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Diabolically Arcane

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Salon 7 - The A-List

24 March, 2014

Halfway through the A-listings in the latest Macquarie, hoping to get to B by this time next week. It’s quite a long read at 1720 pages. Dry at times, the book has too many characters in search of a narrative, though there are some delightful side-stories along the way. Like these:

Al Siratthe razor-thin bridge that one needs to pass in order to see paradise [from Arabic – the road]

Acrowpropthat object above, in fact, which supports buildings when foundations are partly removed [From A. Crowe, the inventor’s solicitor]

actrineactress of good looks but dubious ability

almaRussian yeti [from the Kazak town of Alma-Ata]

aggiornamentopapal practice of updating customs and doctrine

Just four of the fab discoveries I’ve made in March, attending to A. You will see a few more abstruse [Latin, abstrusus, concealed] A-words in coming WoWs, as well as crossword solutions. While look for some posts and Wordplay columns (in the SMH) about my dictionary marathon. It’s serious fun.

By all means, please convert any of the 5 A-words above into clues, then I’ll join you. In the meantime, share the crossword lore here too, such as a devious innovation in a Monday Times where ‘wife split’ yielded a double-V, or a bisected W! Ingenious things, intriguing thing, anything verbal – the Salon is the place to post. 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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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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