Headlining headlines...

There is an element of the Goldilocks effect in headline writing. Getting them "right" is easier said than done. Space constraint requires brevity; the choice of an idiom may backfire; accuracy is paramount yet a bland and boring headline may result while too catchy a headline risks inaccuracy and, worse, that dreaded blowback -- the double entendre.

I'll start with some headlines that I feel have worked:

This one above is especially very good: it is accurate yet provocative!

I like this clever grafting-in of a Beatles hit song in this headline above. It also gives me an excuse to put the YouTube link to the song below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0714IbwC3HA&hl=en-GB&gl=SG

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

These headlines do not work:

The subject in question is the athelete Tyson Gay...

... so, to avoid an unintended meaning from a casual glance, his full name should be used in the headline, ie, Tyson Gay fails another... (the word "positive" may be excised to fit the space given).

Wot? Both of mine are securely in place, thank you! This word, in its plural form, is the source of mirth when used in, say, signs like these:

I nearly missed this next headline. Someone sent it to me:

So -- if you did not bother to read the story -- you might be wondering what kind of plane did those two guys steal? An Airbus or a Boeing? As for this one below...

Did the monkeys have a death wish? Why did they complain only to get culled? A simple change of words makes a difference:

Monkey nuisance cases
up, so culling rises too

At first glance, the headline below seems unambiguous. But is it?...

It can also mean "expect the fish to be less fresh", ie, more stale!

--------------------------------------------------------------

There's another kind of headline which is accurate and I would probably write such headlines too. But, being a literalitist, I can see them in a fun, different, light:

Ah, so that's what a paternity suit looks like. In my favourite colour too.

Translation: From now on, he's walking (this works only if we adopt the American spelling, ie, tires, not tyres).

-----------------------------------------

Some headlines make me curious, like this one:

Just what is a hoodoo? I had to consult an online dictionary:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoodoo

Three meanings were given, and I suppose the third one -- "something that brings bad luck" -- is the appropriate one. But you will be left clueless reading the story. And hoodoos did not originate in Hungary!

And just what is a sextortionist? Is such a person someone who is a contortionist during sex?...

----------------------------------------------------------

Ending on a Weird note:

Finally, this one here is not about headlines but xin.msn's weird sense of humour in its story on US Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife's visit to Singapore's National Orchid Garden:

Why was it put in the Weird category?? Just because an orchid was named after them?

http://t.news.xin.msn.com/en/weird/bidens-have-orchid-named-after-them-in-singapore-3