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 50,685 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATTENDER | Sun Oct 24, 2010 | One who's all there? | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| BATTLEMENT | Sat Nov 3, 2007 | Archer's post | Brad Wilber |
| BOWSTRING | Mon Dec 19, 2022 | Archer's arrow launcher | Jennifer Nutt |
| CHRISTIAN | Sun Jan 29, 2017 | Like the sign of the fish | Jim Hyres and David Steinberg |
| CLEANEST | Thu Mar 8, 2018 | Most upright | Jim Quinlan |
| CORPOREAL | Sun Apr 14, 2024 | BEFORE: Having physical form | John Rippe and Jeff Chen |
| CRIMEDRAMA | Fri May 9, 2025 | Feature focused on investigation and resolution | Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard |
| DEVILSFOODCAKE | Sun Jun 5, 1994 | Popular dessert | Dean Niles |
| DIAMONDMINES | Sun Nov 2, 1997 | Kimberley features | Nancy Nicholson Joline |
| DIANNEFEINSTEIN | Thu Mar 29, 2007 | Big city mayor-turned-U.S. senator | David J. Kahn |
| DINGHY | Sun Apr 15, 2007 | Ship-to-shore transport | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| FIFTYPERCENTOFF | Wed Dec 21, 2022 | Sign in a clearance section | Nancy Stark and Will Nediger |
| FLYOFFTHEWALL | Sun Oct 16, 2005 | Extra-base hit, probably? | Con Pederson |
| FOAMPARTY | Sat Nov 18, 2023 | Festivity with mountains of bubbles | Hoang-Kim Vu |
| FOOTERS | Sun Mar 13, 2016 | Identifying lines at the bottoms of pages | Tom McCoy |
| GARTEN | Sun Sep 28, 2025 | Celebrity chef Ina | Rich Katz |
| HANDMAIDEN | Sun Dec 3, 1995 | Attendant | Martin Schneider |
| HUMBUGGED | Thu Oct 15, 2015 | Flimflammed | Kevin G. Der |
| INDEPENDENTCOUNSEL | Sun Apr 20, 2008 | Head of a special government inquiry | John Farmer |
| INTROVERSION | Sun Mar 19, 2023 | Beginner's edition? | Robert Ryan |
| ISAIDSTOP | Sat Jan 24, 2026 | "Enough already!" | Adrian Johnson and Ryan McCarty |
| LEFTHANDED | Wed Dec 7, 2016 | *How Clayton Kershaw pitches | David Steinberg |
| LOMANS | Fri May 6, 1994 | Theater's Willy, Linda, Happy and Biff | Manny Nosowsky |
| MOCA | Sun Mar 1, 1998 | Provincial capital in the Dominican Republic | Cathy Millhauser |
| MOSESMALONE | Thu Apr 20, 1995 | Religious basketball star? | Raymond Hamel |
| NONTRADITIONAL | Sun Oct 18, 2009 | Like 43-Down's design for 23-/29-Across | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| PORTAGES | Fri Mar 31, 2000 | Overland routes | Nancy Salomon and Harvey Estes |
| RESONATES | Sat Jun 7, 1997 | Echoes | Martin Schneider |
| RUMPSTEAK | Sun Sep 7, 2008 | Cut of beef | Randolph Ross |
| RUTGER | Sun Jun 12, 2011 | Actor Hauer | C. W. Stewart |
| STARREDIN | Mon Oct 27, 2025 | Headed the cast of | Tarun Krishnamurthy |
| STARSKYANDHUTCH | Tue Oct 18, 2011 | Starch: a cross between ___? | Patrick Berry |
| STEPPEDONTHEGAS | Fri Sep 11, 2015 | Gunned it | Peter A. Collins |
| SUBSOILS | Sun Nov 30, 2003 | Layers underground | Manny Nosowsky |
| THEIRONLADY | Thu Jul 11, 2024 | 2011 Margaret Thatcher biopic | Mat Shelden |
| THEPIPER | Thu Jan 10, 2002 | Proverbial payee | Alex Vaughn |
| TIPPERARY | Tue Sep 16, 1997 | Irish locale of song | Christopher Page |
| TOOCLOSETOCALL | Thu Aug 22, 2013 | Extremely tight | Stu Ockman |
| TRANSVERSE | Fri Nov 7, 2025 | Lying across | Kelly Morenus |
| WHATINTHEHECK | Fri Jul 14, 2023 | "Surely that can't be possible?!" | Jonathan Kaufman |