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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WoW: Codon

4 December, 2023

CODON -  a sequence of three adjacent bases on a DNA strand; a trumpet's flaring mouth; a hand-bell used to summon monks [Code-on for meaning 1; and codon - mediaeval Latin  for handbell - for meanings 2 & 3] Monastery crypts may hold the codon of the original codon-ringer. 

WoW: Algospeak

27 November, 2023

ALGOSPEAK - coded language - where sex is seggs, say - used on social media in order to sidestep moderation systems [Short for algorithm-speak]. Suicide in algospeak is unalive - as a verb - to keep platform alerts quiet. 

WoW: Sphexish

20 November, 2023

SPHEXISH [SFEX-ish] - wasp-like; fixed in one's behaviour. [From Greek sphex, sand wasp. Coined in 1982 by US scientist and literary scholar, observing the robot-like determinism of the solitary digger wasp.] Those held hostage by their own instincts are deemed to be sphexish.

WoW: Barani

13 November, 2023

BARANI - an aerial front flip followed by a half-twist, or 180-degree turn; also called a BARANI FLIP. [Named after Italian acrobat, Alfonso Barani who performed the trick in 1881.] The barani is a dazzling staple of circus, snowboarding and trampoline routines. 

WoW: Trunnion

6 November, 2023

TRUNNION - a cannon's mounting, allowing the weapon to pivot or adjust its elevation. [From Old French, trognon - or trunk, stump.] Without its trunnion, a cannon would only serve if the target matched the muzzle's direction and angle.

WoW: Sprezzatura

30 October, 2023

SPREZZATURA - the art of doing a difficult task with effortless grace. [Italian for 'nonchalance', a quality popularised in the 1520s by diplomat, Baldassare Castiglione, seen here in Raphael's portrait.] More recently, sprezzatura has been aligned with the carefree flow of masterful artwork.

WoW: Filemot

23 October, 2023

FILEMOT [FILL-eh-mo] - dull or yellowish brown [Anglicised version of French feuillemorte - a dead leaf] Autumn is a hymn to the filemot spectrum.

WoW: Canary Trap

16 October, 2023

CANARY TRAP - ruse designed to expose an informer, whereby suspected leaks are supplied differing information [Popularised by Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels - also called the barium meal test.] Language use as much as particular data are integral to the canary trap. 

WoW: Patagium

9 October, 2023

PATAGIUM - translucent membrane extending between a bat's or sugar gliders forelimbs to create the mammal's wing [From Latin: the edging of a woman's tunic.] The fruit bat would go 'splat' without its trusty patagium.

WoW: Cacafuego

2 October, 2023

CACAFUEGO [kar-kar-FWAY-go] - braggart; volatile person prone to outburst [From Spanish, literally one who shits fire, from cagar to defecate + fuego fire.] Gordon Ramsay in the Hell's Kitchen series is a classic cacafuego. 

WoW: Yealm

25 September, 2023

YEALM - to prepare straw for thatching; a straw bundle ready for the cottage roof [Old English - also yelm - via gelm, or handful.] Thatchers must tamp each yealm tightly to keep a cottage rainproof.

WoW: Dolce far niente

18 September, 2023

DOLCE FAR NIENTE [doll-CHAY fah nee-ENT-ay] - the pleasure of doing nothing [Literal translation of Italian] Leisure allows for the option of active recreation, or dolce far niente.

WoW: Gish gallop

11 September, 2023

GISH GALLOP - rhetorical device where a person swamps their opponent in uncited evidence with no regard for veracity. [Coined by anthropologist Eugenie Scott after US creationist Duane Gish] President You-Know-Who was a virtuoso of the Gish gallop.

WoW: Hellscape

4 September, 2023

HELLSCAPE - any infernal environment, typically the result of disaster or devastation. [Hell + scape] As global crises multiply, from climate shifts to the Crimean conflict, the Oxford Dictionary chose to register hellscape as a key intake for 2023. 

WoW: Elozable

28 August, 2023

ELOZABLE [eh-LOH-zah-behl] - susceptible to flattery [From French eloge - praise or eulogy] Sales staff across the industry can spot an elozable customer.

WoW: Abjad

21 August, 2023

ABJAD - any writing system - such as Arabic - where only consonants, or consonantal phonemes, are depicted, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by readers. [The word is based on the Arabic alphabet's first four letters, corresponding to a, b, j and d]. PRN, perhaps, in the abjad mode, may denote APRON, PERONI or PARANOIA. 

WoW: Scorp

14 August, 2023

SCORP - woodworking tool used for roughing out hollows in such items as bowls and chairs. [Etymology uncertain. Perhaps an allusion to a scorpion's upright tail.] Bush furniture artisans are scorp-reliant.

WoW: Ovcharka

7 August, 2023

OVCHARKA [ov-CHAR-kah] - massive Russian sheepdog, weighing up to 70kg, used as guard dog for livestock and property, as well as bear-hunting [Lit. Russian: shepherd dog] With thick fur, barrel frame and powerful jaw, the Caucasian ovcharka might well be mistaken for a bear. 

WoW: Utah Teapot

31 July, 2023

UTAH TEAPOT - virtual ceramic vessel helping to gauge a computer program's 3D fidelity; a Newell teapot [After Utah Uni, 1975, where Martin Newell - a computer  graphics researcher - selected the utensil for its curved base and  sheen.] Look twice, and you may discern a Utah teapot in many 3-D programs as a coder's in-joke.

WoW: Auxesis

24 July, 2023

AUXESIS [og-ZEE-sis] - rhetorical phrase of mounting intensity; hyperbole; overstatement [From Greek auxesis (growth), via auxein, to increase] To call a political opponent as "inexperienced, ill-suited, inept and irresponsible" is an example of auxesis - and alliteration.

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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