State Fair Crossword Puzzles Printable

Print a criss-cross state fair crossword of livestock, ribbons, exhibits and arena contests, with its answer key.

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State Fair Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: State Fair Crossword

1F2B3QUILT4LNU5EXHIBITNEV6FERRISWHEELLISCB7TT8LAMBROKO9CONCE10RTENPKOHD11MIDWAY12PIEO

Across 3 QUILT · 5 EXHIBIT · 6 FERRISWHEEL · 8 LAMB · 9 CONCERT · 11 MIDWAY · 12 PIE

Down 1 FUNNELCAKE · 2 BLUERIBBON · 4 LIVESTOCK · 7 TROPHY · 10 RODEO

Next step Find fair and carnival words in a word search

All 179 clues

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Livestock Barn 40

  • Bantam Any small variety of chicken or duck, named for a seaport in Java
  • Boar Grown male pig
  • Breed One kind within a farm species, with looks that its young share
  • Bull Father of a calf
  • Dairy ___ cattle are kept for milk, not beef
  • Draft ___ horse: heavy kind built for plowing and hauling
  • Ewe Grown sheep that can be a mother
  • Fleece The whole woolly coat cut from one sheep
  • Flock What a shepherd looks after
  • Foal Newborn of a mare
  • Goat Farm animal called a nanny or a billy
  • Groom To wash, brush and clip an animal before it is shown
  • Halter Headgear with a lead rope, for walking an animal into the ring
  • Hay Feed that is stored in a loft
  • Heifer Young cow that has not yet had a calf of her own
  • Hen Egg-laying bird of the chicken barn
  • Herd Cattle that graze together
  • Hoof Horny foot on which a shoe can be nailed
  • Lamb Sheep in its first year
  • Livestock Cattle, sheep and pigs, taken together
  • Llama South American beast of burden of the camel family
  • Mane Neck fringe of a horse
  • Mule Long-eared pack animal, half horse and half donkey
  • Pen Small fenced space that holds a few pigs or sheep
  • Piglet Little squealer beside its mother in the hog barn
  • Pony Horse of a kind that stays under a set height
  • Poultry Birds raised on farms, taken together
  • Rabbit Pet that lives in a hutch and eats greens
  • Ram Sheep that can father young
  • Rooster Male bird of the chicken barn, known for his dawn call
  • Shear To cut the coat off a sheep, most often once a year
  • Sow Grown female pig
  • Stall Compartment of a stable
  • Steer Market animal of the beef barn, a male not kept as a sire
  • Straw Bedding of dry grain stalks on the barn floor
  • Swine Word on the barn sign that means pigs
  • Tag Ear ___: numbered marker that tells one animal from another
  • Trough Long feeder that several animals share
  • Udder Bag under a cow where her milk collects
  • Wool Raw material of a sweater, straight from the sheep

Ribbons and Judging 25

  • Blue ribbon What first place earns at county and state fairs in the United States
  • Champion Top winner, who may be given purple in a 4-H or FFA event
  • Class Group of like animals or projects that compete with one another
  • Clover Green four-leaf plant on the 4-H emblem
  • Club Local group of 4-H members
  • Corduroy Ridged cloth of the jacket that FFA members wear
  • Entry One thing put into a contest by one person
  • Hands An H of 4-H, given "to larger service" in the member's promise
  • Head An H of 4-H, given "to clearer thinking" in the member's promise
  • Health An H of 4-H, given "to better living" in the member's promise
  • Heart An H of 4-H, given "to greater loyalty" in the member's promise
  • Judge Person who decides who wins
  • Medal Prize struck from metal, often with words on it
  • Pledge Promise that 4-H members recite at meetings
  • Rank To line up from top to bottom by quality
  • Record Best mark ever set, such as the heaviest squash ever grown
  • Red Color of first place in Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain
  • Reserve Title of the runner-up who stands second to the top winner
  • Rosette Rose-shaped arrangement awarded as a prize
  • Scale It gives the weight of a market hog or a giant squash
  • Score Total that a contestant is given
  • Standard Written description of its kind that each show animal is measured against
  • Tie Result when two finish exactly even
  • Trophy Prize that stands on a shelf, often a cup
  • Youth Young people, the members that 4-H was made for

Exhibit Hall 47

  • Antique Old object valued because of its age
  • Apple Common, firm, round fruit of an orchard tree
  • Apron Kitchen garment that covers the front of a cook
  • Beeswax What bees build their comb from
  • Booth Small space with a table where a seller or a group sets up
  • Bouquet Flowers arranged to be carried or set in a vase
  • Bread Loaf that a baker kneads and lets rise
  • Bushel Measure of thirty-two dry quarts
  • Butter Churned cream that is carved into a life-size cow at state fairs
  • Canning Packing food into glass and heating it so that it seals and keeps
  • Carving Figure cut out of wood with a knife
  • Collection Many items of one kind saved and shown together
  • Cookie Chocolate chip or oatmeal treat by the dozen
  • Corn American name for maize
  • Craft Making things by skill, as a weaver or a woodworker does
  • Crochet Handwork of a single hook and a ball of yarn
  • Crop ___ art: mosaic pictures made by gluing down seeds
  • Embroidery Ornamental needlework
  • Exhibit Item or display shown to the public
  • Flour Fine meal that a baker sifts
  • Gourd Vine fruit whose dried shell can serve as a bowl or a dipper
  • Harvest The gathering in of what the fields have grown
  • Hobby Something done for fun in spare time
  • Honey Bees store it in the comb
  • Jam Boiled fruit mixture left to set
  • Jar Glass that home canners fill and seal
  • Jelly Fruit spread strained so that it is clear
  • Knitting Handwork of a pair of needles and a ball of yarn
  • Oven Kitchen box that bakes
  • Patchwork Many scraps of cloth joined into one design
  • Photo Print or digital image from a camera
  • Pickles Cucumbers kept in brine or vinegar
  • Pie Crust-and-filling dessert, a favorite of baking contests
  • Poster Large sheet that shows and explains a project
  • Pottery Clay ware baked hard in a kiln
  • Preserves Fruit cooked with sugar and sealed so that it keeps
  • Produce Fresh fruit and garden goods, taken together
  • Pumpkin Squash whose giant kind is grown for its size, not its taste
  • Quilt Bed cover of three layers sewn together
  • Recipe Directions that a cook reads
  • Scarecrow Figure of a man that keeps crows off the planted rows
  • Sculpture Three-dimensional work of art
  • Stitch Smallest unit of sewing
  • Sunflower Plant that takes its name from the Sun-like look of its bloom
  • Tomato Savory fruit of a garden plant, eaten in salads and sauces
  • Vegetable Plant grown to be eaten, such as a beet or a cabbage
  • Zucchini American name for the courgette

Arena and Grandstand 37

  • Announcer Voice on the loudspeaker that tells the crowd what is happening
  • Arena Building with seats all around a show floor
  • Auction Sale in which the highest bidder buys
  • Band Players with horns and drums who march in step
  • Barrel A horse and rider race around three of these in a cloverleaf pattern
  • Bleachers North American name for smaller stands of bench seats
  • Bronco Western horse that is wild or only half broken
  • Calling Hog ___: contest of shouting for pigs to come
  • Chute Narrow box where an animal is held still until its ride begins
  • Concert Evening of live music
  • Cowboy Rider who works cattle on a ranch
  • Derby Demolition ___: drivers crash into one another until one car still runs
  • Eating Speed ___: contest to finish the most food in a short time
  • Fiddle Violin, to a country player
  • Fireworks Sky show of rockets and sparks
  • Float Decorated wagon or truck bed that carries riders in a procession
  • Gate Way in through a fence
  • Grandstand Roofed seating for the crowd, open at the front
  • Horseshoe U-shaped piece tossed at a stake in a lawn game
  • Lasso Another word for a lariat
  • Log In birling, two rivals stand on one in the water and try to spill each other
  • Lumberjack Worker who fells trees
  • Mutton ___ busting: event in which children ride sheep
  • Parade Procession that a town lines the sidewalks to watch
  • Racetrack Oval course where horses or cars compete
  • Ringer Throw that circles the post completely
  • Rodeo Show of bronc riding, calf roping and other ranch skills
  • Sheepdog Dog that moves sheep, whose working skill is tested at a trial
  • Spectator One of the crowd in the stands
  • Square ___ dance: four couples make the shape and face its middle
  • Stunt Daring trick done to thrill a crowd
  • Sulky Two-wheeled cart pulled in a horse race
  • Talent ___ show: singers, dancers and jugglers take turns on stage
  • Ticket Pass that is shown at the entrance
  • Tractor Farm machine that drags a heavy sled in a pulling contest
  • Trot Gait of a horse in one kind of cart race
  • Vest Racing pigs wear a numbered or colored one

Midway and Food 30

  • Admission Fee charged for coming in
  • Agriculture Farming, which state fairs were begun to promote
  • Annual Held once a year, as a state fair is
  • Balloon A thrown dart pops one to win a prize
  • Batter Cornmeal mix that coats a hot dog before it is fried
  • Caramel Sticky brown confection
  • Carousel Another name for a merry-go-round
  • Cone Rolled wafer that ends in a point
  • Cotton candy Spun sugar, called fairy floss in Australia
  • Curds Moist bits of fresh cheese, coated and fried in Wisconsin and Minnesota
  • Donut Hole-in-the-middle treat from the fryer
  • Fairgrounds Permanent place where a fair is held year after year
  • Ferris wheel Ride named for the man who designed the original for an 1893 exposition
  • Fritter Fruit or other food dipped in a coating and fried
  • Fudge Dense, very sweet confection, most often chocolate
  • Funnel cake Sweet treat made by pouring a thin mix in circles into hot oil
  • Lemonade Beverage of lemons, sweetener and ice water
  • Midway Strip where the rides, games and food stands cluster
  • Milkshake Thick drink of milk blended with ice cream
  • Popcorn Puffed snack that began as hard kernels
  • Pretzel Salted dough baked in the shape of a knot
  • Souvenir Keepsake of a visit
  • Stick Thin piece of wood that a fried hot dog is served on
  • Summer Season whose last weeks bring many state fairs
  • Syracuse New York city that held the first U.S. state fair, in 1841
  • Syrup Flavored sugar liquid squirted over crushed ice
  • Taffy Soft, chewy candy made from boiled sugar or molasses
  • Tent Canvas roof over a food stand or a show
  • Turnstile Spinning barrier that lets in one person at a time
  • Vendor Person with something to sell

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site about the American state and county fair, in five sets: the livestock barn, ribbons and judging, the exhibit hall, the arena and grandstand, and the midway and its food. Fair facts were read in English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0), the 4-H pledge at 4-h.org, and word meanings in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), in October 2026. No fair is ranked, and no ride maker, food brand or company is named. Licence: own work

How it works

These state fair crossword puzzles, printable on Letter or A4, are vocabulary crosswords about the fair itself. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Livestock, Blue ribbon, Midway, Funnel cake and Ferris wheel.

Read the full guide

Five sets after the easy one

Livestock Barn has Heifer, Fleece and Bantam. Ribbons and Judging has Rosette, Reserve and Clover. Exhibit Hall has Canning, Patchwork and Bushel. Arena and Grandstand has Sulky, Ringer and Bleachers. Midway and Food has Curds, Fritter and Turnstile.

The working side of the fair

Most answers come from the barns, the judging, the exhibit hall and the arena, not from the rides. Head, Heart, Hands and Health are each clued by a line of a youth club pledge.

  • Before fair week, a livestock club can print Livestock Barn, so that Halter, Fleece and Groom are known words in the ring.

Questions and answers

Are these printable state fair crossword puzzles free?

Yes, with no sign-up. Print as many copies as the class or club needs. The answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own.

What grade is the state fair crossword for?

Easy State Fair Words suits grades 2 to 4, with answers such as Lamb, Pie and Tent. The five themed sets suit grades 4 and up. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

What does a blue ribbon mean at a state fair?

In the United States it is the award for first place. In Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain red is first and blue is second. Blue ribbon and Red are both answers in the judging set.

When was the first state fair?

The first U.S. state fair was New York's, held in Syracuse in 1841. Syracuse is an answer in Midway and Food, clued by that year.

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