Mardi Gras Crossword Puzzle Printable

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Mardi Gras Crossword

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Answer key: Mardi Gras Crossword

1CO2GA3LA4TUA5HERAL6DDRTODO7QUEENW8PBR9RSALOGOYEOA10CARNIVAL11RNT12JESTERYX

Across 2 GALA · 5 HERALD · 7 QUEEN · 10 CARNIVAL · 12 JESTER

Down 1 COURT · 3 LADDER · 4 THROWS · 6 DOUBLOON · 8 PAGEANT · 9 ROYALTY · 11 REX

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Parades and Krewes 31

  • Balcony Railed platform above the street, a prized viewing spot
  • Barricade Metal fence that holds the crowd back
  • Carnival Name for the weeks of merrymaking that open on Twelfth Night
  • Court Group of royal attendants presented at a ball
  • Doubloon Shiny coin stamped with a club's emblem and tossed to the crowd
  • Epiphany January 6, the date the season of parades begins
  • Flambeau French-named flaming light carried ahead of a night parade
  • Gala Fancy, formal party
  • Grandstand Tiered seating set up along the route
  • Herald Official announcer of old, or to announce
  • Jester Clown in a cap with bells, a figure of the season
  • Krewe Club that stages a parade or a ball in New Orleans
  • Ladder Folding frame of rungs that lets a watcher see over the crowd
  • Lent Forty-day season that starts the day after Mardi Gras
  • Mask Disguise for the eyes that float riders keep on all day
  • Median Grassy strip down the middle of an avenue, called neutral ground in New Orleans
  • Pageant Elaborate show or procession
  • Plume Tall, showy quill decoration on a hat
  • Queen Woman who reigns beside the monarch of a ball
  • Reveler Merrymaker in the street
  • Rex Latin for "king," the title of the monarch of the New Orleans celebration
  • Royalty Monarchs, as a class
  • Scepter Ornamental rod carried by a monarch
  • Sequin Small glinting spangle stitched by the hundred onto a gown
  • Spectator One who watches from the curb
  • Stilts Pair of poles that make a walker ten feet tall
  • Tableau Costumed scene staged at a ball, held perfectly still
  • Throws Everything tossed from a float to the crowd, as a group
  • Torch Stick with fire at one end
  • Trinket Small, cheap keepsake
  • Tuesday Day of the week called "mardi" in French

Colors and Beads 31

  • Bauble Trifle that glitters
  • Beads Plastic necklaces caught by the dozen
  • Boa Long, fluffy scarf, or a big snake
  • Cape Sleeveless cloak
  • Faith Trust or belief; the meaning given to the color of grass among the three
  • Feather Soft, light covering from a bird's wing, dyed for costumes
  • Festive In a party mood
  • Fringe Dangling trim along the edge of a shawl
  • Gaudy Loud and flashy to the eye
  • Gold One of the three Mardi Gras colors, also a precious metal
  • Green One of the three Mardi Gras colors, the color of a lime
  • Harlequin Clown figure in a costume of bright diamonds
  • Headdress Towering, decorated covering for the head
  • Hue Tint or shade, in three letters
  • Jewel Ruby, emerald or sapphire
  • Justice Fairness; the meaning given to the darkest of the three colors
  • Medallion Large round pendant at the bottom of a necklace
  • Metallic Shiny like foil
  • Power Strength; the meaning given to the yellow one among the three colors
  • Purple One of the three Mardi Gras colors, the color of grape jelly
  • Rhinestone Fake diamond glued onto a costume
  • Satin Glossy cloth of a royal gown
  • Shimmer Soft, shifting glow, as on sequined cloth
  • Sparkle What glitter does under a streetlight
  • Strand Single string of pearls or plastic balls
  • Tassel Bunch of threads hanging from a knot
  • Tinsel Thin, glittering strips of foil
  • Velvet Plush cloth of a monarch's robe
  • Vivid Intensely bright
  • Wig False hair, perhaps in neon pink
  • Wreath Door decoration in a circle, trimmed here in three colors

Food 28

  • Andouille Smoky sausage that came to Louisiana from France
  • Baby Tiny plastic figure tucked into the season's ring-shaped cake
  • Beans Red ones are a Monday tradition in New Orleans kitchens
  • Beignet Puffy fried pillow buried in powdered sugar
  • Boudin Soft Louisiana sausage with grain mixed into the filling
  • Cajun Like the country cooking of French-speaking Louisiana
  • Catfish Whiskered fish, rolled in cornmeal and fried
  • Cayenne Fiery red pepper powder that shares its name with the capital of French Guiana
  • Chicory Roasted root blended into New Orleans coffee
  • Crawfish Mudbug, by its proper name
  • Creole Like the city cooking of New Orleans, with many roots
  • Dough Soft mix of flour and water before it is cooked
  • Étouffée Shellfish "smothered" in sauce, as its French name says
  • Gumbo Thick, dark Louisiana stew ladled into a bowl
  • Icing Sweet glaze drizzled over a cake
  • Jambalaya Spicy Louisiana one-pot meal, a cousin of Spanish paella
  • King cake Ring-shaped sweet bread sugared in three colors
  • Muffuletta Big round sandwich with olive salad, on a Sicilian sesame loaf
  • Okra Ridged, finger-shaped pod that thickens a stew
  • Oyster Shellfish that can make a pearl
  • Pastry Baked goods such as tarts and turnovers
  • Pecan Oval nut that tops a sticky Southern pie
  • Po' boy Overstuffed sandwich on a long loaf of French bread
  • Praline Sweet, creamy patty studded with nuts
  • Remoulade Tangy, mustardy sauce for cold seafood
  • Rice White grain steamed in a pot
  • Roux Flour browned in fat, the start of many Louisiana dishes
  • Shrimp Small pink shellfish with a curled tail

Music 29

  • Bandleader Person out front who sets the tempo
  • Banjo Twangy strummed instrument with a skin stretched over a hoop
  • Blues Soulful music of the Deep South built on twelve bars
  • Brass Family of horns that leads a street band
  • Busker Musician who plays on the street for tips
  • Calliope Keyboard of shrieking pipes heard from a paddle wheeler
  • Chant Rhythmic call shouted by a group
  • Clarinet Straight black reed instrument
  • Cornet Compact, mellow three-valved horn of early street bands
  • Cowbell Clanking metal instrument hit with a stick
  • Dixieland Name for the early New Orleans style of band music
  • Funk Groove-heavy style built on a strong bass line
  • Handkerchief Pocket cloth waved in the air by dancers behind a band
  • Improvise To invent a solo on the spot, with nothing on the page
  • Jazz Art form that grew up in New Orleans, known for swinging rhythms and solos
  • Ragtime Bouncy, syncopated piano style of the 1890s and 1900s
  • Riff Short musical phrase repeated again and again
  • Saxophone Sax, in full
  • Snare Drum with rattling wires under its skin
  • Sousaphone Big marching horn that wraps around the player's body
  • Stomp To bring a foot down hard on the beat
  • Strut To walk with a proud, high step
  • Swing Easy, bouncing feel of a rhythm, and a big-band style
  • Trombone Long horn whose pitch changes as the player's arm moves in and out
  • Trumpet Three-valved horn with a bright sound
  • Tuba Lowest horn of the family
  • Tune Something whistled or carried
  • Washboard Ribbed laundry tool scraped as a rhythm instrument
  • Zydeco Fast accordion dance music of southwest Louisiana

New Orleans 27

  • Acadian French-speaking settler from eastern Canada, forebear of many Louisianans
  • Bayou Slow, marshy stream of southern Louisiana
  • Canal Man-made waterway, and the name of a wide downtown street
  • Cathedral Great church; the one beside the old city's main plaza is a landmark
  • Courtyard Open space walled in by a building
  • Crescent Curved shape in the nickname of New Orleans
  • Cypress Tree with "knees" that grows in standing water
  • Delta Greek letter that names the muddy land at a river's end
  • Egret White wading bird of the marshes
  • Fleur-de-lis French lily design that is a symbol of New Orleans
  • Gulf Arm of the sea south of Louisiana
  • Ironwork Lacy metal railings on old balconies
  • Lagniappe Louisiana word for a small bonus that a merchant adds
  • Levee Raised bank of earth that keeps floodwater out of a city
  • Magnolia Tree with big white blossoms, the state flower of Louisiana
  • Mississippi Great river that curves past New Orleans
  • Mobile Alabama city that claims the oldest Mardi Gras in the United States
  • Parish What Louisiana calls a county
  • Pelican Big-billed bird on the Louisiana state flag
  • Port Place where cargo ships dock; New Orleans has a huge one
  • Rio Brazilian city famous for its samba parades at the same time of year
  • Shutters Louvered panels that close over a window
  • Square Park in the middle of a city, with four sides
  • Steamboat Paddle-wheeled riverboat
  • Streetcar Trolley; the oldest line in New Orleans runs on St. Charles
  • Swamp Wetland where trees stand in water
  • Wharf Dockside landing built along a riverbank

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site about Mardi Gras in New Orleans: the parades and krewes, the colors and beads, the food, the music and the city as a place. Every answer is an entry in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), and each fact about the season, a dish, an instrument or Louisiana was checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0) in October 2026. No drink, bar or betting word is in the bank. Licence: own work

How it works

This free printable Mardi Gras crossword is a vocabulary crossword about Carnival in New Orleans: the parades and krewes, the purple, green and gold, the food, the music and the city.

Read the full guide

Five sets, from throws to zydeco

Parades and Krewes opens the page: Doubloon, Flambeau, Rex, Tableau. Colors and Beads has Harlequin, Rhinestone and the three meanings, Justice, Faith and Power. Food has Beignet, Roux and Muffuletta. Music has Sousaphone, Calliope and Dixieland. New Orleans has Levee, Parish, Lagniappe and Fleur-de-lis.

For a Louisiana unit or a party table

The clues keep to parades, costumes, food, music and places. The answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own.

  • For a king cake party, print Food and Colors and Beads; New puzzle redraws either.

Questions and answers

When is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, so its date moves each year between February 3 and March 9. The Carnival season that leads up to it begins on January 6.

What do the Mardi Gras colors mean?

Purple stands for justice, gold for power and green for faith. The meanings were given in 1892, twenty years after the colors were first used. All six words are answers in Colors and Beads.

Does the Mardi Gras crossword puzzle print with answers?

Yes. The key is on the last sheet of every print, and the whole clue list opens under Show all clues and answers.

Can a class use this puzzle?

The bank holds no drink, bar or betting words: its clues are about parades, costumes, food, music and Louisiana geography. The page is written for a general audience, so read the clue list before printing for a class.

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