Poets, Ports and Old Rites
September 21, 2026 · 12×11 · Hard
Round, bouncy hairdo
Keeps you silent
French art great
Unit of heredity
Morsel of gossip
Founded in 1945
Cowboy's spread
Praise sky-high
Raised pulpit
Blows out or melts
Brotherly in spirit
Half of the pair
Woman who reigns
Fine and dandy
They raise the kids
Dark Holy Week rite
Vampire romance saga
Come out ahead
Shallow salty water
Brilliant, rare mind
Fuels a hot pan
Split three ways
Injustices to right
Slim in number
Modernist poet
Hopping mad
Not outside
Casual way to greet
Refuse to admit it
Middle name for some
Hammered into wood
Slangy hairstyle
Takes this route
Land of frankincense
Bond from a city
Belonging to me
Torn apart by strife
His fatal downfall
Irish Nobel poet
Doesn't leave at all
Poets, Ports and Old Rites — Solution
September 21, 2026 · 12×11 · Hard
Round, bouncy hairdo
A
Keeps you silent
French art great
G
Unit of heredity
Morsel of gossip
G
Founded in 1945
Cowboy's spread
U
Praise sky-high
Raised pulpit
G
Blows out or melts
F
Brotherly in spirit
F
R
A
T
E
R
N
A
L
Half of the pair
U
Woman who reigns
Fine and dandy
R
E
G
I
N
A
They raise the kids
M
O
M
S
B
O
N
Dark Holy Week rite
T
E
N
E
B
R
A
E
Vampire romance saga
Come out ahead
O
Shallow salty water
B
Brilliant, rare mind
C
Fuels a hot pan
Split three ways
O
I
L
Injustices to right
T
W
I
L
I
G
H
T
Slim in number
Modernist poet
F
E
W
Hopping mad
Not outside
I
R
A
T
E
Casual way to greet
H
E
Y
Refuse to admit it
R
I
N
Middle name for some
G
Hammered into wood
N
A
I
L
Slangy hairstyle
Takes this route
D
O
Land of frankincense
Bond from a city
Belonging to me
M
U
N
I
Torn apart by strife
R
I
V
E
N
O
M
A
N
His fatal downfall
U
N
D
O
I
N
G
Irish Nobel poet
Y
E
A
T
S
Doesn't leave at all
S
T
A
Y
S
Poets, Ports and Old Rites — The notes
September 21, 2026 · 12×11 · Hard
- AFRORound, bouncy hairdoA rounded, voluminous hairstyle of tight curls, popularized in the 1960s-70s.
- GAGKeeps you silentA gag stops someone from speaking; the word also means a joke or a comic bit.
- RENOIRFrench art greatPierre-Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist painter known for soft light and warm color.
- GENEUnit of heredityA gene is a segment of DNA that carries instructions passed from parent to child.
- TITBITMorsel of gossipA titbit (or tidbit) is a small tasty snack, or a juicy scrap of interesting news.
- UNFounded in 1945The United Nations, abbreviated UN, was founded in 1945 after the Second World War.
- RANCHCowboy's spreadA ranch is a large farm, especially in the American West, raising cattle or horses.
- GLORIFYPraise sky-highTo glorify is to praise or honor someone or something as if it were exceptional.
- AMBORaised pulpitAn ambo is a raised stand in early churches used for readings, similar to a pulpit.
- FUSEBlows out or meltsA fuse can blow during a power surge, or metal can fuse when melted together.
- FRATERNALBrotherly in spiritFraternal means brotherly; fraternal twins develop from two separate eggs, unlike identical ones.
- MALEHalf of the pairMale refers to the sex that produces sperm; paired with female in most species.
- REGINAWoman who reignsRegina means queen; it appears in royal titles and in the phrase Regina Coeli.
- BONFine and dandyBon is a word meaning good, often seen in phrases like bon voyage or bon appetit.
- MOMSThey raise the kidsInformal plural of mom, used for mothers collectively.
- TENEBRAEDark Holy Week riteTenebrae is a Christian service held during Holy Week, marked by gradually extinguished candles.
- TWILIGHTVampire romance sagaTwilight is also the dim light after sunset, and a bestselling vampire romance series.
- WINCome out aheadTo win is to come out on top in a contest, game, or struggle.
- LAGUNAShallow salty waterA laguna (lagoon) is a shallow body of water separated from the sea by a sandbar or reef.
- GENIUSBrilliant, rare mindA genius shows exceptional intellectual or creative ability, rare among people.
- OILFuels a hot panCooking oil is used to fry or sauté food; the word also names crude petroleum.
- THIRDSSplit three waysThirds are the parts you get when something is divided into three equal shares.
- WRONGSInjustices to rightWrongs are unfair or unjust acts; to right the wrongs means to correct past injustices.
- FEWSlim in numberFew means a small number of something, the opposite of many.
- ELIOTModernist poetT.S. Eliot, American-British poet, wrote The Waste Land, a landmark of modernist poetry.
- IRATEHopping madIrate means extremely angry, often over something felt to be unjust.
- INNot outsideIn means inside or within; informally it also means fashionable or trendy.
- HEYCasual way to greetHey is an informal greeting, also used to call someone's attention.
- DENYRefuse to admit itTo deny is to declare something untrue, or to refuse to grant a request.
- MAEMiddle name for someMae is a short English first name, often used as a middle name, as in Mae West.
- NAILHammered into woodA nail is a metal spike driven with a hammer; also the hard covering on a fingertip.
- DOSlangy hairstyleDo is informal slang for a hairstyle, as in a nice 'do; also the first note of the scale.
- VIATakes this routeVia means by way of, traveling through a particular place or method.
- OMANLand of frankincenseOman is a country on the Arabian Peninsula, historically famed for its frankincense trade.
- MUNIBond from a cityMuni is informal for a municipal bond issued by a city or local government.
- MYBelonging to meMy is the possessive form of I, showing something belongs to the speaker.
- RIVENTorn apart by strifeRiven means violently split or divided, as a country riven by conflict.
- UNDOINGHis fatal downfallAn undoing is the cause of someone's ruin or defeat, often their own flaw.
- YEATSIrish Nobel poetW.B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.
- STAYSDoesn't leave at allStays means remains in place; also the boned supports once worn in a corset.