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Diabolically Arcane

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Salon 31 - Letters of Note

8 September, 2014

I'm launching a cool new alphabet book tonight. Two in fact, both enlisting letters as graphic tools to illustrate what the letters spell. Confused, then peek here at Melbourne Style - and you may be more confused! In short, see how bed also outlines itself. So now draw the Eiffel Tower, using the scaffold of EIFFEL TOWER....

Speaking of letters, to answer last week's conundrum, let me introduce you to Eric Gill, sculptor, typeface designer, printmaker and CALLIGRAPHER. As for his notoriety, that will happen if you sleep with your sister, and your pet dog... He was a weird one, but a gifted lettersmith.

As a new conundrum, what word sounds like its opposite? (This won't take the seasoned puzzler too long, as the pair does gets its share of limelight. But is the pair unique? Can you argue other pairs - like pare and pair - that could be viewed as antonyms in certain contexts?)

Thanks to Anthony for the Times tipoff. Mark you diaries - October 6 is a zinger, with a brilliant Nina message too. Meanwhile, your own messages will be newly handled by a website reno today - don't panic. The change will thwart spam, at least, as well as give us new options as forum contributors. So message away, offer feedback, and rejoice or resile from the week's crosswords here. Have a wordy week.

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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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