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...

Deified

28 April, 2012

This may be a first – five outright leaders, with no double-dipper in the prize pool. And all this by the celestial power of the secret ballot.

Though before we go wow over the winners, a pause to applaud the Storm’s level of excellence, with nearly 100 posts from a dozen mysterious AKAs. The addition of clue notes (at the shortlist phase in particular) is welcome, as is your collective energy: posting, cajoling, listing and voting. This was a joy to host – in absentia.

Okay, goes the mosh. Enough preamble. Who won this palindrome punch-out? Well, those who went close were Eve (with ‘her’ SELES clue – a favourite of mine), and AKA with ‘his’ hidden EYE. Nan also won hearts (mine too) for ‘her’ TUMUT, and Otto was pipped with ‘his’ hallucinogenic REFER. Anyhow, here’s the wow:

In fifth place, with 10 points (5 votes out of ten) is Viv for NUN: She’s in the habit of saying nothing [I’d like to thank the academy, my mum…as I was Viv.]

Fourth on 14 (4) is Eve with PEEP: Exercise class, upon reflection, was not a good look! [Dab use of mirror in a gym setting, with a playful definition.]

Bronze on 15 (4) is porn legend, Naomi Moan, for her BOOB: Jug whole-heartedly consumed by Hawke [A lewd salute to the sculling king. Perfect.]

Silver on 20 (5) is my beloved Nan for OMO: Surf competitor’s promotional segment [Em, who logically can’t be Nan, confessed ‘I’d give it all 15 points if I could.’]

Gold on a ginormous 31 (7) is Ava for her stellar NOON: Ducks into topless bar, followed by PM [I adored this clue at hello. A worthy Wow-Meister, and proof that when quality comes along, it bites one & all.]

So thanks Dad and Dr Allard, Ubu and Naomi, Ava, Eve and all other reversible colleagues. (Be nice to put names to bylines, of course…) Again a blast to play and host, not to mention the added buzz of the backroom tally. Look for another storm cloud on the radar, Viv. XOX

"
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