This page is just for fun. It's a random collection of rare crossword answers; so rare that each appears only in a single Modern Era puzzle. Bogus entries (thematic words that make sense only in that crossword) are excluded.
There are 50,644 unique Modern Era answer words in the database.
Click any word to see it in the context of its puzzle. Words in this color did appear in pre-Shortz crosswords.
| Word | Date | Clue | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFARS | Sat Jan 22, 2000 | ___ and the Issas (former French territory) | David J. Kahn |
| ARBITRATE | Sun May 19, 2013 | Judge | Jean O'Conor |
| ARMBANDS | Fri Nov 29, 2002 | Team captains' accouterments | Patrick Berry |
| ASHINESS | Fri Feb 21, 2003 | Lack of color | Patrick Berry |
| BBQAPRON | Sat May 28, 2005 | Gift for an outdoor chef | Bob Peoples |
| BEFOR | Fri Dec 22, 1995 | Favor | A.J. Santora |
| BIRDCALL | Sat Oct 30, 1999 | Quack, for one | Rich Norris |
| BRINGTHEHEAT | Wed Nov 9, 2016 | "Coach, get 'em to today's game" [N.B.A.] | John Lieb |
| CANOERS | Mon Feb 18, 2013 | Ones paddling down a river, say | Jeffrey Harris |
| CITYPLANS | Sat Jun 11, 2022 | Drawings with lots of little blocks | Sid Sivakumar |
| COHOSTING | Fri Dec 21, 2012 | Working like Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, say | Zoe Wheeler |
| DEMOTIC | Sat Jan 6, 2007 | Vernacular | Robert H. Wolfe |
| DIVIDINGINTWO | Tue May 21, 2002 | Halving | Paula Gamache |
| DROWSINESS | Sat Mar 2, 1996 | Somnolence | N. Joline |
| EXECUTIVEBRANCH | Fri Jul 25, 2003 | White House | Michael Shteyman |
| HITSQUAD | Sat Mar 7, 2015 | Group of dispatchers | David C. Duncan Dekker |
| INCOINS | Sun Jul 4, 2004 | How vending machines give change | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| INKSTAIN | Mon Jun 8, 1998 | Tough job for a dry cleaner | Mark Danna |
| IODIN | Sun Sep 3, 2000 | Medicinal aid: Var. | David J. Kahn |
| ITSSHOWTIME | Wed May 7, 2014 | Possible title for this puzzle | Kurt Mueller |
| LEADIER | Thu Aug 4, 1994 | More sluggish | Jim Page |
| LIGHTTIMER | Fri Dec 27, 2024 | Antiburglary device | Jem Burch |
| LIVEONTAPE | Fri Nov 30, 2007 | Prerecorded | Henry Hook |
| NEWBORNBABIES | Thu Mar 4, 2021 | They're swaddled and coddled | Blake Slonecker |
| NODOUS | Sat Mar 4, 1995 | Knotty | Rand H. Burns |
| RUNAGROUND | Sat Aug 22, 2015 | Not pass the bar? | Barry C. Silk |
| SAROD | Sat Sep 1, 2007 | Indian lute | Karen M. Tracey |
| SMALLFACES | Fri Jul 1, 2005 | British band with the 1967 hit "Itchycoo Park" | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| SOMERSAULTED | Tue Mar 20, 2018 | Flipped | Andrew Zhou |
| SPICEGIRL | Thu May 19, 2011 | Member of a 1990s pop quintet | Paula Gamache |
| SUPERBOY | Wed Jul 9, 2025 | Comic book hero whose secret identity is Conner Kent | Desirée Penner and Jeff Sinnock |
| SWANSEA | Sun Apr 18, 2004 | Dylan Thomas's birthplace, in Wales | Richard Chisholm |
| TELEPHONECALLS | Sat Mar 26, 1994 | Some pages | Randolph Ross |
| TEMPERAS | Mon May 18, 2009 | Poster paints | Billie Truitt |
| TNS | Wed Jan 22, 2014 | Weigh station wts. | Jared Banta |
| UNBAKED | Sun Mar 6, 2011 | Not yet in the oven | David Levinson Wilk |
| UNPOSED | Mon Jun 18, 2012 | Candid, as a photo | Peter A. Collins |
| WHATELSE | Fri Nov 10, 2017 | "Am I forgetting anything?" | Patrick Berry |
| WIFESWAP | Sat Apr 26, 2014 | Reality show documenting a two-week trade | Evan Birnholz |
| XACTOS | Tue May 20, 2025 | Crafters' knives | Rena Cohen |