David Astle (alias DA)
@dontattempt.bsky.social
Crossword maker. Evenings host ABC Vic. Writer, and Wordplay columnist SMH & The Age. Verbaholic. My views only davidastle.com
Pinned
Just gave ChatGPT a writing deadline and now it’s cleaning the house
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
PHOTO OF THE DAY. A policeman stops traffic to let a man carrying an inflatable rubber giraffe cross the road on his way to the British Industries Fair in London (1935)
📷 google images
📷 google images
November 7, 2025 at 9:42 AM
PHOTO OF THE DAY. A policeman stops traffic to let a man carrying an inflatable rubber giraffe cross the road on his way to the British Industries Fair in London (1935)
📷 google images
📷 google images
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
barista: can i take your name
james bond: the name's bond
barista: ok
james bond: james bond
barista: well i've written bond now
james bond: it's ok don't
barista: i can get a new cup
james bond: no it's fine
barista: it's not a problem
james bond: just go with bond
james bond: the name's bond
barista: ok
james bond: james bond
barista: well i've written bond now
james bond: it's ok don't
barista: i can get a new cup
james bond: no it's fine
barista: it's not a problem
james bond: just go with bond
November 11, 2025 at 3:49 PM
barista: can i take your name
james bond: the name's bond
barista: ok
james bond: james bond
barista: well i've written bond now
james bond: it's ok don't
barista: i can get a new cup
james bond: no it's fine
barista: it's not a problem
james bond: just go with bond
james bond: the name's bond
barista: ok
james bond: james bond
barista: well i've written bond now
james bond: it's ok don't
barista: i can get a new cup
james bond: no it's fine
barista: it's not a problem
james bond: just go with bond
Never a great day when you have to read “pursuant”
November 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Never a great day when you have to read “pursuant”
Is that an Airdale?
November 11, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Is that an Airdale?
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
November 10, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Fun fact: The road to Ancient Rome was built by the Hi-Visigoths
November 10, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Fun fact: The road to Ancient Rome was built by the Hi-Visigoths
Songs Minus A Letter:
The Wind Beneath My Wigs
The Rugs Don’t Work
Never-Ending Tory
Under The Bride
U Can Touch This
Constant Caving
Don’t Peak
Love Hack
Poke Face
Gene In A Bottle
The Itch Is Back
Stairway To Heave
The Wind Beneath My Wigs
The Rugs Don’t Work
Never-Ending Tory
Under The Bride
U Can Touch This
Constant Caving
Don’t Peak
Love Hack
Poke Face
Gene In A Bottle
The Itch Is Back
Stairway To Heave
November 9, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Songs Minus A Letter:
The Wind Beneath My Wigs
The Rugs Don’t Work
Never-Ending Tory
Under The Bride
U Can Touch This
Constant Caving
Don’t Peak
Love Hack
Poke Face
Gene In A Bottle
The Itch Is Back
Stairway To Heave
The Wind Beneath My Wigs
The Rugs Don’t Work
Never-Ending Tory
Under The Bride
U Can Touch This
Constant Caving
Don’t Peak
Love Hack
Poke Face
Gene In A Bottle
The Itch Is Back
Stairway To Heave
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
If you have a regional accent, please never try to get rid of it. Accents tell stories.
November 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
If you have a regional accent, please never try to get rid of it. Accents tell stories.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
I don't want to "drill down," or "circle back" I want to go to sleep on the floor
November 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I don't want to "drill down," or "circle back" I want to go to sleep on the floor
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
it was love at first sight
November 8, 2025 at 2:05 AM
it was love at first sight
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
My nerdy friend Tim just got a PhD on the history of palindromes.
We now call him Dr. Awkward.
We now call him Dr. Awkward.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
My nerdy friend Tim just got a PhD on the history of palindromes.
We now call him Dr. Awkward.
We now call him Dr. Awkward.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
Saw someone with the same teeth as me at the coincidentist.
November 8, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Saw someone with the same teeth as me at the coincidentist.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
[scenes from a marriage]
JESS: I’ve just started watching this series with Michael Shannon as Garfield
ME: Guessing that’s Garfield the assassinated president, not the lasagne-loving cat?
JESS: Oh way to ruin the ending, arsehole
JESS: I’ve just started watching this series with Michael Shannon as Garfield
ME: Guessing that’s Garfield the assassinated president, not the lasagne-loving cat?
JESS: Oh way to ruin the ending, arsehole
November 7, 2025 at 7:49 AM
[scenes from a marriage]
JESS: I’ve just started watching this series with Michael Shannon as Garfield
ME: Guessing that’s Garfield the assassinated president, not the lasagne-loving cat?
JESS: Oh way to ruin the ending, arsehole
JESS: I’ve just started watching this series with Michael Shannon as Garfield
ME: Guessing that’s Garfield the assassinated president, not the lasagne-loving cat?
JESS: Oh way to ruin the ending, arsehole
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
Word of the Day: CUÑADISMO (Spanish slang) — literally: ‘brother-in-law-ism’; speaking on topics you know little about as if you were an expert and smarter than everyone else.
November 7, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Word of the Day: CUÑADISMO (Spanish slang) — literally: ‘brother-in-law-ism’; speaking on topics you know little about as if you were an expert and smarter than everyone else.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
Possum looked into the mirror and scared itself.
November 7, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Possum looked into the mirror and scared itself.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
BBC really burying the lede there
November 7, 2025 at 12:07 PM
BBC really burying the lede there
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
It’s not box wine, it’s cardboardeaux.
January 28, 2025 at 7:43 PM
It’s not box wine, it’s cardboardeaux.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
Yes, by all means, autocorrect. Let’s describe me as a “long distance ruiner.”
June 1, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Yes, by all means, autocorrect. Let’s describe me as a “long distance ruiner.”
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
My mother asked me what my favorite palindrome is.
Xanax, mom. Xanax.
Xanax, mom. Xanax.
January 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
My mother asked me what my favorite palindrome is.
Xanax, mom. Xanax.
Xanax, mom. Xanax.
“It’s the constitution. It’s Mabo. It’s justice. It’s law. It’s the vibe-coding, Your Honour.”
Collins has announced VIBE CODING as its 2025 Word of the Year in a list, Rachel Quinn says for the dictionary, "encapsulates what it means to be human in the age of AI."
: blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lov...
: blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lov...
Collins’ Word of the Year 2025: AI meets authenticity as society shifts - Collins Dictionary Language Blog
‘Vibe coding’, a software development that turns natural language into computer code using AI, has been named Collins’ Word of the Year 2025.
blog.collinsdictionary.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
“It’s the constitution. It’s Mabo. It’s justice. It’s law. It’s the vibe-coding, Your Honour.”
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
Meanings of the word for November in various languages
▪️ Leaf fall (Czech)
▪️ Freezing moon (Ojibwe)
▪️ Dark period month (Inari Sami)
▪️ Wind slender (Navajo)
▪️ Month of goats (ChiShona)
▪️ Month of slaughter (Welsh)
▪️ Time of drumming (Yup'ik)
▪️ Arrival of the scorpion (Thai)
▪️ Death month (Finnish)
▪️ Leaf fall (Czech)
▪️ Freezing moon (Ojibwe)
▪️ Dark period month (Inari Sami)
▪️ Wind slender (Navajo)
▪️ Month of goats (ChiShona)
▪️ Month of slaughter (Welsh)
▪️ Time of drumming (Yup'ik)
▪️ Arrival of the scorpion (Thai)
▪️ Death month (Finnish)
November 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Meanings of the word for November in various languages
▪️ Leaf fall (Czech)
▪️ Freezing moon (Ojibwe)
▪️ Dark period month (Inari Sami)
▪️ Wind slender (Navajo)
▪️ Month of goats (ChiShona)
▪️ Month of slaughter (Welsh)
▪️ Time of drumming (Yup'ik)
▪️ Arrival of the scorpion (Thai)
▪️ Death month (Finnish)
▪️ Leaf fall (Czech)
▪️ Freezing moon (Ojibwe)
▪️ Dark period month (Inari Sami)
▪️ Wind slender (Navajo)
▪️ Month of goats (ChiShona)
▪️ Month of slaughter (Welsh)
▪️ Time of drumming (Yup'ik)
▪️ Arrival of the scorpion (Thai)
▪️ Death month (Finnish)
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
12 + 3 – 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
12 + 3 – 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
It’s not just a baggage claim. It’s a baggage FACT.
November 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
It’s not just a baggage claim. It’s a baggage FACT.
Reposted by David Astle (alias DA)
I barely get a mention in my wife's new autobiography, which says a lot more about her than it does about me.
November 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
I barely get a mention in my wife's new autobiography, which says a lot more about her than it does about me.
ZEMBLANITY - the grim discovery of something expected to be benign or predictable; opposite of serendipity. [Coined by writer William Boyd on learning the Arctic’ Ocean’s magically remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago was used for Russian nuclear tests]
November 4, 2025 at 8:03 PM
ZEMBLANITY - the grim discovery of something expected to be benign or predictable; opposite of serendipity. [Coined by writer William Boyd on learning the Arctic’ Ocean’s magically remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago was used for Russian nuclear tests]