Patois Crossword

Big · Easy · No. 20:00

Patois Crossword: Big · Easy · No. 2

An easy big Patois crossword with 24 clues. Every answer is a real Jamaican Patois word from the dictionary, and each links to its entry when you finish. Easy: The most familiar words. Meanings come with a category, every word starts with its first letter filled in, and you can check and reveal.

Across

  1. 2 Clothing & Style: Shoes with soft ____ (raw-rubber) soles (5)
  2. 6 Clothing & Style: The red-and-white (sometimes yellow) plaid madras cloth (7)
  3. 7 Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality: A ghost or malevolent spirit of the dead (5)
  4. 9 Animals, Plants & Nature: The small freshwater crayfish or shrimp found in Jamaica's rivers, prized as a delicacy (5)
  5. 11 Actions & Verbs: To go, move on, or make one's way to a place — and also to progress or advance (7)
  6. 14 Animals, Plants & Nature: A cat — the ordinary household or yard cat (4)
  7. 15 Food & Drink: A soft, pale-yellow fruit whose ripe arils are cooked as a savoury vegetable (5)
  8. 16 Rastafari & Iyaric: The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular (4)
  9. 18 Culture, Heritage & History: A masquerade tradition performed at Christmas (8)
  10. 20 Descriptions & Emotions: Boastful, show-offy, flashy (6)
  11. 21 Places & Directions: Abroad — any country outside Jamaica, and above all the United States, Britain, and Canada (6)
  12. 22 Clothing & Style: A man's sleeveless vest or singlet worn as an undershirt — the everyday Jamaican word for it (6)
  13. 23 Rastafari & Iyaric: The Rastafari concept of righteous living (6)

Down

  1. 1 Greetings & Conversation: To talk or speak (4)
  2. 3 People & Relationships: An affectionate word for one's father, and for an older man held in respect and fondness (5)
  3. 4 Culture, Heritage & History: The communities of Africans (7)
  4. 5 Descriptions & Emotions: Strong, sturdy, fearless, and full of fortitude despite small size — the word carrying the specific, cherished idea (8)
  5. 8 Money, Work & Business: A large basket or pannier for carrying farm produce and goods (6)
  6. 10 Food & Drink: A small open Jamaican tart (7)
  7. 12 Food & Drink: A sweet steamed pudding of grated sweet potato or cornmeal mixed with coconut (6)
  8. 13 Places & Directions: The old commercial heart of Kingston near the waterfront — busy markets, street vending, and hard working-class life (8)
  9. 17 Food & Drink: A deep-red drink brewed from the dried calyces (6)
  10. 19 Food & Drink: To eat — especially to eat heartily, hungrily, or greedily (4)
  11. 20 Food & Drink: A flat, round flatbread made from grated cassava (5)

Where the words come from

Every answer is an entry in the Patois dictionary. This puzzle draws on: Actions & Verbs, Animals, Plants & Nature, Clothing & Style, Culture, Heritage & History, Descriptions & Emotions, Food & Drink, Greetings & Conversation, Money, Work & Business, People & Relationships, Places & Directions, Rastafari & Iyaric, Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality. When you finish, each answer shows its meaning, its pronunciation and an example sentence.

The number in brackets after a clue is the length of the answer, and (3,5) means two words of three and five letters, typed with no space. Patois has no single spelling, so if you type another spelling the dictionary records, it counts.

More to play

Back to all Patois crosswords, try the daily word game Guess Di Word, or take a Patois quiz. You can print this puzzle from your browser's print menu.