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Diabolically Arcane

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Salon 25

28 July, 2014

Last week, in case you missed the Twitter storm, there was a fabulous list under the hashtag: #RemoveALetterRuinABand. Outfits included The Grateful Dad, Daft Pun, Counting Cows and Pubic Enemy. Check them out.

The gag has inspired me to wonder about people, with one letter missing – or one letter added. What say we wangle a few and give the ‘altered egos’ a new bio. For example:

PRO ARTPainting advocate
PRO CHARTPainter pushing ‘artography’
HAROLD POINTERDidactic playwright
GLORIA SWANSONGthe Melba of Hollywood
JOE HOKEYbogus budgeteer

By my reckoning I’m attempting to crack Times #88 today, assuming I survive the weekend’s fare. That’s a little giddy. I can feel the rare air, the vertigo. If you wish to play Tenzing to my Edmund, tag along with the Times this week. Or share the joys of the G and elsewhere. Have a wordy week.

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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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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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