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 50,763 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATTENTIONS | Sat Sep 1, 2001 | Buying candy, sending flowers, caressing, etc. | Dana Motley |
| BIGSHOESTOFILL | Sun Jul 2, 2023 | High standards established by a predecessor ... or what you are presented with in this puzzle? | Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa |
| BLEWIN | Sun Dec 5, 1999 | Showed up | Joe DiPietro |
| CHICXULUBCRATER | Sat Sep 25, 2021 | Site of the impact of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago | Adam Simon Levine |
| CHINAWARE | Fri Jun 7, 1996 | Willow pattern locale | M. Jones |
| CHINESEMUSTARD | Sun Jul 20, 2008 | Egg roll topping, perhaps | Barry C. Silk |
| CONCERTDATES | Sun Apr 19, 2026 | Listings on a band T-shirt | Michael Lieberman |
| CULTURESHOCK | Sun Jul 4, 2021 | Bacteriologist's emotion upon a new discovery? | Howard Barkin |
| DOCTORDOOM | Sat Jun 22, 2019 | Archenemy of the Fantastic Four | Joe Deeney |
| DOGGEDIT | Fri Aug 7, 2020 | Underperformed, colloquially | Tom Pepper |
| DRAWINONESHORNS | Sat Jul 15, 1995 | Retreat | Rand H. Burns |
| DROPSET | Thu May 14, 2009 | Weight training unit | David J. Kahn |
| ECORCHE | Sat Oct 23, 2021 | Drawing of the body without its skin, from the French | Sam Ezersky |
| FOLLICLE | Fri Feb 28, 2025 | Hair-raising thing? | Michael Lieberman |
| GRAYLAG | Sat Feb 2, 2002 | Wild goose | A. J. Santora |
| INDEPENDENCEAVE | Fri Jan 12, 2018 | D.C. thoroughfare with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum | Erik Agard |
| ITSGOTAGOODBEAT | Wed May 30, 2012 | With 38- and 59-Across, typical opinion about a record on 40-/14-Across | David J. Kahn |
| LAZYSLOB | Fri Jul 30, 2010 | Epithet for an annoying roommate | Kevin G. Der |
| LOWERTHEBAR | Mon Dec 2, 2019 | Reduce one's standards, as illustrated, respectively, in 3-, 5-, 7-, 40- and 28-Down | Lynn Lempel |
| NICOLET | Wed Jan 12, 2011 | Lake Michigan explorer Jean ___ | Jim Hilger |
| NIGHTCOURT | Wed Sep 22, 2004 | Popular 80's-90's TV sitcom | David J. Kahn |
| NOODLING | Mon Feb 17, 2025 | Messing around, as with an instrument or ideas | Kate Hawkins and Erica Hsiung Wojcik |
| NOTASEASY | Sun Apr 1, 2018 | Tougher | Sam Ezersky |
| OOPSYDAISY | Wed Apr 7, 2021 | "Clumsy me!" | Adrian Johnson |
| PANICATTACK | Tue Mar 12, 2019 | *Flop sweat producer | Jules Markey |
| PENTAGONS | Sun May 5, 2002 | Soccer ball sections | Patrick Berry |
| READYTOHEAR | Sun Dec 12, 2010 | Like tuned-in listeners? | Karen Young Bonin |
| REDDIAPERBABIES | Sat May 16, 2015 | Children of American Communists | Byron Walden |
| RINSERS | Wed Jan 7, 2015 | Some salon workers | Greg Johnson |
| RUMPEND | Sat May 16, 1998 | Cut of beef | Jim Page |
| RUPAULSDRAGRACE | Tue Feb 7, 2017 | Queens' place | Finn Vigeland |
| SCOUTTROOP | Fri Oct 19, 2012 | Boy band? | Patrick Berry |
| SIGHING | Sat May 3, 2025 | Showing exasperation, in a way | Michael Lieberman |
| STYLEGUIDES | Fri Feb 19, 2021 | Some reference works in newsrooms | Amanda Rafkin |
| SWITCHGEARS | Mon Dec 26, 2022 | Move onto a new topic of conversation, metaphorically | Kurt Weller |
| TEENCROWD | Sat Apr 21, 2007 | Mall rats, typically | Byron Walden |
| THECATSMEOW | Fri Jan 22, 2010 | Something that's just too cool | Natan Last |
| VANPELT | Fri Jul 9, 2010 | "Peanuts" surname | Patrick Berry |
| WALMARTS | Sat Aug 20, 2011 | Supercenters, e.g. | Byron Walden |
| ZELLE | Mon Nov 21, 2022 | Alternative to Venmo | Brandon Koppy |