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...

Cluetopia Cometh

4 October, 2013

What a buzz to get a brown parcel yesterday. Inside was the newest title in the crossword niche, a C-format paperback of 308 pages devoted to clues from across the planet, across the century: a book called Cluetopia.

This was an advance copy, with honoured critics due for a copy next week, and a public release slated for October 21. Inside these covers sleep Superman, Nabokov, IKEA, Zulu gatecrashers and Yiddish bedbugs. There are murder cases, wedding proposals, Soviet propaganda and The Partridge Family – every story linked to a crossword.

Follow the link above if you wish to buy a fresh release, with an e-version on the cards as well. And seeing as though I’m pushing my brand here, what say a brand puzzle for our Friday folly?

If REFLEX ACTION is feeding paper into the photocopier (alluding to Reflex paper), or RELIEF TEACHERS is a dram of scotch after a long day, what other phrases can you skew into a commercial interpretation, using brands already listed as words in the dictionary?

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