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.

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Cryptopia

17 November, 2011

Few shout-outs to deliver this week, with one of our favourite setters – the man they call Anax – appearing in the Guardian blog for a lively Q&A. Worth catching, if only to appreciate how so many of his great clues arise from reworking & reworking. (And also the story about a Brimingham kitten.)

Second is in the same vein, with myself under the griller this time. A bunch of RMIT students invaded the Word Cave in September to make a mini-doco about the dark arts, and a 7-minute Cryptopia is the result. A chance to put faces to the amicable DA Trippers too – Antonios Sarhanis (AS) and Roderick Campbell (RC).

Last up, if you want to see or hear the meme-riddled schtick I recently gave at the Style Council debate, arguing that TV holds the greatest sway over language than any other media (a comic rave that many here helped to enrich), then try this ABC24 link, or the Radio National podcast. (Whichever stream floats your boat.)

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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.

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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

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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.

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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 

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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
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