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 50,984 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFROPUNK | Fri Mar 23, 2018 | Alternative music subgenre | Erik Agard |
| AISLEWAY | Fri Aug 2, 2019 | It gets cleared for takeoff | Andrew J. Ries |
| BACKFORMORE | Sat Mar 27, 2021 | Unable to stay away, say | Michael Hawkins |
| BADLOSER | Sat Nov 26, 2011 | Purveyor of some sour grapes? | Brad Wilber |
| BASELY | Fri Jun 13, 2014 | In a vulgar way | David Steinberg |
| BEEFHOTDOG | Sat Feb 29, 2020 | Frank type | Andrew J. Ries |
| COAUTHOR | Sun Jun 11, 2023 | Pen pal? | Sam Ezersky |
| DEADSPOTS | Fri Dec 10, 2010 | Where cells are of little use | Elizabeth C. Gorski |
| DEROGATIVE | Sat Aug 5, 2023 | Belittling | John Guzzetta |
| ECHOISM | Sat Sep 20, 2025 | Self-effacing personality trait | Katie Hoody |
| FLOODOFMEMORIES | Sun Jan 20, 2002 | What an old yearbook may elicit | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| GRATIAS | Sat Jun 28, 2008 | "Deo ___" | Byron Walden |
| ICEMAKERS | Fri Sep 26, 2003 | Amana amenities | Eric Berlin |
| INANIMATELY | Sun Jun 4, 2000 | With absolutely no spark | Martin Schneider |
| INVICTUS | Sat Sep 17, 1994 | Poem that ends "I am the captain of my soul" | Rich Norris |
| LATINPERCUSSION | Mon Mar 25, 2019 | Tito Puente's specialty | Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels |
| LEAVENOTRACE | Mon Nov 2, 2020 | Have an invisible footprint | Luke Vaughn |
| LEIBER | Sun Oct 14, 2012 | Stoller's partner in songwriting | Todd Gross |
| MANTELPIECE | Sat Jan 17, 2004 | Place for candlesticks | Patrick Berry |
| MOMENTOUS | Sat Aug 3, 1996 | Key | A. D. Cover |
| MULLION | Tue Sep 20, 1994 | Vertical dividing bar in windows | Christopher Page |
| NICOLEKIDMAN | Sun Apr 8, 2001 | 72-Across's co-star in "Malice" | Randolph Ross |
| NINETIESKID | Thu Dec 4, 2025 | Three squared + Slide | Stephan Prock and Jeff Chen |
| NOSURPRISETHERE | Tue Oct 9, 2018 | "Just as I expected!" | Natan Last, Andy Kravis and the J.A.S.A. Crossword Class |
| NOTVALID | Sat Dec 30, 2017 | Like division by zero | Damon Gulczynski |
| PARTLY | Thu Dec 5, 2002 | Not all the way | Joe DiPietro |
| PONTNEUF | Mon Apr 2, 2018 | 62-Across bridge | Jason Mueller |
| PORTIAS | Sun Jul 6, 1997 | Characters in "Julius Caesar" and "The Merchant of Venice" | Robert H. Wolfe |
| REKEYS | Sat Oct 20, 2001 | Confirms, as a password, perhaps | Patrick Berry |
| SHARKATTACK | Fri Jul 12, 2024 | Surfer's concern | Malaika Handa |
| SHOPFOR | Sun Nov 2, 2014 | Try to buy | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| SLEEPOVERPARTY | Fri Apr 23, 2021 | Event that goes all night | Robyn Weintraub |
| STRANGEGOINGSON | Fri Feb 16, 2007 | Unexplained phenomena | Charles Barasch |
| SWALLOWONESPRIDE | Tue Feb 24, 2009 | Eat humble pie | Stephen Edward Anderson |
| TAKENPAINS | Sun May 1, 2016 | Striven | Joel Fagliano and Byron Walden |
| TITLEDEED | Sat Jun 27, 2020 | Monopoly card with property info | Ryan Mccarty |
| TOOKAPIC | Wed Jul 30, 2025 | Got ready to post on Insta, say | Thomas Byrne and Daniel Bodily |
| TOSAYTHELEAST | Wed Jul 24, 2019 | Task for a Benedictine monk? | Jake Halperin |
| VENIRE | Sun Feb 17, 2008 | Jury pool | Henry Hook |
| VINYLTOP | Sun Aug 13, 2000 | Bygone car option | Nancy Salomon and Harvey Estes |