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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Wordburger

Wordburger Book

26 December, 2015

Calling all Worburger owners - the new book or app. Welcome, word lovers. Here's the place to post your comments about either Burger bite. Too easy? Too hard? Too in-between?! Or maybe say how you found things in general, or your feelings about this weird new world of cryptic clues.

Is there a clue you can't quite get? Or a puzzle in the book that has another answer? Share your ideas and impressions here.

Meanwhile, just to add to the puzzle on page 15 - where you have to jumble Aussie towns to make new words - here's a few trickier names to add to the list. So tricky, I've added clues on the words you're seeking. See how you go - and share you general Burger business here too.  Welcome. Have fun.

1. Chifley (mainly)

2. Clematis (weather systems)

3. Seaford (felt hats)

4. Berrima (kookier)

5. Neringla (picking up a new skill)

6. Lugarno (idleness - the kind that follows Christmas lunch!)

7. Tooradin (cooked in a clay oven)

8. Glen Iris (type of wine)

9. Degilbo (forced by duty)

10. Gisborne (serious)

Share your answers, and general Wordburger stuff, here. 

Eye-Opener

11 December, 2015

Da-da! Here's the new Wordburger Lounge, a special annex off the main house. Here you'll find brainteasers and games, word-talk and crossword clues - anything wordy and twisted really. 

If you haven't grabbed the Wordburger book, what's stopping you? In one chomp-size book you'll pick up some mad word-skills, the kind to help you untangle the tricks in this section.

Likewise the Wordburger app. Get to it. Try it out. The toy is ready for takeaway. Give it a whirl and test your solving smarts. 

Meanwhile, let's start on the right foot. Each cluster below holds a body part. When you find it, swap it with another body part owning the same amount of letters. If you picked right, you'll make a new word!

DIAGHAND, say, would lead to DIAGNOSE, because I picked my nose. Now your turn to pick your own!

1. WLEGTH

2. REHJAWSE

3. OBLIPD

4. WAFOOTG

5. AKNEEG

6. ILHIPAL

7. ORBELLYRA

8, BEARERY

9. DEWRISTY

10. THTHUMBSS

Share your answers in the Comments. (And don't peek too soon if you're trying to figure them out!) 

PS - if you want to get in touch, just head for the Email section on the site.

Buoyant Boat

11 December, 2015

Want to know something weird? The odd letters of BUOYANT spell BOAT. Just let that bizarre fact sink in...

TWITCH is another oddity. Can you see the word hiding inside? Yep. Try TIC, lying in the odds, another word for twitch.

This game is called alternation, because you're plucking out the alternate letters in a word - every odd, or every even.

Now try your own name. Evenly, DAVIDASTLE turns into AIATE, which sounds like a Hawaiian fishing spear. Easier to say than DVDSL - or maybe that's DVDS-L, the sort of sign you see in a movie store, or on your Apple TV menu.

What are your alternate names? And can you work out the eight famous actors below? Both names are used, but only the odd (or even) letters appear here. You're chasing four men and four women.

1. JHNDP

2. NTLEOTA

3. DNECAG

4. CTBACETE

5. RSESEAT

6. RDIT

7. IMESOT

8. AEISE

Can you unmask the stars? (Or find any other amazing alternate tricks in the dictionary, or using other names?)

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

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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
See Results