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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Funkadelica

21 March, 2011

How-do, crew. A few tweaks and changes currently in progress, as you may have noticed. Recent posts now warrant their own scroll, just so you can keep tabs across several fora. (Or should that just be forums: discuss.)

Soon a Preview Post gizmo will be at your disposal, as well as the possibility of a Search Site function. Because here at DA Central, your customer satisfaction is important to us. To that end, let us know how much better your surfing life has become – or not – as a result of this ongoing reno. As well as any more ideas while the webmistress is under the hood – and keep them nice.

  • Some other news too. Our UK patron, Dean Mayer, alias Anax in the Independent, has generously uploaded his latest Indie offering. On top of that, the wily one has directed your gaze to a certain floating object in the Austin Powers franchise as a bonus hint for 20-down. Take a gander.

  • Second, in case you missed the initial shout-out, this Saturday’s episode of Can We Help plunges into the murky aquarium of crossword arcana – how they began, the origins of cryptics, the history of word-weaving – with yours truly sharing Pete’s scuba tank. The same segment offers a chance to solve a clement mini-DA, with prizes on offer.

  • Third – out of town till Wednesday for a funeral, so the pre-loaded Storm is all yours for the first burst. An appealing challenge, I reckon, returning to a cryptic flavour, with one small warning: read all instructions carefully, as the coming comp asks you to operate incognito. More soon.

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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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