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Diabolically Arcane

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Adopt-A-Storm

10 February, 2016

Melbourne's Wheeler Centre has been running a wordy fundraiser that's well worth a look. For $85 you can foster flaneur, adopt avaunt, or secure custody of callipygean (have a shapely bottom).

Half the offered words you'll know. Many have already been adopted, with the dough going to help spreading literature and story-telling through the community. Feel free to browse the list and consider being a patron. I'll be playing an active role in spreading the word later this year.

Meanwhile the handpicked XI below are my faves. Some real gems here, all worth a little cryptic finagling, assuming you don't suffer caducity (senility) or cacozelia (speech affectation). Enjoy these lulus:

AGATHIST - one who believes that things tend towards good

BALTER - dance awkwardly, yet with obvious enjoyment (See Dad-dancing)

CATILLATE - to lick plates

DOROMANIA - preoccupation with giving gifts

ENODE - to unknot

FINIFUGAL - fearful of anything concluding

IATROMISIA - aversion to doctors

LAGOTIC - having rabbit-like ears

ONIOCHALASIA - buying or shopping as stress relief

SCURRYFUNGE - hastily clean before guests arrive

ZYGAL - H-shaped

Ensure your clues contain both defintion & wordplay. The rest is all agathism.

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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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