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Diabolically Arcane

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Who Am I, Eventually?

8 December, 2010

Mauve, a Storm regular, has set us all an original challenge. He’s after a famous Australian with the letter pattern of (5,5). Easy right? That has to be SHANE WARNE. Or LARRY EMDUR. Or maybe HAZEL HAWKE. No, no, no, and you can ignore STEVE IRWIN too.

Because there’s more. As this name must also fill three other requirements. Take it away Mauve:

Phase 1: A Famous Australian (5,5)

Phase 2: Four consonants and one vowel in each part of the name.

Any takers so far? The winner of this four-phase puzzle is the one who can name the mystery Aussie before the fourth phase is revealed. (And Phases 3 and 4 will be meted out in the Post section over today.)

So take a punt, and Mauve or I will umpire until we have a winner.

And if you have an equally chic four-phaser for a mystery person or word, send it through on the EMAIL and I will run a few more over the silly season. Or string us out – phase by phase – on this Comment trail.

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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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