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...

Huh 45

19 September, 2014

No folly this week. (I think MonKeys is filling that niche.) But a bunch of Huh clues that have been bugging me lately. If anyone can throw light on how these bad boy operate, I'd be in your debt. (And doubly impressed if you can conjure a clue for any of these same answers.)  

1. Homer, for one, used very little Greek, finally shunning it = SIMPSON [Times 10020]  

2. Cheers up when visited by one's relative = AUNT [Same puzzle.  I get the TA reversed, but don't we need an exotic marker for UN?]  

3. A posh lady, darling = ANGEL [Sunday Times 909]  

4. Having confined space, tear-gas a nuisance = MENACE [Times 10041]  

5. Dupe about to get tungsten instead of uranium is made to look small = DWARFED [Times 10025]  

6. Subject to search out mostly in a place dons gather = SCOUR/SPOOR? [Times 10034. As you can see, I'm only guessing off the plan, with 3 cross-letters.]  

7. Out of ministry, one inspiring run for presiding officer = MODERATOR [Imogen]  

8. Budge had fine one back in thirty-four = FOREHAND [ST 907. Is this just a reference to tennis player Don Budge, or am I losing my grip?]

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