Use this utility to check an unfamiliar word without revealing the puzzle's categories. Each entry stands alone, and the alternatives favor ordinary meanings or established usage rather than answer-specific terminology.
COMIC
A performer who entertains an audience by telling jokes or presenting humorous material.
Other meanings and uses↓
As an adjective, it describes something amusing or associated with comedy.
It can also mean an illustrated publication that tells stories through sequential panels.
SALAD
A dish made from mixed ingredients, often vegetables, served cold or at room temperature.
Other meanings and uses↓
The word also appears in names for mixed dishes such as fruit salad or potato salad.
BACON
Salt-cured pork, commonly cut from the belly or back and cooked before serving.
Other meanings and uses↓
In the expression bring home the bacon, it figuratively represents earnings or success.
SPARKLER
A small handheld firework that gives off bright sparks while burning slowly.
Other meanings and uses↓
The noun can also describe a sparkling gemstone, especially a diamond.
POPSICLE
A sweet frozen piece of flavored ice eaten as a handheld treat.
Other meanings and uses↓
The word can be used attributively in phrases describing the treat's flavor, color, or shape.
POP-UP
Something designed to appear, open, or operate suddenly or for a limited time.
Other meanings and uses↓
A pop-up can be a temporary shop, restaurant, exhibition, or other short-term venue.
In baseball, a pop-up is a ball hit high into the air near the infield.
CANDY
A sweet food made primarily from sugar and often flavored, filled, or coated.
Other meanings and uses↓
As a verb, candy means to preserve or coat food by cooking it with sugar.
HOBBY HORSE
A children's pretend horse, traditionally made with a horse-shaped head on a long handle.
Other meanings and uses↓
Figuratively, a hobby horse is a favorite subject that someone discusses repeatedly.
BANNER
A long piece of cloth or other material bearing a symbol, slogan, or message for display.
Other meanings and uses↓
As an adjective, banner can mean unusually successful or outstanding, as in a banner year.
PINWHEEL
A toy with angled vanes that rotate around a central pin when moved through the air.
Other meanings and uses↓
As a verb, pinwheel means to rotate rapidly or move in a circular, spreading pattern.
SPACE
An empty or available area that can separate, contain, or accommodate people or things.
Other meanings and uses↓
It can mean the vast region beyond Earth's atmosphere.
It can describe an interval of time or distance between events or objects.
In writing, a space is a blank separating letters, words, or symbols.
FILM
A motion picture: a recorded sequence of images viewed as continuous movement.
Other meanings and uses↓
Film can also mean a thin layer or coating that forms over a surface.
As a verb, it means to record moving images with a camera.
INTERSTITIAL
Situated in, relating to, or occupying a small intervening space or interval.
Other meanings and uses↓
In anatomy, it can describe spaces between cells, tissues, or organs.
The adjective can more generally describe material placed between larger main sections.
SPORTS
Organized physical games or activities involving skill, competition, or recreation.
Other meanings and uses↓
As a verb, sports means wears or displays something conspicuously, as in sports a beard.
MÖBIUS
A proper name used as a surname.
Other meanings and uses↓
The spelling Moebius is an established rendering of the name when the character ö is unavailable.
OVERLAY
To place or spread one thing over another so that it covers or lies on top of it.
Other meanings and uses↓
As a noun, an overlay is a covering or layer positioned over an existing surface.
It can also mean information or imagery superimposed on an underlying view.
