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Rewording the Brain
Master wordsmith and crossword guru David Astle shows how cryptic crosswords can boost your brain power and improve your memory and cognitive capacity.
Recent studies have shown that puzzle-solving and wordplay are among the most effective ways to boost the power and agility of your brain. A cryptic crossword a day can help keep memory loss at bay.
Why? The answer lies in the art of teasing out a clue, a discipline that calls for logic, interpretation, intuition and deduction as well as the ability to filter nuance and connotation. All these challenges and more are found in the cryptic crossword. And all are invaluable in increasing your brainpower and improving your memory and cognitive capacity.
In this entertaining and essential book, cryptic crossword guru David Astle explains how your brain responds to and benefits from attempting these crosswords. A growing body of research suggests cryptic crosswords are the ideal workout for your brain, and Astle shows how regular training of this kind can be fun as well as fundamental.
If you've always been intimidated by cryptic crosswords, fear not! Rewording the Brain is an accessible guide to developing and sharpening your puzzle talents. Novices and expert solvers alike will gain plenty of cryptic insights. There has never been a better time to start solving, nor a better teacher than the legendary DA.
Also included are 50 cryptic crosswords hand-picked to keep your brain abuzz, ranging from beginner-friendly to fiendishly complicated!
Recent studies have shown that puzzle-solving and wordplay are among the most effective ways to boost the power and agility of your brain. A cryptic crossword a day can help keep memory loss at bay.
Why? The answer lies in the art of teasing out a clue, a discipline that calls for logic, interpretation, intuition and deduction as well as the ability to filter nuance and connotation. All these challenges and more are found in the cryptic crossword. And all are invaluable in increasing your brainpower and improving your memory and cognitive capacity.
In this entertaining and essential book, cryptic crossword guru David Astle explains how your brain responds to and benefits from attempting these crosswords. A growing body of research suggests cryptic crosswords are the ideal workout for your brain, and Astle shows how regular training of this kind can be fun as well as fundamental.
If you've always been intimidated by cryptic crosswords, fear not! Rewording the Brain is an accessible guide to developing and sharpening your puzzle talents. Novices and expert solvers alike will gain plenty of cryptic insights. There has never been a better time to start solving, nor a better teacher than the legendary DA.
Also included are 50 cryptic crosswords hand-picked to keep your brain abuzz, ranging from beginner-friendly to fiendishly complicated!
315 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
43 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 22, 2019
David Astle offers an intriguing insight into the world of cryptic crosswords, first through essays and anecdotes, then by deconstructing different methods used by setters. As the tutorials increased in difficulty, I was already struggling to decrypt the easier types of clues given, the complexities and nuances astounding me as Astle goes through detailed explanations of each:
_________
Deadly stuff when bum's not quite pleasant (7)
The phrase not quite suggests falling short. A common synonym for pleasant is nice, and not quite nice is NIC. So we know the deadly stuff ends in those three letters, and begins with a synonym of bum. A charade form with a deletion gives us: ARSE + NICe= ARSENIC
_________
It certainly made me strain my brain and develop some new skills, but I felt the arguments for how these crosswords can improve memory were tangential, any parts not exclusively dealing with how to solve crosswords did not offer any compelling arguments, rather interesting facts and findings.
The crosswords in the final part of the book offer a honing of skills outlined prior, and I will be attempting to tackle them over time, although given the difficulty of the beginner crosswords, it may be a long process.
_________
Deadly stuff when bum's not quite pleasant (7)
The phrase not quite suggests falling short. A common synonym for pleasant is nice, and not quite nice is NIC. So we know the deadly stuff ends in those three letters, and begins with a synonym of bum. A charade form with a deletion gives us: ARSE + NICe= ARSENIC
_________
It certainly made me strain my brain and develop some new skills, but I felt the arguments for how these crosswords can improve memory were tangential, any parts not exclusively dealing with how to solve crosswords did not offer any compelling arguments, rather interesting facts and findings.
The crosswords in the final part of the book offer a honing of skills outlined prior, and I will be attempting to tackle them over time, although given the difficulty of the beginner crosswords, it may be a long process.
October 9, 2018
This is a really interesting book in three parts: the first explores scientific research into why puzzles and crosswords are good for us. The second explains the tricks and methods of the cryptic crossword in a way that makes so much sense (even to a complete newbie like me). And the third section gives you scaffolded puzzles to put your newfound knowledge into practice and to build your confidence. What an enjoyable book exploring an enjoyable pastime! I highly recommend it!
February 11, 2019
Phew! It took a while to read this book, because I ran out of time to read it first time I borrowed it and it's popular so I had to put it on hold and wait for it to come back.
Anyway! A fascinating read looking at how crosswords and puzzle solving in general can help keep the brain sharp, particularly when it comes to issues like dementia.
The book also looks at cryptic crosswords and how to solve them. Although alas I don't have the knack for those! Oh well you can only try your best!
Anyway! A fascinating read looking at how crosswords and puzzle solving in general can help keep the brain sharp, particularly when it comes to issues like dementia.
The book also looks at cryptic crosswords and how to solve them. Although alas I don't have the knack for those! Oh well you can only try your best!
April 27, 2021
Comprehensive and user-friendly primer on cryptic crossword solving and setting.
...by Australia’s acknowledged leading practitioner. Also a great source of cryptic tricks and commonly used abbreviations, synonyms, and directional words.
...by Australia’s acknowledged leading practitioner. Also a great source of cryptic tricks and commonly used abbreviations, synonyms, and directional words.
May 26, 2022
Astle is a word machine and letter-ologist. In this book he describes how cryptic clues work, the various strategies used to form clues and some helpful hints to solve them. I've read this book with enjoyment but DA's Friday crossword still remains challenging.
March 25, 2021
Excellent primer on tackling cryptic crosswords, some of which I am now able to do. But not any of author David Astle's, though - I still can't decipher a single clue of his!
June 27, 2022
Really interesting read, especially if you enjoy cryptic...infact perhaps only if you enjoy cryptics. But Part 1 is fascinating to everyone, mainly as a little primer on (basic) neuroscience.
January 10, 2026
Definitely haven’t graduated from the Guardian quick crossword to the cryptic but at least now I understand that it’s not all just randomly made up. Feeling dumb but optimistic
March 3, 2025
To all intents and purposes I've finished reading this book. I just have to complete the fifty or so puzzles at the end.
Astle's book is more than about cryptic crosswords, although that's its focus. He has some interesting information about the brain, dementia, and more in the early stages. And while this is interesting, it's the information about solving cryptic puzzles that's really of value. I've been doing cryptics for years, but in a relatively recent change in our newspaper we've been given cryptics devised by some fiend, rather than the older ones which were basically solvable, and I'd all but given on doing these ones.
However, Astle's book shows why I haven't been able to easily get to grips with these puzzles. He lists and explains and gives examples to solve of the considerable variety of options that a puzzle compiler has at hand in order to confuse the solvers. These have opened up my approach exponentially. I won't say that I can now solve these trickier puzzles without effort, but I'm far more onto it than I have been!
30.11.23 Re-read this again, because it's worth reminding myself of all the various approaches to cryptic clues, and because there are a lot of interesting things in it besides these.
Astle's book is more than about cryptic crosswords, although that's its focus. He has some interesting information about the brain, dementia, and more in the early stages. And while this is interesting, it's the information about solving cryptic puzzles that's really of value. I've been doing cryptics for years, but in a relatively recent change in our newspaper we've been given cryptics devised by some fiend, rather than the older ones which were basically solvable, and I'd all but given on doing these ones.
However, Astle's book shows why I haven't been able to easily get to grips with these puzzles. He lists and explains and gives examples to solve of the considerable variety of options that a puzzle compiler has at hand in order to confuse the solvers. These have opened up my approach exponentially. I won't say that I can now solve these trickier puzzles without effort, but I'm far more onto it than I have been!
30.11.23 Re-read this again, because it's worth reminding myself of all the various approaches to cryptic clues, and because there are a lot of interesting things in it besides these.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews