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 50,758 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BABELS | Sun Jul 6, 1997 | Dins | Robert H. Wolfe |
| BLINDASABAT | Wed May 28, 2014 | Unable to see the "E" on the Snellen chart, say | Tim Croce |
| BORICACID | Sat Sep 9, 2000 | Mild antiseptic | Dana Motley |
| CARMENMCRAE | Sun Aug 5, 2018 | Jazz singer who acted in the "Roots" miniseries | Alison Ohringer and Erik Agard |
| CEREALBOXES | Fri Jun 1, 2018 | Life preservers? | Andrew J. Ries |
| DATAFILES | Fri Apr 13, 2001 | Hackers' targets | Joe DiPietro |
| DEMILO | Sat May 4, 1996 | Venus follower | B. Klahn |
| DONOTWANT | Sat Jun 1, 2024 | "Hard pass" | Eric Warren |
| FOLKARTIST | Fri Dec 27, 2024 | Grandma Moses, for one | Jem Burch |
| FOLLOWDIRECTIONS | Thu Aug 29, 2024 | What one must do using the circled letters to solve this puzzle | Simeon Seigel |
| GREGKINNEAR | Mon Jan 14, 2013 | Oscar nominee for "As Good as It Gets" | Steve Salmon |
| INCREASING | Wed Oct 16, 2019 | End of the quip | Peter A. Collins |
| INSERIES | Sat Jul 30, 2005 | Sequentially | Sherry O. Blackard |
| ISOLATIONTANK | Sat May 2, 2020 | Provider of sensory deprivation | Paolo Pasco |
| KENYON | Fri Sep 30, 2016 | College where Rutherford B. Hayes was valedictorian | James Mulhern |
| LIESFLAT | Tue Oct 17, 1995 | Doesn't stick up at all | Diane C. Baldwin |
| LOWERBERTH | Sat Aug 4, 2012 | Sleeper's option in a sleeper | Jim Page |
| MAINPART | Wed Oct 29, 2008 | Lead role | Steven L. Zisser |
| MAJORITYRULES | Sat Jan 20, 2018 | Democratic principle | Alex Vratsanos |
| MATINGCALL | Fri Oct 14, 2011 | Melodious birdsong, maybe | Caleb Madison and J.A.S.A. Class |
| MELODIZES | Fri Feb 15, 2019 | Composes beautifully | Wyna Liu |
| MOONGOD | Sat May 18, 2013 | Chandra, in Hindu belief | Martin Ashwood-Smith |
| NECKPILLOW | Tue Dec 7, 2021 | Aid for sleeping on a plane | Margaret Seikel |
| NOTHINGTODECLARE | Sun Jan 18, 2004 | Good for a returning traveler, bad for a bridge player | Arlan and Linda Bushman |
| OPENDRAWERS | Tue Jan 28, 2003 | Common sight after a burglary | Christina Houlihan |
| PAPEROVER | Sat Nov 1, 2025 | Superficially conceal, as a problem | Michael Lieberman |
| PEGGYCASS | Tue Feb 8, 1994 | Lefty actress | Peter Gordon |
| PLANTOILS | Sun May 17, 2020 | Some biodiesel sources | Byron Walden |
| POOLERS | Fri Oct 16, 1998 | Joint-stock company owners | Martin Ashwood-Smith |
| PREGAMED | Wed Feb 17, 2021 | Had drinks before going out, informally | David Harris and Evan Kalish |
| RECONCILEDTO | Fri Aug 24, 2007 | Reluctantly accepting | Patrick Berry |
| ROOKERY | Fri Feb 5, 1999 | Dilapidated tenement | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| SALTANDPEPPER | Mon Sep 13, 1999 | Speckled, as hair | Fran and Lou Sabin |
| SPINCITY | Sun Aug 25, 2013 | TV show on which Charlie Sheen replaced Michael J. Fox | Victor Barocas |
| STOPPARD | Wed Jul 3, 1996 | "Arcadia" playwright | F. Heaney |
| TOBEFRANK | Sat Feb 11, 2023 | "In all honesty ..." | Sam Ezersky |
| VALSPEAK | Sun Feb 27, 2022 | Slangy SoCal dialect | Sheldon Polonsky |
| VAY | Sun Jan 15, 2006 | "Oy ___!" | Richard Silvestri |
| WARANDPEACE | Wed Feb 1, 2012 | Classic novel of 1,000+ pages ... or a hint to the word ladder formed by the answers to the starred clues | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| YOGIC | Mon May 20, 2013 | Like some meditative exercises | Tim Croce |