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.

Loading tweet...

Altering & Relating (thanks Geoff)

17 April, 2012

Crosswords go hand-in-glove with innovation. Or that’s my argument poised for next week’s MEA conference, where both disciplines ask you to connect or repurpose. Think about Velcro – the fastener born of burrs. Or solar paint. Or the first computer mouse relying on a deodorant’s roll-on ball. Lateral thinkers find new ways, new links or new settings to outpace the old.

We do the same this week, where you anagram any word, name or phrase, and then provide a clear and clever connection between the two concepts. VELCRO and CLOVER, say, are both easily pulled. BRAN and BARN: farm staples. Though the fresher fields are better, like TAIPAN and PINATA: best to face with a large club. Or TIM LANE and AILMENT: both are wintry regulars.

Throw in your thoughts. Let’s have a chuckle, as well as a marvel at unlikely links. Later on, by 10pm Thursday, submit your own pet three pairs for my solo judging. (SOLO and LOOS – repository of yellowy water?) We may not reinvent the wheel, but we will enjoy the spin.

"
comments powered by Disqus

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.

Medal

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

read more +

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.

read more +

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 

read more +

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
See Results