Never a Crossword Between Them

[steepholm]

According to the Daily Mail (transformed for one day only into a respectable paper of record), Rebekah Brooks sent two senior Sun journos into the NotW offices to make sure that no jibes, whines or complaints where smuggled into the paper's last edition. However, their gaze naturally failed to linger on the crosswords, which were eventually published with such clues as:

BROOK
STINK
CATASTROPHE
DIGITAL PROTECTION
CEASE
LAMENT
CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE
MIX IN PRISON
STRING OF RECORDINGS
WOMAN STARES WILDLY AT CALAMITY

While the following featured amongst the answers:

DEPLORED
STATUS
STENCH
STIR
DISASTER
FIREWALL
MENACE
DESIST
RACKET
TART

A small act of revenge, of course, but I'm sure it was a sweet one.

Comments

[ron-broxted.livejournal.com]

I have the X word in front of me!

[nwhyte]

Is your title a reference to Richard Stilgoe's song about the strike on The Times of the early 80s (possibly late 70s)?

If so, I wonder how many readers will get the reference?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

It's not a conscious reference, although God knows I watched as much That's Life as the next person, so perhaps it stuck in my mind, like a blackberry seed 'twixt palate and dental plate.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Such a quintessentially English small act of of revenge. If their crosswords editor was not the dark mastermind of all their atrocities--has anyone checked through their puzzles for coded messages?--I hope s/he finds work elsewhere.

Nine

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Alas, it's not quite up to Bletchley standard, but perhaps Big Chief I-Spy has some vacancies?

[jadelennox]

That's kind of awesome. Despicably awesome.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I LOVE it!

And there's not much I loved about the NOTW.

The mystery is why the plod are still holding off hauling RB in. Knowing where the bodies are buried may also mean she knows which of the persons in blue were being paid off and that may get us into very murky waters indeed!

Tip of the iceberg so far, I suspect................

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I can't conceive of any reason why the Murdochs would be defending her other than that she has them by the short and curlies - and that seems likely to be true of the police too, although I don't think it will save her in the long or medium term. I hear she's to be arrested today, in fact (as a witness not a suspect, they stress - but still).