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 50,361 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASHORT | Tue Nov 13, 2001 | Middle of the riddle | Nancy Salomon and Bob Peoples |
| AZOBLUE | Sat Aug 30, 2014 | Synthetic purplish colorant | David Steinberg |
| BARBAROSSA | Fri Jul 4, 1997 | Nickname of Emperor Frederick I | Manny Nosowsky |
| BLOOPSINGLE | Tue May 4, 2010 | Hit that just clears the infield | Doug Peterson |
| CABOCHON | Sat Nov 17, 2018 | Gem that's been polished but not faceted | Doug Peterson and Erik Agard |
| COMEDYTEAM | Thu Jun 4, 2015 | Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, e.g. | Joe Krozel |
| CONTRETEMPS | Wed Aug 24, 2016 | Minor argument | Matthew Sewell |
| CRINGEY | Thu May 29, 2025 | "Yikes"-worthy | John Kugelman |
| DAINTIER | Wed Mar 26, 1997 | More exquisite | Richard Silvestri |
| DEATHEATER | Sun Jan 29, 2023 | *Staging of a narc sting? | Rich Katz |
| DEFORMS | Fri Nov 4, 2011 | Gets bent out of shape | Patrick Berry |
| DEPRESSES | Thu Oct 2, 2008 | Takes the starch out of | Samuel A. Donaldson |
| DOUBLEYELLOWLINE | Sun Aug 10, 2025 | … something long and painted on a highway | Adam Wagner and Chandi Deitmer |
| DRAGONFLY | Mon Oct 10, 2016 | Airborne animal with a monstrous name | Patrick Merrell |
| ENCHANTS | Tue Dec 21, 1993 | Delights | Janie Lyons |
| FAINTHEART | Fri Feb 14, 1997 | One lacking in conviction | J. R. Conrad |
| FELLON | Thu Jul 17, 1997 | Attacked | Wayne Robert Williams |
| FINISHTHEJOB | Sun Sep 8, 2024 | Age 65 | Meghan Morris |
| GORIOT | Sun Oct 3, 1999 | Balzac's Père ___ | Fred Piscop |
| GYMNASTICS | Mon Mar 17, 2014 | Sport that includes the pommel horse and parallel bars | John Lieb |
| HANNIBALLECTER | Mon Apr 11, 2011 | "The Silence of the Lambs" villain | Ian Livengood |
| LOHENGRIN | Thu Mar 27, 1997 | Happy Wagner hero? | Alex Vaughn |
| LONGGONE | Tue Jun 19, 2001 | Like the dinosaurs | Tyler Hinman |
| NOUGATBAR | Mon May 30, 2022 | Nutty candy offering | Alexander Liebeskind |
| ONECASE | Sun Feb 6, 2011 | 24 bottles of beer | David J. Kahn |
| ORIENTEXPRESS | Sat Jan 19, 2008 | See 15-Down | David J. Kahn |
| PANHANDLE | Thu Sep 24, 2020 | Bee, e.g. | Trenton Charlson |
| PEOPLEWATCH | Tue Aug 14, 2018 | Wrist accessory for a celebrity magazine editor? | Andy Kravis and Erik Agard |
| PILEDUP | Wed Jun 9, 2010 | Amassed | Gary Whitehead |
| PLAUDITS | Thu May 3, 2018 | Praise | Emily Carroll |
| RAINEDOUT | Wed Nov 21, 2007 | Postponed, in a way | Kelsey Blakley |
| RANGOFF | Sun Oct 17, 2004 | Ended a call in London | Manny Nosowsky |
| SIERRALEONEAN | Fri Oct 1, 1999 | English speaker in Africa | John Wolting |
| SNACKMIX | Mon Dec 23, 2024 | *Hodgepodge bowlful of munchies | Glenn Cook |
| SPIDERNEST | Wed Sep 6, 2006 | Queen's place, in fiction | Manny Nosowsky |
| SWITCHBACK | Sun Apr 4, 2010 | *Zigzag trail up a mountain | Bob Klahn |
| TREBLING | Sun May 25, 2003 | Getting bigger quickly | David J. Kahn |
| UGRIC | Sat May 3, 2003 | Language branch containing Hungarian | John Scott Marrone |
| WETTIG | Sat Sep 17, 2022 | Emmy winner Patricia of "Thirtysomething" | Grant Thackray |
| WOEIS | Sun May 6, 2007 | "___ me!" | Charles M. Deber |