Patois Crossword

Grand · Easy · No. 20:00

Patois Crossword: Grand · Easy · No. 2

An easy grand Patois crossword with 44 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 Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality: Spiritual and herbal healing in the Jamaican folk tradition (4)
  2. 9 Money, Work & Business: Fraud, hustling, or illegal and dishonest dealings (9)
  3. 10 Animals, Plants & Nature: Wind of any strength (6)
  4. 11 Rastafari & Iyaric: Good, pleasing, and at peace — a state of everything being right and in harmony (4)
  5. 12 Music, Reggae & Dancehall: Chatting or half-singing rhythmically over a riddim — the Jamaican vocal style, dating from the 1960s sound systems (8)
  6. 13 People & Relationships: A close female friend, or a group of women bound together by friendship and mutual support (7)
  7. 15 Rastafari & Iyaric: The oppressive establishment (7)
  8. 16 Greetings & Conversation: An exclamation of dismissal, mild annoyance, impatience, or disbelief (3)
  9. 17 Places & Directions: One's home area, neighbourhood, or the local streets where a person is from and known — 'di ____' (4)
  10. 19 Food & Drink: A traditional Jamaican snack of dried corn that has been parched (5)
  11. 20 Descriptions & Emotions: A loud commotion, uproar, or disturbance — chaos, a noisy quarrel, or a great fuss (9)
  12. 24 Music, Reggae & Dancehall: An exclusive, custom recording made for one sound system (8)
  13. 25 Descriptions & Emotions: Little or small — in size, amount, or degree (6)
  14. 26 Rastafari & Iyaric: The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular (4)
  15. 27 Rastafari & Iyaric: Natural, pure, and unprocessed — used above all for the Rastafari way of eating (4)
  16. 32 Food & Drink: A leafy green vegetable (8)
  17. 33 Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality: An Afro-Jamaican religious tradition of Central African (6)
  18. 34 Money, Work & Business: A public communal water tap on a post, set in a yard, lane, or street corner (9)
  19. 35 Descriptions & Emotions: Clean, new, and stylish — 'him look ____' means he's sharply dressed (5)
  20. 36 Food & Drink: Ground corn (maize) meal — a versatile staple used for creamy ____ porridge (8)
  21. 40 Places & Directions: The porch or covered gallery running along the front or side of a Jamaican house — the shady, open-air spot (8)
  22. 41 Money, Work & Business: A traditional rotating savings scheme in which a group of people each pay a fixed sum (7)

Down

  1. 1 Rastafari & Iyaric: The Rastafari concept of righteous living (6)
  2. 3 Music, Reggae & Dancehall: Jamaica's original rural folk music (5)
  3. 4 Money, Work & Business: To show off and flaunt wealth, style, or success (5)
  4. 5 Clothing & Style: Shoes with soft ____ (raw-rubber) soles (5)
  5. 6 Places & Directions: The old commercial heart of Kingston near the waterfront — busy markets, street vending, and hard working-class life (8)
  6. 7 Rastafari & Iyaric: A discussion — especially a deep or spiritual one — a session (9)
  7. 8 Food & Drink: A small open Jamaican tart (7)
  8. 10 Places & Directions: Wild, uncultivated land — thick vegetation, the deep countryside, or any overgrown, untended ground (4)
  9. 12 Descriptions & Emotions: Strong, sturdy, fearless, and full of fortitude despite small size — the word carrying the specific, cherished idea (8)
  10. 14 Food & Drink: To eat — especially to eat heartily, hungrily, or greedily (4)
  11. 18 Animals, Plants & Nature: A large, smooth-scaled Jamaican lizard, deeply feared in country folklore (9)
  12. 20 Body, Health & Appearance: The stomach or abdomen — but in Jamaican it also commonly means a pregnancy (5)
  13. 21 Money, Work & Business: To work hard and resourcefully to earn a living, by any honest means available (6)
  14. 22 Grammar & Function Words: 'They' or '____', but it does more than the English pronoun (3)
  15. 23 Animals, Plants & Nature: The small, quick, weasel-like animal introduced to Jamaica in the 1800s to control rats and snakes… (8)
  16. 28 Food & Drink: The sapodilla — a small, round, rough brown-skinned fruit with sweet, soft, grainy brown flesh (9)
  17. 29 Affection, Love & Romance: An affectionate term for a serious, committed girlfriend or wife (5)
  18. 30 Music, Reggae & Dancehall: A big, lively party or dance event — and, as an adjective, anything exciting, top-quality, or hot (8)
  19. 31 Greetings & Conversation: To talk or speak (4)
  20. 37 Greetings & Conversation: To meet up with someone, make contact, or connect socially (4)
  21. 38 Grammar & Function Words: Marks location and existence — roughly 'there', 'is at', or 'to be somewhere' (3)
  22. 39 Actions & Verbs: To stand — but far more often to stay, remain, or wait, and to describe how something is or looks (3)

Where the words come from

Every answer is an entry in the Patois dictionary. This puzzle draws on: Actions & Verbs, Affection, Love & Romance, Animals, Plants & Nature, Body, Health & Appearance, Clothing & Style, Descriptions & Emotions, Food & Drink, Grammar & Function Words, Greetings & Conversation, Money, Work & Business, Music, Reggae & Dancehall, 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.