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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Q&A (and Bees)

3 September, 2010

The cool literati at Spike – the blog attached to Meanjin magazine – put me through the mill this week, asking five questions about my crossword career. Regulars to this site, or the old Cassowary nest, will anticipate most of the answers, though you may not know such cult figures as Garson Hampfield, or Loroso, or Brendan Emmett Quigley.

Hop on over for the Big Five Questions, and follow the links to find your own black-and-white treasures.

And while in the literary vein, check out a book called Sleepers Almanac #6, just released with too much Guinness and too little beauty sleep last night at Trades Hall in Melbourne. Among a pantheon of rising Aussie talent is one misfit called Astle who writes about insect sex for some reason. I can’t figure out why either – just seemed an itch in need of scrathcing. Like head lice.

And while I have your attention: a big thanks to all of you for making the leap from blog to website. It hasn’t been the smoothest segue, but your input and patience and all-out camaraderie has been one princely fillip. Little by little, this new address will prove a great playground for all of us. I can feel it in my waters.

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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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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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