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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Salon 57

17 December, 2012

Any good books to read? With beach towels and poolsides a-wooing, we should swap a few good titles to tackle. I’ve heard Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (the brother) is a gonzo gem about the Memory Olympics.

There’s a lot of buzz about The Flame Alphabet too, a non-narrative about the toxicity of language. Guaranteed to polarise. And if you want a good crime yarn? Harry Bosch is back in action, with The Black Box. I’m also looking forward to a translation riff, Is That a Fish in Your Ear? There must be others you loved, or heard good things about.

One more favour: what would be a tough film title to charade? Let’s see if we can make a top ten list of stinkers. My early nominees: Shawshank Redemption, Koyaanisqatsi, Hudsucker Proxy, Erin Brockovich, Minority Report, Quantum of Solace, Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. What else?

And for those of us still solving Times and Gs, in this mad pre-Christmas spree, then share the joys and frankincense right here.

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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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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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