Twins player in "Start the Revolution Without Me" | John Greenman |
| GOHAYWIRE | Mon 2/6/2012 | Malfunction | Tom Pepper |
| HEADFLUSHERS | Sun 11/28/2004 | Ones using "the facilities"? | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| HEADSTONE | Wed 12/10/2003 | Epitaph holder ... or Mick Jagger? | Nancy Salomon and Harvey Estes |
| HUSBANDTOBE | Sun 2/17/2008 | *Fiancé | Henry Hook |
| KEEPUPTHEJONESES | Sun 1/8/2012 | Disturb one's neighbors at night? | Tony Orbach |
| LINCOLNCENTER | Thu 5/30/2002 | Home to the Juilliard School | Peter Gordon |
| LOSTIN | Sun 12/5/1993 | Old TV's "_____ Space" | Manny Nosowsky |
| MANOFIRON | Thu 6/17/2004 | 1980 Andrzej Wajda film in which Lech Walesa appears | Robert H. Wolfe |
| MISCUES | Mon 6/21/2004 | Errors | Craig Kasper |
| MYLITTLEBIRDADEE | Sun 1/9/1994 | Fields-West film | Mel Rosen |
| ONONESGUARD | Thu 1/6/2005 | Vigilant | Robert H. Wolfe |
| PASSTIME | Sun 4/16/1995 | Twiddle one's thumbs | Matt Gaffney |
| PENTUP | Sat 6/6/2009 | Kept inside | Doug Peterson |
| PEROU | Sat 2/16/2002 | Lima's land, to the French | Frank Longo |
| PLOUGH | Sun 5/3/2009 | Accompanier of a harrow, in Harrow | Caleb Madison |
| PLUGOLA | Sun 3/15/2009 | Kickback for good publicity | Patrick Berry |
| POLARSEA | Thu 2/21/2013 | One is named for the explorer James Ross | Paul Hunsberger |
| REDZONE | Sun 7/17/2005 | Gridiron area near the goal line | David J. Kahn |
| SCAUPS | Mon 12/26/1994 | Diving ducks | Gregory E. Paul |
| SECTIONHEAD | Sun 8/4/2002 | Middle management title | Robert Malinow |
| SHORTOF | Sun 1/18/1998 | Excluding | Ed Early and Bob Klahn |
| SKINPEEL | Sun 4/9/2000 | Part of some facials | Joe DiPietro |
| SLIPSOFYEW | Wed 10/31/2012 | 64-Across ingredient | Stu Ockman |
| SOFIRM | Wed 6/14/1995 | Like Lucky Strike, per old ads | Richard Hughes |
| SOTRUE | Tue 3/11/2008 | "I agree completely" | Eugene W. Sard |
| STARJONES | Fri 4/26/2013 | Onetime co-host of "The View" | Michael Ashley |
| STATURES | Thu 12/11/1997 | Heights | Trip Payne |
| THEGREATSEALOFENGLAND | Sun 12/1/1996 | See 83-Across | D. J. Kahn |
| TOASKDINERSIFTHEYWANT | Sun 3/28/2004 | Definition, part 6 | David J. Kahn |
| TOTALRECALL | Thu 9/23/2004 | 1990 sci-fi rerun? | Jerry E. Rosman |
| VACANCY | Mon 1/14/2008 | Good sign at a motel | Robert Dillman |