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 50,376 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIOLOGISTS | Sat Aug 13, 1994 | Watson and Crick, for two | Randolph Ross |
| BLOWHARD | Thu May 26, 2022 | Gasbag | Jonathan M. Kaye |
| BONESMAN | Sat May 16, 2015 | Secret society brother to George W. Bush and John Kerry | Byron Walden |
| CHAINEMAIL | Fri Feb 17, 2017 | Certain Internet hoax | David Steinberg |
| CHERVIL | Sat Mar 17, 2001 | Aromatic herb used in soups and salads | Rich Norris |
| DANSEUR | Sun Nov 23, 2003 | Ballet performer | Leonard Williams |
| DECKTHEHALLS | Tue Jun 23, 2009 | Yuletide tune | Caleb Madison |
| DIRTYMARTINI | Thu Jun 15, 2017 | *Gin, vermouth and olive juice concoction | Richard F. Mausser |
| DOBEE | Sun Mar 18, 2007 | Old "Romper Room" character with bouncing antennae | Craig Kasper |
| FALLOFROME | Mon May 11, 2015 | Empire collapse in A.D. 476 | Joe DiPietro |
| FLYCAST | Sat Apr 24, 2004 | Angle | Patrick Berry |
| FORTUNEHUNTER | Thu Jul 27, 2017 | *One looking to become rich | Jeffrey Wechsler |
| GETSOPEN | Fri Mar 21, 2014 | Breaks away from a defender | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| GOLDILOCKSZONE | Fri Feb 12, 2016 | Region around a star "just right" for habitable planets | Brandon Hensley |
| GUIDEBOOKS | Fri Aug 27, 2021 | Tourists' reading | Robyn Weintraub |
| HADANEDGE | Fri May 10, 2002 | Was favored | Manny Nosowsky |
| HOMEGROWN | Sun Aug 27, 1995 | Indigenous | Martin Schneider |
| JIGSAWPUZZLES | Sat Mar 19, 2005 | Easy Christmas gifts to identify before unwrapping | Jim Hyres |
| JULIEADAMS | Sat Jul 31, 2021 | "Creature From the Black Lagoon" co-star | Brian Thomas and Brooke Husic |
| MENTIS | Sat Aug 20, 2005 | Compos ___ | Patrick Berry |
| NORTHERNLIGHTS | Thu Oct 30, 2008 | So-called "fox fires" | Chuck Hamilton |
| OFFICEHOURS | Thu Oct 16, 2025 | *Chance to meet one-on-one with a professor | Kareem Ayas |
| PALMSPRINGS | Wed Jun 3, 1998 | Steal coils? | Karen Hodge |
| PANTYGIRDLE | Fri Nov 21, 2008 | Unmentionable | Patrick Berry |
| PASSENGERVANS | Fri Jun 5, 2020 | Many hotel shuttles | John Wrenholt |
| PASTEDOWN | Fri Sep 24, 2010 | Affix securely | Mark Diehl |
| PATSONTHESHOULDER | Sun Nov 22, 1998 | Her car broke down | Nelson Hardy |
| PEPBANDS | Sat Jan 12, 2019 | Game players? | Sam Trabucco |
| PITCHES | Sat Dec 27, 2014 | Batting targets | David Phillips |
| PRESENTED | Sun Oct 17, 1999 | Introduced | Bob and Sharon Klahn |
| REINHABIT | Wed Jun 25, 2008 | Equestrian addiction? | Rob Cook |
| SNOOPING | Sun Mar 27, 2011 | Yenta's habit | Kevin G. Der |
| SPIRITGUM | Tue Feb 6, 1996 | False beard attacher | Randy Sowell |
| STANDINGORDER | Mon Sep 3, 2018 | Directive that's in force until canceled | Trent H. Evans |
| STOCKUP | Sun Nov 9, 1997 | Prepare for an emergency, in a way | Rich Norris |
| SUNDAYS | Thu Oct 6, 1994 | A month of ____ | Richard Silvestri |
| TEMPSLIE | Thu Aug 18, 1994 | Series of connected ballet movements | A.J. Santora |
| UHOK | Fri Jul 4, 2025 | "Fine, I guess" | Colin Adams |
| WAITITI | Sun Jun 17, 2018 | Director Taika ___ | Amanda Chung, Karl Ni and Erik Agard |
| WENTBYEBYE | Sun May 30, 2021 | Left, cutesily | Adam Wagner |