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 51,069 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUGMENTS | Sun Aug 13, 2017 | Adds to | Eric Berlin |
| BURBOT | Wed Sep 10, 2003 | Freshwater cod | Patrick Berry |
| CANTERBURY | Wed Jan 5, 1994 | "Murder in the Cathedral" setting | Chet Currier |
| COMMOTION | Thu Jan 19, 2012 | *Turmoil | Derek Bowman and Sarah Keller |
| COMPETENT | Tue Apr 21, 2020 | Capable | Andrew Kingsley |
| COOKIEDOUGH | Mon Sep 22, 2025 | Chunks found in Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream | Dena R. Verkuil and Andrea Carla Michaels |
| DAMSON | Tue Dec 2, 2003 | Plum variety | Harvey Estes |
| DANGEROUSLIAISONS | Sun Feb 22, 2026 | Samson and Delilah | Jill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp |
| DEVILRAYS | Wed Jul 22, 2015 | Tropicana Field team renamed in 2008 | Peter A. Collins |
| DISCOBRA | Sun Nov 26, 2023 | Sequin-covered undergarment popularized by Lady Gaga | Adam Wagner and Michael Lieberman |
| ECYCLED | Sat Mar 15, 2025 | Was eco-conscious with tech waste, in modern parlance | Ryan McCarty |
| EDITORIALCHAIRS | Fri Aug 8, 1997 | Posts in the Hearst empire | Martin Ashwood-Smith and Bob Klahn |
| FOAMRUBBER | Sun Apr 6, 2014 | Old-fashioned barber, at times? | Patrick Berry |
| FRIENDREQUEST | Sat Jul 22, 2017 | Attempt to establish an online connection | Zhouqin Burnikel |
| GAMEBIRD | Fri Apr 9, 2010 | Snipe, e.g. | Ned White |
| GAMESHOWNETWORK | Sat Apr 30, 2022 | Its slogan "Get Smarter Now" matches its initials | Joe DiPietro |
| GASOLINES | Thu Oct 29, 2009 | Refinery products | Joe Krozel |
| GETBETWEENTHESHEETS | Sun Aug 13, 2023 | Advice for saucing a lasagna? | Manaal Mohammed |
| IRONMASK | Mon Apr 1, 2013 | Facial cover in a Dumas novel | Gary J. Whitehead |
| JSHAPED | Fri Feb 6, 2015 | Like many hooks | Kyle Mahowald |
| KNEECAPPING | Fri Apr 5, 2019 | Punishment used by some hit men | Ryan McCarty |
| MAKESWEIGHT | Sun Nov 22, 2020 | Qualifies to fight in a certain class | Alex Eaton-Salners |
| MARYBLIGE | Tue Jul 9, 2013 | ... "J" as a 38-Across | Kurt Krauss |
| MIDINETTE | Sun May 11, 2025 | Shopgirl in a Paris boutique | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| NINNYISH | Thu Apr 8, 1999 | Silly | David J. Kahn |
| NOSERS | Sun Dec 15, 2013 | Brown-___ (sycophants) | Jeff Chen |
| OUTCOMES | Sat Jun 7, 2014 | Denouements | John Lieb |
| POINTEDTO | Thu Feb 13, 2003 | Indicated | Joe DiPietro |
| RALPHWALDOEMERSON | Sun Jun 8, 2003 | Poet born in 1803 | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| RASHDECISION | Thu Sep 14, 1995 | Dermatologist's pronouncement? | Chuck Deodene |
| REFUSED | Wed Jan 3, 2024 | Said no ... or, interpreted differently, a hint to entering the answers to 16-, 26-, 46- and 61-Across | Jared Goudsmit |
| RETINASCAN | Fri Nov 7, 2025 | Modern identification method | Kelly Morenus |
| SEIZESTHEDAY | Thu Mar 6, 2014 | Doesn't waste an opportunity | Daniel Raymon |
| SEXYELF | Tue Jan 4, 2022 | Risqué costume for a holiday party | David Bukszpan |
| SORRYISPILLEDIT | Thu Jul 29, 1999 | Poem by 39-Across about breakfast in bed | David J. Kahn |
| SUBSIN | Mon Mar 9, 2026 | Enters a game at the half, say | Christina Iverson and Andrea Carla Michaels |
| THRUSTS | Sun Sep 7, 2025 | Pushes with force | Derrick Niederman |
| TIDEWATERACCENT | Sat Jul 27, 2019 | Manner of speaking in eastern Virginia | Byron Walden |
| WOODCARVER | Sun Jan 9, 2000 | Grant & George Washington's favorite artisan? | Charles M. Deber |
| WORDGAMES | Mon Aug 1, 1994 | Scrabble, anagrams, etc. | Thomas W. Schier |