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...

Disgruntlement

15 March, 2013

Seems Friday is DA-day in Melbourne too, The Age falling into synch with Sydney. Some solvers are irked – going by the odd email – most citizens appear delighted. I am too, I must admit. As fits go, Friday seems snugger for the week’s bugger.

Disgruntlement, the word, has prompted this week’s Friday folly. DIS, as you know, is slang for disrespect, or to disparage. Which makes me think ‘Othello sucks’ could be to DIS-PLAY. While a trickier twist could be ‘Any brothel is a pigsty’ may be to DIS-HO-NEST.

Here are six more DIS- words converted into sledges. See if you can name them. And without resorting to obscenity, feel free to extend the list of gripes, giving byline and number as you go.

  1. Yarralumla is for yuppies (8)
  2. Only knobs come from Knossus (8)
  3. Puhleez, banksia men?! (6)
  4. Ditch those vile daisy thingos (9)
  5. Jeez that’s one ugly item of flash jewelry (9)
  6. Sorry Lily, but numbers are for muppets (10 – two answers)

And have a nice day, won’t you.

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