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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Salon 30 - Spring Clean

1 September, 2014

Come Wednesday this week, the website will have a fresher look, thanks to the team at Liquorice (not to be confused with LiquorLand.) The main difference shall lie in the forums.

Nothing too drastic. More a better means of blocking spam, and allowing all of us more options in terms of responding, or creating threads, or playing watchdog if a problem flares. The new regime is called DisQus and I’ll be glad to hear your responses in the first weeks about how the system is treating you.

For those who like brain-busting conundrums, here are two:

1 – If DETECT = 1x6, JACKET = 2x3, and EQUITY = 3x2, name any word that’s 6x1. (This puzzle stems from US constructor Jeffrey Harris.)

2 – I have in mind a notorious English genius whose surname lies backwards within one of his many professions. Name him.

In the meantime, with The Oz cranking up to $2.50, I’m relieved to have completed the Times Ton. So what say we turn our attention to the G’s gems? Or any other verbal treasures you find. Share’m here.

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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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