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 12, Or Is It?

28 April, 2014

At a cafe on the weekend, I came across a sign that read: This door is broken. Please enter via the other side.

Seems clear enough. Except when you consider this was a double door, not to mention the cafe had an alternative entrance off the junction’s other street. I found myself torn between two doors, and took my business elsewhere.

Ambiguity is a topic I’ve been pondering a little more lately, as has John Rentoul for The Independent. Click here to see his Top 10 List of Ambiguous Signs, including such head-benders as:

‘Women’
Slow Children Playing
Train Drivers Must Not Be Disturbed

Any more ambiguities you can add? We deal with them all the time, as crossword solvers, but what about at work, on signs, in cafe culture?

And while at the cafe, why not solve some stellar clues, like this Times dazzler: The only article newsman finally pulled, working on paper (13)

Share other gems, or clangers, from the week’s worth of crosswords here. And have a wordomatic 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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