David Astle
David Astle is the crossword compiler and Wordplay columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He is a broadcaster on ABC Radio Melbourne.
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Business up top, party below: The origins of Donald Ducking
Be honest, how often have you Donald Ducked?
- David Astle
Latest
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Why does everything feel so surreal? The word that defined a decade
Ten years ago, the world changed. It’s hard to pinpoint the moment, but hints lie in the dictionary updates.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
What do we mean when we say OK?
In honour of OK Day, let’s track its story from o to k.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Will AI make me obsolete? You be the judge
There are ghost-writers in the machine, and it’s getting uncomfortable.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Do you hunker or bunker down? A word expert answers your questions
Our language teems with these close cousins, like wiggle or wriggle room.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
From Sabrina Carpenter to J.Lo, when did everything get so code-coded?
Charting the rise of the suffix of the moment.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Do you live in one of Australia’s most oddly named towns?
Show me the way to Peter the Swede.
- David Astle
“Wuthering Heights”: The strokes that changed the moors
How tiny strokes of punctuation are rebranding the moors – and our reality.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Schitt’s speak: How Catherine O’Hara turned the dictionary into a diva
Name any episode and you’ll meet the winsome litany of mercurial Moira-isms, winsome and mercurial included.
- David Astle
- Opinion
- WordPlay
Wordle just repeated a solution – and fans now fear the worst
The puzzle’s fans are pondering the question: is Wordle running out of words?
- David Astle