I borrowed this one from codewars

Snail Sort
Given an n x n array, return the array elements arranged from outermost elements to the middle element, traveling clockwise.

array = [[1,2,3],
[4,5,6],
[7,8,9]]
snail(array) #=> [1,2,3,6,9,8,7,4,5]
For better understanding, please follow the numbers of the next array consecutively:

array = [[1,2,3],
[8,9,4],
[7,6,5]]
snail(array) #=> [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
This image will illustrate things more clearly:

NOTE: The idea is not sort the elements from the lowest value to the highest; the idea is to traverse the 2-d array in a clockwise snailshell pattern.

Follow

Python Solution 

def snail_sort(matrix):
new_list = []

while matrix:
new_list.extend(matrix.pop(0))
if not matrix:
continue

for i in range(len(matrix)):
new_list.append(matrix[i].pop())
if not matrix:
break
if not matrix:
continue

new_list.extend(reversed(matrix.pop()))
if not matrix:
continue

for i in range(len(matrix) - 1, -1, -1):
new_list.append(matrix[i].pop(0))
if not matrix:
break
return new_list

MATRIX = [
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
[16, 17, 18, 19, 6],
[15, 24, 25, 20, 7],
[14, 23, 22, 21, 8],
[13, 12, 11, 10, 9],
]

snail_sort(MATRIX)

re: Python Solution 

@Absinthe very cute
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