Puzzles, posts, news and general word-chat.

Diabolically Arcane

Bingo. You’ve reached David Astle dot com, a carnival of words, puzzles and more words. Welcome aboard, and have fun.

Loading tweet...

Bowled & Beautiful [Aug 15-20]

15 August, 2011

Congratulations to erstwhile regulars, GymBunnies, who recently seized the prize on the Anax blog, composing the best clue for MAIDEN in that site’s DIY Clue of the Week. And not just the best clue, but perhaps the greatest clue ever, according to Anax, which is heady hype indeed.

I must admit, I’m mightily impressed by the clue’s maverick approach, and its diabolical simplicity. With six letters in MAIDEN, and the parlance of dot balls (or non-scoring shots for any cricket newbies) writ large in the game’s lore, the Gymanstic Ones concocted this treasure:

… … (6)

Speaking of six deliveries, Times solvers have their own new week to wrangle, from 9082 till Saturday’s 9087. If you feel like a crack, have a go – whether it’s your maiden Times, or one more in a lifelong marathon. All skillz are covered. Just use the Comments on this post as a pain-sharing, brag-making forum, with no spoilers on the day of the puzzle’s publication. So congratz Bunnies, and good luck all solvers.

"
comments powered by Disqus

Rewording The Brain

Focus & memory, lateral leaps & logic - every aspect of cognitive health is lit in Rewording The Brain, a book revelling in how puzzles boost your brain. Part 2 equips your brain to conquer any twisty clue, plus the wild crossword finale. Pop science meets neural gameplay, Rewording is rewarding, and out now.

Medal

Rewording The Brain

Care to renew your noodle? Rewording The Brain explores the latest neural studies, seeing how puzzles (and twisty clues) boost your neurons. Part 2 helps you crack such clues, and prep the grey matter for the crossword showcase to finish. More here

read more +

101 Weird Words (and 3 Fakes)

From Ambidextrous to Zugwang, this mini-dictionary teems with rare or alluring words, plus bonus riddles, puzzles and fun word-facts. Dictionary detective will also nab the collection's three fakes. Ideal for late primary schoolers, or word-nuts in general.

read more +

Gargantuan Book of Words

Sneeze words. Fake pasta. Viking slang. Gargantuan is a jumbo jumble of puzzles & games, mazes & quizzes, tailor-made for that wordy wonderkid in your life. Or anyone in love with letters, secret codes, puns, rhymes, emoji & all things languagey. More here 

read more +

Recent Comments

Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
See Results