English abounds with similes in the form of ‘as x as a y’ but where did this one come from?
The answer is not clear, but the expression has been around since before Shakespeare (and the good Bard used it in Henry IV).
Quite possibly ‘as dead as a doornail’ has survived down the centuries because it [more…]
The quality of CRYPTICS is not simple it dropeth down with great exasperation CONGRATULATIONS to the graphic artist who produced this great Shakespearean cover.
My 96 year old fellow puzzler, George Howe, and my lifelong friend, Madge Sinclair have both expressed their congratulations. We are all Shakespearean Devotees. We were all stumped by the [more…]
Thank you so much for your generosity in increasing the number of your magazines. In the past, especially with the Starhunts, I limit the number of puzzles that I do each day so that I wont run out before the next one arrives! Thank you again, Christine. Congratulations to you on what you do [more…]
A very big thank you for my win of the first prize of $500 for Aprils BIGCash. Actually, this is the second time I have won this prize!
I am an 87 year old Chinese Singaporean and an avid doer of your crosswords for the past 15 years. This has been made possible through the [more…]
If you are feeling Nostalgic (Demon 3dn) you are feeling WISTFUL. Nostalgia comes from two Greek words meaning returning home and pain to signify the pain a person feels when he/she wishes they were home. WISHFUL is not quite the same; wistful is wishful plus yearning or longing.
Our Demon looks just a little stout [more…]
I’ve submitted my first DIY entry for a long time. Since Black Saturday I have been unable to send in my efforts as I found my clues were all dark, dreary and sad, and it was obvious that living so close to the devastating fires had negatively affected my thought process. So I am [more…]
You ask in BIG Magazine what are my favourite books? I love anything by Jeffrey Archer and have just finished ‘Paths of Glory’, a fictional? biography of George Mallory based on letters written to his wife Ruth. After reading it the reader is left with the question, “Who was the first man to conquer [more…]
What a surprise! After many submissions I finally ‘cracked it’. First there was your cheque for $100 for my winning entry in the Demon then there was your prize for my winning entry in Ninesies. Thank you so much.
I intend to use the money towards subscriptions to some of your publications. The newsagents in [more…]
