diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
index 22e0289..0c79079 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
   async function removeWord(w) {
     try {
       wpPool = await delJSON('/api/admin/word/pool/' + encodeURIComponent(w));
-      wpMsg = `Removed “${w}”. It won’t appear as an answer — restore it any time below.`;
+      wpMsg = `Removed “${w}” from future puzzles (today’s answer is already set). Restore it any time below.`;
       await refreshLookup();
     } catch { /* ignore */ }
   }
@@ -817,8 +817,9 @@
 
     {:else if section === 'games'}
       <h2>Daily Word pool</h2>
-      <p class="muted">Look up a word and add it to the answer pool. Only real, 5- or 6-letter
-        words in the guess dictionary qualify, so the daily answer is always solvable.</p>
+      <p class="muted">Look up a word to add or remove it from the answer pool. Only real, 5- or 6-letter
+        words in the guess dictionary qualify, so the daily answer is always solvable. Removals take
+        effect for future puzzles and can be restored any time.</p>
 
       <div class="wp-lookup">
         <input type="text" bind:value={wpWord} oninput={onWpInput} maxlength="6" autocapitalize="off"
diff --git a/goodnews/games.py b/goodnews/games.py
index b566f96..4da027a 100644
--- a/goodnews/games.py
+++ b/goodnews/games.py
@@ -193,6 +193,8 @@ def _recent_answers(conn: sqlite3.Connection, variant: str, limit: int) -> set[s
 
 def _pick_answer(conn: sqlite3.Connection, date: str, variant: str) -> str:
     pool = answer_pool(conn, variant)
+    if not pool:  # safety net: removals must never empty the pool — fall back to curated
+        pool = sorted(_POOL.get(variant, []))
     recent = _recent_answers(conn, variant, max(1, len(pool) // 2))
     start = _seed(date, "word", variant) % len(pool)
     for i in range(len(pool)):
diff --git a/tests/test_pool_admin.py b/tests/test_pool_admin.py
index 80d4462..4c18e5d 100644
--- a/tests/test_pool_admin.py
+++ b/tests/test_pool_admin.py
@@ -85,6 +85,17 @@ def test_import_dedupes_and_validates(conn):
     assert new5[1] in games.answer_pool(conn, "5")
 
 
+def test_picker_survives_empty_live_pool(conn):
+    """An overzealous admin could tombstone every answer in a variant. The live
+    pool then reads empty, but the daily picker must not divide-by-zero — it falls
+    back to the curated baseline rather than crashing."""
+    for w in list(games._POOL["5"]):
+        games.remove_pool_word(conn, w)
+    assert games.answer_pool(conn, "5") == []          # live pool truly empty
+    ans = games._pick_answer(conn, "2026-06-11", "5")  # must not raise
+    assert ans in set(games._POOL["5"])                # fell back to curated
+
+
 def test_import_relifts_removed_word(conn):
     w = _a_curated("5")
     games.remove_pool_word(conn, w)