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 50,620 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIRPOLLUTION | Sun Aug 14, 2011 | "Where there's smoke, there's ..." | Paula Gamache |
| AMERICANIZE | Tue Nov 14, 2000 | Convert to McDonald's, the Gap, etc. | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| ANDNOT | Sun May 16, 2010 | Excepting | Matt Ginsberg |
| ANNULUS | Fri Jul 28, 2000 | Growth ring | Harvey Estes and Nancy Salomon |
| BESTRAPPERFORMANCE | Sun Apr 25, 2021 | Grammy category won multiple times by Kendrick Lamar | Jeremy Newton |
| BOWLING | Thu Dec 26, 2019 | Sport that is the key to interpreting the answers to 21-, 40- and 56-Across | Trenton Charlson |
| CHERRYGARCIA | Tue Apr 15, 2025 | Ben & Jerry's flavor honoring a jam band legend | Per Bykodorov |
| CONSONANT | Thu Jun 20, 2019 | Something each of this puzzle's answers begins with | Trenton Charlson |
| DECEM | Sun Nov 30, 2008 | X | Richard Silvestri |
| DECOMPOSE | Thu Apr 29, 2010 | Rot | David J. W. Simpson |
| DONTINTERRUPTME | Sat Oct 21, 2023 | Reprimand to one who spoke too soon | Kelly Morenus |
| ELECTIONRETURNS | Tue Nov 7, 1995 | Vote tallies | Sidney L. Robbins |
| ENOUGHSENOUGH | Wed Sep 29, 1999 | Exasperated remark | Patrick D. Berry |
| FARROCKAWAY | Wed Sep 6, 2006 | Queens place | Manny Nosowsky |
| HUMBLEBRAG | Fri Sep 19, 2014 | Self-praise couched in self-deprecation, in modern lingo | Finn Vigeland |
| IBSENS | Tue Aug 15, 1995 | "Ghosts" writer and kin | Randall J. Hartman |
| ISADOR | Fri Nov 30, 2012 | Early psychoanalyst Coriat | Gary Cee |
| JANVANEYCK | Tue Aug 20, 2002 | 15th-century Flemish painter | Bob Peoples |
| KEPLER | Tue Sep 18, 2001 | Astronomer Johannes | Jay Livingston |
| LIVINGYEARS | Sat Jun 30, 2001 | 1989 #1 hit for Mike + The Mechanics, with "The" | Frank Longo |
| MAHDIS | Wed Apr 19, 1995 | Islamic prophets | Alfio Micci |
| MAKESAFOOLOF | Sun Jul 9, 2023 | Humiliates | Christina Iverson |
| MURDOCH | Sat Jan 18, 2014 | "A Severed Head" novelist, 1961 | David Steinberg |
| NETEFFECT | Tue Aug 26, 2025 | Overall impact | Kevin Curry |
| NONLOCAL | Fri Apr 2, 2004 | Widespread | Gilbert H. Ludwig |
| ONMYOWN | Wed Aug 4, 2021 | 1986 #1 hit for Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald | Brandon Koppy |
| PEGGING | Sun Mar 7, 1999 | Identifying | Randolph Ross |
| PRECISIONS | Fri Mar 7, 1997 | Niceties | Jeff Herrington |
| PUTTING | Wed Jul 7, 2010 | Green skill | Will Nediger |
| RISA | Sat Nov 19, 2005 | Laughter, in La Mancha | Byron Walden |
| SEALSWITHAKISS | Wed Mar 21, 2018 | Circus animals enjoying some chocolate? | Laura Braunstein |
| SECRETWORD | Fri Jan 5, 2018 | Staple feature of Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" | Ned White |
| SEEDCAPITAL | Sat Sep 28, 2024 | Angel's contribution | Margaret Seikel |
| SEEDYCHARACTER | Sun Dec 7, 2025 | Gregor Mendel? | Kate Jensen |
| SPEAKUP | Fri Jul 19, 2013 | "Louder!" | Patrick Berry |
| STATEFAIRS | Mon Jun 22, 2015 | Events with Ferris wheels and livestock competitions | Joel Fagliano |
| TECHSECTOR | Thu Sep 22, 2016 | Part of the Dow | Jeffrey Wechsler |
| TOERINGS | Fri Oct 5, 2012 | What married women in India traditionally wear | Patrick Berry |
| VINEYARDS | Thu Oct 28, 1999 | Côte d'Or estates | Patrick D. Berry |
| WINEFRAUD | Sun Jun 22, 2025 | Vintage racket? | Ruth Bloomfield Margolin and Hannah Margolin |