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.

Loading tweet...

Squeaky Clean Dozen

24 June, 2014

Oxford Dictionary has opened its gates to admit 12 ‘new’ words. As my quotes imply, most of these won’t be new to you at all. Some seem old hat. Still, lexicography can be cautious, even more across the ditch.

I’ve added brief definitions, though this Mental Floss listicle offers you more. You know the game, don’t you? See who can make the classiest clue, using both definition and wordplay. Only the whip-smart (4-5) will crack the podium.

AU PAIR – foreign student-aide (Can’t believe this has only been okayed.)
BRAGGADOCIOUS – showy-offy
CLUNKER – old car; failure
DEFRIEND – Facebook variant of unfriend
FLASH MOB – finally this sudden crowd arrives in the dictionary!
GEEKERY – brainy devotion such as clue-mongering
LIVE BLOG – this, but live
MOCHACCINO – when mocha and cappuccino combine
MOUSEOVER – to roll the cursor over a link or GIF, etc
VEEPSTAKES – US scramble to be nominated for the 2nd highest office
WHIP-SMART – re this Storm’s ultimate winner
YOUNG ADULT – great Charlize Theron film (seriously)

Maybe the niftiest neologist win.

comments powered by Disqus

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.

Medal

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

read more +

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.

read more +

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 

read more +

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
See Results