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 50,960 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQUALUNGS | Fri Feb 9, 2024 | These might help people take deep breaths | Christina Iverson |
| BATTLESTAR | Fri Jun 20, 2003 | Sci-fi command site | Bob Peoples |
| BEONE | Sun Nov 2, 2025 | Have spiritual unity (with) | Rafael Musa |
| BONUSISSUES | Fri Oct 4, 2024 | Periodical supplements | Zhouqin Burnikel |
| CARTOONING | Wed Aug 9, 2023 | Activity for Bill Watterson or Bil Keane | Caryn Robbins and Matthew Stock |
| CAUSEWAY | Sun Nov 29, 2009 | Florida Keys connector | Will Nediger |
| CRACKISWACK | Mon Nov 25, 2019 | 1986 Keith Haring antidrug mural | Daniel Mauer |
| CRYPTICALLY | Tue May 19, 2020 | "You're making a grave mistake," said Tom ___ | Trent H. Evans |
| DELIVERYSERVICE | Mon Oct 4, 2021 | FedEx or DHL | Christina Iverson and Andrea Carla Michaels |
| DENTALCROWN | Wed Sep 15, 2021 | Canine covering? | Sophie Buchmueller and Ross Trudeau |
| DONTPLAYWITHMATCHES | Sat Sep 16, 2006 | Classic caution to a child | Michael Shteyman |
| DRIVEINS | Tue May 15, 2018 | Alfresco theaters | Garry Trudeau and Ross Trudeau |
| EATLIKEANANIMAL | Wed Dec 31, 2003 | Eschew table manners | Alan Arbesfeld |
| ENCOUNTER | Fri Dec 13, 2019 | Bump into | Leslie Rogers |
| EXPECTSTHEWORST | Tue Mar 11, 2008 | Is pessimistic | Eugene W. Sard |
| FEELSBAD | Sun May 25, 2008 | Aches | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| GINGERY | Tue Aug 11, 2009 | Pungent, like some Asian cuisine | Oliver Hill |
| GODFATHERS | Mon Apr 14, 2025 | Vito and Michael Corleone | Stacy Cooper and Ken Cohen |
| GRAPHICDETAIL | Wed Jul 2, 2025 | Did you know?! The oldest known porno movie is the 1907 short film "El Satario" | Dan Caprera |
| GROSBEAK | Thu Feb 26, 1998 | Rose-breasted bird | Lois Sidway |
| GROVELED | Wed Nov 8, 2023 | Got down on one's knees and begged | Daniel Hrynick |
| HIGHDIVE | Thu Jan 8, 2026 | Nonverbal "well done" | Mallory Montgomery and Zhou Zhang |
| JOLLIES | Fri Aug 17, 2012 | Kicks | Peter Wentz |
| KRIPS | Sat Feb 24, 2001 | Austrian conductor Josef | Rich Norris |
| MATHSYMBOL | Thu Sep 29, 2011 | [See blurb] | Ben Fish |
| MONODRAMA | Sun Sep 12, 2010 | Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape," e.g. | Paula Gamache |
| ORDERBLANK | Fri Nov 9, 2007 | Payment is often sent with one | Henry Hook |
| PENIS | Sun Aug 27, 1995 | "The _____ mightier..." | Martin Schneider |
| PENSACOLA | Thu Feb 26, 2015 | Southern city that calls itself "America's First Settlement" (1559) | Caleb Emmons |
| PETERPAULMOUNDS | Sun Oct 1, 2000 | ...candy? | Nancy Nicholson Joline |
| PONZU | Wed Jun 24, 2026 | Citrus-based sauce in Japanese cuisine | Kevin Curry and Zhou Zhang |
| POPELEO | Fri May 28, 2010 | One of 13 religious leaders | Joe Krozel |
| PRIMMEST | Wed Jan 11, 2006 | Most stiffly proper | Mel Rosen |
| REVILES | Sun May 24, 2020 | Excoriates | Andrew Chaikin |
| TANSKINNED | Sat Aug 6, 2005 | Copper | Frank Longo |
| TRIMWAIST | Fri Jul 25, 2008 | Goal of middle management? | John Farmer |
| UNMAPPED | Sat Nov 23, 2013 | Like the human genome, before the 1990s | Frederick J. Healy |
| UNPICKED | Thu May 9, 2019 | Like fruit on a tree | Lewis Rothlein |
| WEEUN | Sun Apr 3, 2022 | Tyke | Byron Walden |
| YELLOWPEPPERS | Thu Jun 21, 2018 | Salad items picked at the midpoint of their maturity | Milo Beckman and David Steinberg |