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Diabolically Arcane

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Salon 4 - See What I Did There?

3 March, 2014

At first blush, be that as it may, time will tell outside the box…

The what? Relax. That opening sentence was entirely built of cliches collected by Carlos Lozada, a journalist with the Washington Post. Rather than the usual suspects – like tip of an iceberg – Lozada has pinpointed the modern hack-speak, such as usual suspects.

Here’s the kicker, say. Or fevered speculation. If a poster child isn’t trading barbs, then a game-changer serves as a face-saving compromise. Take a look and get that creeping sense of deja vu. Any more to add to the Lozada List?

A passing conundrum: What two opposites can be spoonerised to create both a type of sound beside a quality of sound? (The two opposites both have four letters.)

And a standing invite: use the Salon as a parish pump for any crossword stuff, clue quandaries or general lexical exchanges. Have a wordy week.

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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

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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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