David Astle: Confessions of a Wordaholic

Father holds six over least arrangement. (5, 5) A gibberish sentence for many of us, but an irresistible clue for those in the thrall of cryptic crosswords. And in the Australian scene, there are none more cryptic, more revered and more dastardly than the man known as DA.

To celebrate the launch of his new book Puzzled, meet David Astle and find out why Geoffrey Rush calls him the ‘Sergeant Pepper of cryptic crosswords’.

Presenter

David Astle

David Astle is the public face of dictionary nerds, thanks to his umpire role on SBS’s Letters and Numbers. (What other show can revel in CARBONITE, REBONE or the plural of SWINE?) His latest book is Puzzled, a quirky guide to the history and secret of word puzzles.