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 50,690 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALLTHE | Sat Feb 11, 1995 | Sinatra's "_____ Way" | Randolph Ross |
| AMARILLOSLIM | Tue Jul 18, 1995 | Word Series of Poker winner | Jonathan Schmatzbach |
| ANSWERINGMACHINE | Sun Jan 12, 2020 | Voice box? [Wolverine State] | Evan Mahnken and David Steinberg |
| ARGUEOVER | Fri Mar 12, 2010 | Debate | Tim Croce |
| BANKDEPOSIT | Mon Jul 9, 2012 | Transaction at Chase or Wells Fargo | C.W. Stewart |
| BARGAINBASEMENT | Thu Dec 30, 1993 | Inexpensive | A.J. Santora |
| BESTPICTUREOSCAR | Sun Mar 1, 2015 | Honor for 118-Across | Finn Vigeland |
| BLANKCHEQUE | Sun Feb 25, 1996 | Dishonest person's temptation | D. Niles |
| BUSINESSTRIP | Mon Apr 4, 2005 | Firm offer? | Christina Houlihan Kelly |
| CHEERING | Sun Aug 16, 2015 | Some stadium noise | Don Gagliardo and Zhouqin Burnikel |
| CLAUDETTE | Thu May 5, 2022 | ___ Colvin, civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus nine months before Rosa Parks | Adam Wagner |
| CLOSEMOUTHED | Tue Dec 11, 2001 | Reticent | A. J. Santora |
| DATESBACK | Thu Oct 29, 2009 | Has been around since, with "to" | Joe Krozel |
| DEMOTIC | Sat Jan 6, 2007 | Vernacular | Robert H. Wolfe |
| ELIXIROFQUIETUDE | Thu Apr 4, 2024 | 57-Across, per E.B. White | Kevin Curry |
| FLOODED | Fri Apr 29, 1994 | Overwhelmed | Randolph Ross |
| GRIFFITH | Wed May 18, 2011 | D. W. ___ Award, honor for 58-/46-Across for lifetime achievement | David J. Kahn |
| GUTFLORA | Tue Aug 27, 2024 | Micro-organisms in the digestive tract | Julia Hoepner |
| HERSHEL | Thu Apr 21, 2016 | ___ Greene, character on "The Walking Dead" | Alex Bajcz |
| ITSABOUTTIME | Sun Aug 12, 2012 | "So you finally got the gist of that Stephen Hawking book!" | Patrick Berry |
| JILLS | Tue Nov 29, 2005 | Actresses Ireland and St. John | Adam Cohen |
| KINGCOLE | Sun Jan 31, 2021 | "A merry old soul," in a nursery rhyme | Jim Hilger |
| LAPIDARIAN | Sat Sep 25, 2004 | Like the cutting of gemstones | Byron Walden |
| LIBELLOUS | Sun Aug 24, 2025 | Like a column starting a row, perhaps | Michael Lieberman |
| LOVEINAMIST | Sun Dec 14, 2008 | Flower typically given to Neeson? | Trip Payne |
| LUNARCRATER | Fri Feb 21, 2020 | A mare might be found in one | Erik Agard and Anne Flinchbaugh |
| MULLER | Sun Jul 16, 1995 | Grinding tool | Naomi Geller Lipsky |
| NATIONALIZATION | Fri Sep 4, 2009 | Process associated with socialism | Joe Krozel |
| NITROGEN | Thu Jul 11, 2002 | It's in the air | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| PANTYLINE | Sat May 9, 2015 | Female fashion faux pas | Kristian House |
| RAGESON | Sun Aug 23, 2015 | Persists, as a forest fire | Joel Fagliano |
| SENIORCITIZENS | Mon Nov 28, 2005 | Retirees, often | Kevan Choset |
| SHORTCHANGE | Mon Dec 22, 2025 | Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters | Suzanne Oliver |
| SKEEZY | Fri Jan 27, 2023 | Morally repulsive, in slang | Joe Deeney |
| SMOGALERTS | Fri Oct 6, 2023 | Notices that trouble is in the air? | Zhouqin Burnikel and Tom Pepper |
| SPACECASE | Tue Apr 5, 2022 | Type who's out of touch with reality | Bruce Haight |
| STOCKMARKET | Thu Sep 18, 2008 | [See circles] | Mike Nothnagel |
| SUBSTACK | Thu Nov 28, 2024 | Digital newsletter platform | Ricky J. Sirois |
| TAKESAPART | Fri Sep 13, 2002 | Breaks down | Mel Rosen |
| UNREPS | Thu Mar 26, 2020 | Some diplomats working in N.Y.C. | Alex Eaton-Salners |