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 51,129 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIRBALLS | Thu Dec 13, 2007 | Hoops bloopers | John Farmer |
| AIRLINERS | Sat May 13, 1995 | 727's | Nancy Joline |
| ALTDORF | Thu Mar 15, 2012 | Swiss city where William Tell shot an apple | Kristian House |
| BODYTYPE | Sat Jan 31, 2015 | General figure | Tim Croce |
| BORODIN | Wed Oct 30, 2013 | "Prince Igor" composer | Joel Fagliano |
| BRAINDROPPINGS | Sun Sep 24, 2000 | Comic book (1997) | Randolph Ross |
| CESARS | Thu Oct 5, 1995 | French Oscars | Christopher Page |
| COMELIER | Sun Dec 23, 2018 | More pulchritudinous | David Alfred Bywaters |
| DAVIDBIRNEY | Tue Aug 30, 2011 | TV/film/stage actor once married to actress Meredith Baxter | Bernice Gordon |
| DETRACTOR | Sun Nov 20, 1994 | Vocal opponent | Matt Gaffney |
| DIRECTORDER | Sun Feb 8, 2026 | Explicit command | Chloe Revery |
| DOWNRUSH | Sun Oct 3, 2004 | Sudden descent of water | Randolph Ross |
| GARAGEDOORS | Fri Jun 10, 2022 | Things often controlled with remotes | Blake Slonecker |
| GUMMIER | Wed Jan 29, 2020 | More sticky and viscous | Jeremy Newton |
| HOBOKEN | Sun Mar 2, 2003 | Frank Sinatra's birthplace | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| HOLYWATER | Sun Jun 21, 2015 | Liquid harmful to vampires | Timothy Polin |
| INFLIGHTWIFI | Sat Apr 25, 2026 | Air traveler's connection | Sam Ezersky |
| INONEDAY | Fri Feb 26, 2021 | How many Amish barns are raised | Chuck Deodene |
| INSOMNIACS | Fri Nov 9, 2018 | Ones who find it difficult to go out? | Robyn Weintraub |
| JINK | Fri Jan 16, 2026 | Nimble, zigzagging maneuver | Kyle Dolan |
| LANGSTONHUGHES | Tue Feb 27, 2018 | "Montage of a Dream Deferred" poet | Ross Trudeau |
| LEAVESTIME | Sat Feb 19, 2011 | Allows an adequate period | Tim Croce |
| LIFETIMEBANS | Sun Apr 5, 2026 | Our cable channel is devoted to censorship! | Samuel A. Donaldson |
| LOTUSPOSE | Thu Aug 3, 2023 | One who's meditating might be in this | Simeon Seigel |
| MAKEAMOVE | Sat May 22, 2021 | Begin flirting with someone, so to speak | Sid Sivakumar and Matthew Stock |
| MEDIACIRCUS | Sat Apr 16, 2022 | Excessive coverage, perhaps | Hemant Mehta |
| MEDSTUDENT | Sat May 21, 2022 | Che Guevara, when he wrote "The Motorcycle Diaries" | Ryan McCarty and Yacob Yonas |
| MOTORBUS | Tue Oct 25, 1994 | Tourist transport | Lois Sidway |
| NUMERALS | Thu Jul 8, 2010 | Arabic characters | John Farmer |
| NUTTED | Sun Dec 1, 2013 | Having macadamias or pecans, say | Alan DerKazarian |
| POWDEREDWIG | Wed Sep 15, 2021 | Old rug in a courtroom? | Sophie Buchmueller and Ross Trudeau |
| RETAINERS | Wed Dec 24, 2025 | Orthodontists' offerings | Ella Dershowitz |
| RHYMELESSPOETRY | Thu Mar 30, 2000 | ___ verse | Randolph Ross |
| SUNMOONANDSTARS | Sun Sep 10, 2000 | Everything, to a lyricist | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| SUSANANTHONY | Wed May 22, 1996 | B-less figure on a coin | R. Hughes |
| TRUMPEDUP | Tue Dec 9, 2003 | Falsified, as charges | Alan Arbesfeld |
| UNDINES | Sun Oct 9, 1994 | Water spirits | Bryant White |
| WHATDOIKNOW | Sun Jan 4, 2004 | "You're asking me?" | Patrick Merrell |
| WORLDSERIESGAME | Wed Oct 7, 2009 | See 57-Across | Tim Wescott |
| YOUREABETTERMAN | Sat Jun 11, 2011 | With 53-Across, classic Kipling poem ending | Gary Cee |