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 50,847 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADDAPINCHOFSALT | Wed Sep 1, 2010 | Cooking instruction hinting at this puzzle's theme? | Michael Torch |
| AVERAGEJANES | Sun Dec 28, 2025 | Mean Girls | Alex Eaton-Salners |
| BADPENNY | Tue Nov 6, 2012 | Nuisance that keeps returning, in metaphor | Erik Agard |
| BIGGER | Sun Mar 13, 2022 | "The ___ they are ..." | Christina Iverson and Katie Hale |
| CRANMER | Sun Apr 17, 1994 | Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas _____ | R. M. Hopkins |
| CYBERPUNK | Tue Jun 3, 2014 | Science fiction subgenre | Susan Gelfand |
| DISCOUNT | Sat Nov 15, 1997 | Kind of broker | Fred Piscop |
| DROPOUTS | Thu Jul 1, 2010 | Classless group? | Clive Probert |
| ESTRINS | Sat Jan 7, 1995 | Female hormones | Randolph Ross |
| EXILER | Thu Sep 3, 2015 | Performer of a banishing act | Merl Reagle (1950-2015) |
| EXTRAEFFORT | Mon May 7, 2007 | More work than required | Janet Bender |
| FRIENDLYREMINDER | Sat Jun 14, 2025 | Gentle nudge | Barbara Lin |
| GUTSILY | Thu Apr 17, 2003 | With a lot of nerve | Eric Berlin |
| KS | Wed Jul 16, 2008 | See note | Joe Krozel |
| KUMQUATS | Wed Mar 20, 2013 | Orange fruits | Raymond C. Young |
| LAWSTUDENT | Mon Jul 9, 2012 | Attorney-to-be | C.W. Stewart |
| LUSCIOUS | Sat Feb 4, 2012 | Delectable | Brendan Emmett Quigley and Caleb Madison |
| MADEADEAL | Sat Jul 16, 2005 | Finished negotiations | Michael Shteyman |
| MAKEBELIEVE | Fri May 1, 2026 | Storybook, say | Rena Cohen |
| MATCHWOOD | Mon Jul 11, 2016 | Material in a fire starter set | Freddie Cheng |
| MONICKER | Thu May 1, 2008 | Handle | Jim Leeds |
| MOROS | Sun Jul 23, 2006 | Some Filipinos | Fred Piscop |
| ONESTEPUP | Fri Aug 6, 2010 | Bruce Springsteen ballad | Patrick Berry |
| OVERDRAFT | Mon Jan 27, 2003 | Checking account woe | Stanley Newman |
| PICKYEATER | Fri Jan 29, 2021 | Unlikely member of the "clean-plate club" | Robyn Weintraub |
| PINSUP | Wed Dec 15, 1999 | Starts to raise, as a hem | Ethan Cooper |
| POOLSTICK | Thu Jan 16, 1997 | Cue | W. R. Williams |
| SANDCASTLES | Sat Aug 9, 2025 | Buildings that aren't water-resistant | Aidan Deshong and Akshay Seetharam |
| SAWTOOTHED | Fri Mar 9, 2012 | Like many bread knives | Tim Croce |
| SHOULDERTHEBLAME | Tue Jul 19, 2022 | Take responsibility for a misdeed | Andy Kravis |
| SINATRAS | Wed Sep 16, 2009 | Ol' Blue Eyes' family | Maura B. Jacobson |
| SODAMIXER | Thu Oct 4, 2018 | Ingredient in some cocktails ... or a hint to the last words in 17-, 23-, 32-, 43- and 48-Across | Joon Pahk |
| SPECIALORDERING | Sat Aug 31, 2002 | Requesting customization, perhaps | Trip Payne |
| SUNRIPEN | Tue Oct 30, 2018 | Put on a windowsill to mature, say | Jules Markey |
| SWIGGED | Wed Dec 21, 2016 | Drank, as from a flask | Jeff Chen and Seth Geltman |
| TOUCHEDON | Thu Jan 7, 2016 | Mentioned | Andrew J. Ries |
| TOYBOATS | Mon Oct 3, 2022 | Playthings in bathtubs | Sarah Sinclair |
| TWADDLER | Fri Jan 12, 2001 | One who prates | Mark Diehl |
| TXT | Wed Oct 20, 2021 | Palindromic alternative to .exe | David W. Tuffs |
| URIAHS | Tue Sep 20, 2011 | Heep and others | Daniel Raymon |