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 50,404 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADAMDALGLIESH | Thu Apr 25, 1996 | P. D. James's crime solver from Scotland Yard | W. Canine |
| ALPINESKI | Sun Mar 18, 2012 | Item of winter sports equipment | Mike Nothnagel and Byron Walden |
| BACKTOSCHOOL | Tue May 8, 2018 | Like some August sales | Ori Brian |
| BARDED | Sun Nov 30, 2014 | Armored, as a horse | Matt Ginsberg |
| BLESSMEFATHER | Sat Jun 27, 2009 | Start of a confession | Trip Payne |
| CHAIROFTHEFED | Sun Aug 14, 2022 | Major player in U.S. economic policy (Egypt) | Jeff Chen and Jim Horne |
| COMEINTOTHEOPEN | Sat Jan 21, 2012 | Emerge | Martin Ashwood-Smith |
| CONSOLING | Wed Jan 28, 2015 | Giving a pat on the back, say | Gary Cee |
| CTRLALTDEL | Fri May 17, 2024 | "Three-finger salute" to help reboot | Hemant Mehta |
| CURRENCIES | Tue Sep 7, 2021 | What the ends of 17-, 21-, 37-, 39- and 55-Across are | Zhouqin Burnikel |
| DARWINIANTHEORY | Fri Nov 8, 2002 | Topic in "Inherit the Wind" | Manny Nosowsky |
| DONKEYEARS | Sun Aug 10, 2025 | … something pointy grown by Pinocchio | Adam Wagner and Chandi Deitmer |
| ECONOMICDECLINE | Sat Jul 18, 2015 | Possible result of loss of trade | Joe Krozel |
| GAMESOVER | Wed Apr 24, 2013 | "You lose!" | Clive Probert |
| HEDGEIN | Sun Nov 4, 2012 | Surround with shrubbery | Brendan Emmett Quigley |
| JUNOPROBE | Thu Jun 6, 2019 | NASA spacecraft orbiting Jupiter | Fred Piscop |
| MACHMETER | Thu Mar 10, 2005 | Airspeed ratio indicator | Ed Early |
| MARTENS | Sun Nov 2, 1997 | Weasels' cousins | Nancy Nicholson Joline |
| NBAREFEREE | Fri Sep 10, 2021 | Travel authority? | Adrian Kabigting |
| NONFOOD | Tue Dec 21, 1999 | Like some items on a grocery store receipt | Richard Hughes |
| OVERZEALOUS | Fri Dec 7, 2018 | Eager to a fault | Sam Trabucco |
| PALLIATE | Fri Jun 3, 2011 | Ease | Jeffrey Wechsler |
| PLEASEBESEATED | Sun Feb 4, 2024 | Assembly line? | Daniel Grinberg |
| PLEASEPLEASEME | Wed Oct 13, 1999 | 1964 Beatles hit | David Levinson Wilk |
| POMATUM | Sat May 30, 2009 | Fragrant hair dressing | Matt Ginsberg |
| POOLROOMS | Sat Nov 8, 2014 | Banking facilities? | Barry C. Silk |
| POSTRETIREMENT | Sun Oct 1, 2017 | Dead | Robert Fisher |
| REELBIGFISH | Sun Jun 24, 2018 | Ska-punk band with the 1997 song "Sell Out" | Timothy Polin |
| SELEN | Sun Feb 13, 1994 | Moon: Prefix | Cathy Millhauser |
| SETSOFF | Thu Apr 4, 2013 | Triggers | Corey Rubin |
| SHORTTERM | Wed Mar 5, 2003 | For the immediate future | Tyler Hinman |
| SIRSPEEDY | Sat Mar 24, 2018 | FedEx Office competitor | Byron Walden |
| SUREASSURECANBE | Mon Aug 24, 1998 | Absolutely confident | Alan Jay Weiss |
| TERRYCREWS | Fri Jul 10, 2020 | "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actor who played in the N.F.L. | John Lieb |
| TINGLY | Sun Nov 5, 2017 | Like pins-and-needles feelings | Natan Last |
| UPFORDEBATE | Thu Jul 20, 2023 | Worth discussing, as an issue | Drew Schmenner |
| WELLBEING | Sat Mar 3, 2001 | Health | Fraser Simpson |
| WHICHEVER | Sun Sep 7, 2014 | "Eh, any one is fine" | Tracy Gray and Jeff Chen |
| YOUDOTHAT | Fri Apr 14, 2023 | "Go for it" | Billy Bratton and Clay Haddock |
| YOUREALLYGOTAHOLDONME | Sun Jul 2, 2017 | "With the Beatles" song written by Smokey Robinson | Patrick Blindauer |