The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CURMUDGEON
Definition of CURMUDGEON
noun
An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word. An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes that curmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding that cornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland. The word is attested from the late 1500s in the forms curmudgeon and curmudgen, and during the 17th century in numerous spelling variants, including cormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
CURMUDGEON in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 21 boards so far. 97 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 21, 10 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 98, 26 August 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 21, 10 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CURMUDGEON starts with C and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read CDEGMNORUU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. U appears more than once.
Words that start CURMUD
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 21
Could you have found CURMUDGEON?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 21 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER