Patois Crossword

Big · Medium · No. 40:00

Patois Crossword: Big · Medium · No. 4

A medium 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. Medium: A wider vocabulary. Clues are the meaning, and you can have wrong letters marked but never shown the answer.

Across

  1. 2 Clean, new, and stylish — 'him look ____' means he's sharply dressed (5)
  2. 4 The small freshwater crayfish or shrimp found in Jamaica's rivers (5)
  3. 7 The rural areas of Jamaica, away from Kingston and the coastal towns (7)
  4. 8 The throat, gullet, or stomach — as in a fowl's ____, the pouch (4)
  5. 9 A bedroom chest of drawers fitted with a mirror — the ____ (7)
  6. 12 Jamaica's original rural folk music (5)
  7. 13 The prized dark-red hardwood tree (8)
  8. 15 A small open Jamaican tart (7)
  9. 19 Boastful, show-offy, flashy (6)
  10. 20 A small, thorny tree that shaped Jamaica's history and economy (7)
  11. 21 A man's undershirt or vest (6)
  12. 22 Money — from the ____ banknotes it comes in (5)

Down

  1. 1 The first modern Jamaican popular music genre, from the early 1960s (3)
  2. 3 To work hard and resourcefully to earn a living, by any honest means available (6)
  3. 5 One's grandmother — and, very often in Jamaican life, the family elder (6)
  4. 6 A cat — the ordinary household or yard cat (4)
  5. 7 Ground corn (maize) meal — a versatile staple used for creamy ____ porridge (8)
  6. 10 The little corner ____ — the small neighbourhood store (4)
  7. 11 To arrive at a destination, or simply to get somewhere (5)
  8. 12 The small, quick, weasel-like animal introduced to Jamaica in the 1800s to control… (8)
  9. 14 The oppressive establishment (7)
  10. 16 The conductor on a minibus or coaster — the young man (6)
  11. 17 The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular (4)
  12. 18 Mother — the Patois pronunciation of 'mother' (5)

Where the words come from

Every answer is an entry in the Patois dictionary. This puzzle draws on: Actions & Verbs, Animals, Plants & Nature, Body, Health & Appearance, Clothing & Style, Culture, Heritage & History, Descriptions & Emotions, Food & Drink, Money, Work & Business, Music, Reggae & Dancehall, People & Relationships, Places & Directions, Rastafari & Iyaric, Transport & Travel. 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.