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 50,611 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| APPARITION | Sat Jul 29, 2006 | Shade | Bob Klahn |
| BESTCHANCE | Fri Mar 18, 2022 | Surest shot | Claire Rimkus and Brooke Husic |
| BEZELS | Mon Mar 31, 2003 | Watch rims | Patrick Merrell |
| BLOODDRIVE | Sun Jan 17, 2021 | Subject of a Sleeves Up campaign | Tracy Gray and Tom Pepper |
| BROMANTICCOMEDY | Tue Jun 23, 2015 | Modern-day genre for the 1952 film whose title is suggested by a word ladder starting at 1-Across | Jules P. Markey |
| CATCHOFFBALANCE | Wed Nov 22, 2023 | Stagger with unexpected news, maybe | Will Pfadenhauer |
| COUGHED | Sun Feb 17, 2019 | Gave reluctantly, with "up" | David Kwong |
| CROSSHAIR | Thu Sep 5, 2002 | Target-centering aid | Michael Shteyman |
| DONTCRY | Fri Jan 24, 2020 | "There, there" | Scott Earl |
| DOWNCOMFORTER | Tue Jun 14, 2011 | Thick alternative to a blanket | Doug Peterson and Angela Olson Halsted |
| ECTOPIC | Thu Jul 27, 2017 | Out of place, in obstetric parlance | Jeffrey Wechsler |
| EVERYINCH | Fri Oct 19, 2001 | Completely | Joe DiPietro |
| EXFED | Sun Mar 16, 2014 | Retired govt. agent | Jeremy Newton |
| GENYERS | Sun Mar 1, 2020 | Millennials | Sam Trabucco |
| GREWWEARY | Wed Aug 20, 2014 | Tired | Zhouqin Burnikel |
| GROGSHOP | Fri Jan 29, 1999 | English-style saloon | Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon |
| GUMMO | Wed Nov 5, 2025 | Stage name for Milton Marx | Chad Hazen and Jeff Chen |
| HARISSA | Fri Aug 7, 2020 | Spicy condiment from North Africa | Tom Pepper |
| ICANTHELPMYSELF | Tue Jul 9, 2002 | Four Tops hit of 1965 | Robert Malinow |
| INLAIDTILE | Sat Jul 28, 2018 | Part of many an N.Y.C. subway station wall | Natan Last, Andy Kravis and The J.A.S.A. Crossword Class |
| JONATHAN | Sat Jun 19, 2010 | Swift, e.g. | Samuel A. Donaldson |
| KENNAN | Sun Dec 7, 2008 | Pulitzer winner for "Russia Leaves the War" | Jim Page |
| LAKESIDE | Fri Dec 15, 2006 | Like some resorts | Levi Denham |
| LOANING | Sun Jan 17, 2016 | Advancing | Jeff Chen |
| LOVEBOATS | Wed Apr 24, 2013 | Some cruise ships, informally | Clive Probert |
| MATERNITYWARD | Wed Sep 11, 2013 | Birth place | Patrick Blindauer |
| MINORLEAGUE | Tue Apr 20, 2004 | See 40-Across | Allan E. Parrish |
| ONGOODTERMS | Thu Jan 12, 2012 | Amicable | Gareth Bain |
| OVERSELL | Tue Apr 1, 2008 | Push too hard, as an argument | Manny Nosowsky |
| PINUPGIRL | Tue Sep 8, 2015 | Figure on a soldier's poster in W.W. II | Jacob Stulberg |
| PLAINNESS | Sun Nov 6, 1994 | Unadorned | A.J. Santora |
| PRDISASTER | Thu Aug 14, 2025 | Result of a scandal going viral, in brief | Gene Louise De Vera |
| REEXAMINED | Sat Nov 29, 2008 | Like cold cases for which new evidence arises | Barry C. Silk |
| SEMITONES | Sat Jun 11, 2022 | Intervals represented by adjacent frets on a guitar | Sid Sivakumar |
| SOURPUSS | Sun Jun 12, 2011 | Killjoy | C. W. Stewart |
| TEAMLEADERS | Sun Jun 16, 2024 | A-, DREAM, SWAT, TAG? | Chandi Deitmer and Wyna Liu |
| TWOMOMMIES | Tue Jan 16, 2007 | See 35-Across | Dave Mackey |
| VERRAZZANO | Sat Aug 8, 2009 | Explorer of North America's eastern coast in 1524 | Karen M. Tracey |
| VIBECHECK | Sat Feb 11, 2023 | Emotional assessment of one's surroundings, in lingo | Sam Ezersky |
| WACKYTOBACKY | Sat Jul 7, 2018 | Mary Jane | Ryan McCarty |