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 50,376 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACTORSUNIONS | Sun Mar 25, 2018 | Hollywood labor groups | Finn Vigeland |
| ASTRANGERINTOWN | Mon Nov 25, 1996 | 1945 Mel Torme song | M. Huret |
| BUCKTHEODDS | Sun Jan 8, 2006 | The rodeo rider tried to | Michael Ashley |
| CANNULAR | Sun May 22, 2016 | Shaped like a tube | Victor Barocas and Andy Kravis |
| CESARIAN | Wed May 25, 1994 | ____ section | Fred Piscop |
| CHRISTMASEVE | Fri Dec 24, 2010 | Time before the present day? | Jay Kaskel and Daniel Kantor |
| COMPLETECOLUMNS | Mon Jan 26, 2004 | Connectors? | Patrick Merrell |
| COURTINJUNCTION | Sun Jun 14, 2015 | Municipal building located where major roads intersect? | Randolph Ross |
| DOWERS | Sat Nov 13, 2010 | Widows' allowances | Mark Diehl |
| GOBSMACKED | Mon Apr 27, 2015 | Left speechless | Johanna Fenimore |
| HARDDRINKS | Wed Sep 11, 2019 | Screwdrivers, e.g. | Ned White |
| IGOCRAZY | Sat May 19, 2012 | 1977 Paul Davis hit that spent 25 weeks in the Top 40 | Patrick Berry |
| INHIBITOR | Fri Apr 23, 1999 | Anticatalyst | Harvey Estes |
| JULIEADAMS | Sat Jul 31, 2021 | "Creature From the Black Lagoon" co-star | Brian Thomas and Brooke Husic |
| KELLOGGS | Fri Nov 29, 2013 | Post rival | Ned White |
| LAWBREAKERS | Thu Nov 17, 2016 | Criminals | Timothy Polin and Joe Krozel |
| LOSEOUTON | Thu Oct 8, 2015 | Miss | Stu Ockman |
| MESSENGERRNA | Fri Mar 16, 2007 | Microscopic code carrier | Eric Berlin |
| MOUTON | Sun Sep 11, 2016 | Alternative to boeuf or poulet | Ned White and George Barany |
| OHKAY | Fri Apr 24, 2015 | Gershwin musical whose name sounds like an approval | Joe Krozel |
| POMPOUSASS | Fri Feb 26, 2016 | Blowhard | Paula Gamache |
| POPOUT | Sun Feb 23, 2014 | Appear suddenly | A Namesake of 119-Across |
| PUMPERNICKEL | Sun Feb 3, 2013 | Alternative to white | Dan Schoenholz |
| SETTLEUP | Thu Jun 1, 2000 | Conclude an evening of poker, say | David J. Kahn |
| SIGNALMAN | Sun Dec 27, 1998 | Military communications expert | Rich Norris |
| SKYPER | Fri Feb 26, 2021 | One having a certain video chat | Chuck Deodene |
| SLYBOOTS | Fri Jul 25, 2025 | Shifty type | Fritz Juhnke |
| SNOWBOOTS | Sat Dec 3, 2011 | Timberlands, e.g. | David Quarfoot |
| SNOWYEGRET | Sun Apr 20, 2014 | Bird whose feathers were once prized by milliners | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| STEERHIDE | Sat Mar 11, 1995 | Type of leather | Nancy Joline |
| STRIKEOVER | Sat May 25, 2002 | Typing correction | Frank Longo |
| SWEETPOTATOPIES | Sat Mar 10, 2007 | Desserts from the South | Patrick Berry |
| TI | Thu Dec 12, 2019 | See 34-Across | Alex Eaton-Salners |
| TIRESIAS | Sat Feb 2, 2008 | Prophet of Thebes, struck blind by Athena when he accidentally saw her bathing | Natan Last |
| TOPCHEF | Sun Feb 23, 2025 | Reality competition show with quickfire challenges | Daniel Grinberg and Rafael Musa |
| TRIMOTOR | Thu Jan 21, 2016 | Ford aircraft of the 1920s-'30s | David Phillips |
| TWENTYFIVE | Fri Apr 20, 2018 | With 26-Down, the place of today's puzzle among all New York Times crosswords | Joel Fagliano |
| WENTYARD | Wed Feb 1, 2017 | Hit a home run, in baseball lingo | Matthew Sewell and Jeff Chen |
| WORKVISA | Fri Nov 6, 2015 | Something an alien may have | Ian Livengood |
| YIPPEEKIYAY | Sat May 29, 2021 | Exclamation popularized by "Die Hard" | Adam Aaronson |