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 50,657 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAILINGOUT | Tue Mar 17, 2015 | Rescuing financially | David Phillips |
| CLANGED | Sat Aug 10, 1996 | Rung | R. Norris |
| CORNSILK | Wed Nov 20, 2013 | Shucker's debris | Peter A. Collins |
| DCXL | Sun Jan 23, 2011 | The year 640 | Chris A. McGlothlin |
| DELIORDER | Wed Jun 13, 2007 | What the ends of 17-, 30-, and 49-Across spell | Curtis Yee |
| DEVOIR | Fri Dec 20, 1996 | Act of civility | M. Ashwood-Smith |
| DISTURB | Sat Jun 9, 2001 | Trouble | Rich Norris |
| EWANMCGREGOR | Wed May 23, 2012 | Player of 36-/39-Across | Eric Williams |
| EXPUNGER | Sat Dec 9, 2006 | One who strikes out | Robert H. Wolfe |
| FAILINGSTUDENTS | Fri Oct 16, 2015 | One measure of a school's success | Joe Krozel |
| FOURINONE | Wed May 20, 2009 | Multipurpose, somehow | Ashish Vengsarkar |
| GALLIPOLI | Sun May 16, 2010 | 1981 Mel Gibson film | Matt Ginsberg |
| HARTMAN | Sat Mar 21, 1998 | Soap title character of the 1970's | Rich Norris |
| HIBERNATE | Sat Jun 14, 2025 | Go out in the winter? | Barbara Lin |
| HOUSESANDHOTELS | Fri Mar 14, 1997 | See 1-Across | Manny Nosowsky |
| IDBADGE | Thu Feb 18, 2016 | One might get you in | Bruce Haight |
| JACKHALEY | Fri May 11, 2007 | "Heart of the Tin Man" author | Patrick Berry |
| LAVALIERES | Wed Nov 26, 2014 | Some microphones | Michael S. Maurer |
| LOWBUDGETFILM | Tue Jun 14, 2011 | Indie studio's offering, maybe | Doug Peterson and Angela Olson Halsted |
| MCBAIN | Sun Dec 9, 2012 | Ed who wrote the 87th Precinct novels | Patrick Berry |
| MIIS | Fri Oct 17, 2025 | Customizable Nintendo avatars | Karen Steinberg |
| MIMERS | Fri Jan 23, 2015 | Quiet parrots | Ed Sessa |
| NONBELIEVERS | Thu Oct 3, 2024 | Skeptics | Rena Cohen |
| ONTHEBEAT | Sat Aug 30, 2025 | Patrolling a neighborhood | Maddy Ziegler |
| OPENMOUTHS | Sat Aug 16, 2025 | French kiss kissers | Byron Walden |
| POPPYFIELD | Wed Aug 5, 2020 | *Wicked Witch's trap for Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" | Michael Paleos |
| PSILOCYBIN | Sat Mar 22, 2025 | The "magic" in some mushrooms | Katie Hoody |
| ROBERTGALBRAITH | Wed Apr 27, 2016 | Pen name of the female author of "The Cuckoo's Calling" | Jeff Stillman |
| SCREENERS | Sun Jan 19, 2025 | Advance film copies sent to critics | Emily Sharp and Kunal Nabar |
| SEANASTIN | Sun Mar 24, 2024 | Portrayer of Bob Newby on "Stranger Things" | John Kugelman |
| SETTINGSUNS | Fri Aug 4, 2006 | Sights before nights | Manny Nosowsky |
| SWANNINLOVE | Sat Mar 20, 2004 | Jeremy Irons film based on Proust's writings | Byron Walden |
| SYLVIASYMS | Tue Dec 4, 2018 | Nightclub singer who was given the nickname "Buddha" by Frank Sinatra | Peter Gordon |
| THATSHUGE | Sun Jan 3, 2010 | "Wow, congrats!" | Jeremy Newton |
| TIDDLE | Wed Oct 2, 1996 | Fidget | K. Hodge |
| TRAVISKELCE | Tue Sep 24, 2024 | Kansas City star? | Kevin L. Shellito |
| VALIDID | Sat Aug 19, 2017 | T.S.A. requirement | Mark Diehl |
| WATERMARK | Sat Jul 6, 2024 | Something that fades into the background | Evans Clinchy |
| WILBUR | Sun Nov 30, 2025 | Literary runt of the litter | Natan Last |
| YOUNEEDEDME | Sat Aug 28, 1999 | 1978 #1 hit for Anne Murray | Frank Longo |