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Diabolically Arcane

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Pot Roast

11 February, 2011

Linguist and TV regular, Kate Burridge throws down a gauntlet in her entertaining read, Gift of the Gob. The challenge is gob-related in fact, and I quote: Cannibalism is the ultimate of all our food taboos, if not society’s ultimate taboo. But where are the euphemisms?

Seems every other cultural delicacy, from bathroom breaks to death, has a string of phrases to mask the unpleasant details. But not cannibalism.

In campus circles, the practice is dubbed anthropophagy, but that won’t wash as a fudge-term in general conversation. So what will?

Hannibal Lecter, perhaps the most infamous human-muncher, delights in the phrase of having dinner with an old friend. Which must get the prize so far. But can you out-phrase the cannibal? Feels like a comical column in the making – all we need is some succulent suggestions. How can we ‘name’ cannibals or cannibalism with style? From facetious to ingenious, all ideas welcome – and I’ll pass the cream onto Kate as well!

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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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