UNIT 2 - THE BRITISH PRESS

Lesson 2: Headlines

Headlines should:
1. encapsulate the story in a minimum number of words (elision of auxiliary verbs/modals,
articles, etc.)
2. attract the reader to the story and, if they appear on the front page, attract the attention to the
newspaper;
3. reflect the newspaper’s attitude to the news story.
Their visual impact and position in the paper also give the reader an idea of the story’s relative
importance.
Over time, headline writers have developed a typical vocabulary, using words that are short, attention-
getting and effective, instead of more formal and longer words or phrases. They also use a variety of
linguistic devices to make their headlines memorable and striking.
Analyse the following examples in order to understand how the different linguistic devices work.

Group 1: Word and meaning

1. AISLE NOT MARRY YOU

2. UP BEFORE THE BEAK – PECKISH SWAN GIVES MICHAEL BARRYMORE A NASTY NIP
3. LABOUR BANKS ON CELEBRITY SUPPORT
4. TITANIC KATE GOES ON DIET

All the headlines in this group play on the potential for ambiguity that can exist in the relationship
between word and meaning.
1. Headline 1: the word aisle, meaning the corridor of a church, is a homophone (i.e. identical in
sound) of the phrase I’ll.
2. Headline 2: the word beak is a homonym (i.e. it has more than one meaning, and these
meanings are not obviously related). It can mean the jaws of a bird, but it is also a slang term
for magistrate or judge. Barrymore has been attacked by a swan but he is also facing a criminal
investigation.
3. Headline 3: is the headline to a story about the funding of the Labour Party; it contains an
ambiguous use of the word bank. The word is a polyseme (i.e. has several closely related
meanings). It can be a noun meaning an establishment where money is deposited – but it can
also be a verb meaning to depend on – the factual meaning required by the story. A serious
social issue is therefore headlined by a linguistic joke.
4. Headline 4: makes use of metaphorical associations. Titanic means ‘of enormous size’, but
also refers to the film of that name, in which actress Kate Winslett starred. Winslett has recently
been in the news because she has gained weight.

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Group 2: Intertextuality

1. BRULEE MADLY DEEPLY

2. SUPER CALLY GO BALLISTIC ARE ATROCIOUS
3. EAGLE IS LANDED
4. JOIN THE KEW FOR THE BLOOM WITH A PHEW

Any culture will have a range of familiar phrases and sayings and, in the case of English culture, many
of these come from popular songs, films, book titles etc... Headline writers often make reference to
these, as in the examples in group 2.
1. Headline 1: refers to a well-known film (“Truly, Madly, Deeply”).
2. Headline 2 makes a reference to a nonsense word that was coined for the children’s film, Mary
Poppins, supercalifragalisticexpialidocious.
3. Headline 3 makes reference to the title of a well-known novel: Jack Higgins’ The Eagle has
Landed.
4. Headline 4 recalls the novel and film “A Room with a View”.

Group 3: Phonology

1. STUPID SOPHIE GAGGED BY THE PALACE

2. HIT AND MYTH
3. EDWARD FACES A ROASTING AT ROYAL MEETING
4. TONY’S PHONEY-WAR CABINET

Though headlines are written to be read, not spoken, a very common way of making headlines
memorable is to use the reader’s awareness of sound.
1. Headlines 1 and 3 use alliteration on /s/ and /r/
2. Headline 2 uses the phonological similarity between myth and miss to make reference to the
phrase hit and miss.
3. Headline 4 uses the rhyme of ‘Tony’ and ‘Phoney’ to create a memorable headline and perhaps
to make political comment.

Group 4: Loaded words

1. ‘COVER-UP’ OUTCRY OVER FOOT-AND-MOUTH PROBE

2. THE STREETS OF CARNAGE
3. GENIUS REV BUTCHERED AT CHURCH

In order to make headlines attract the attention of the reader, headline writers may select words that
carry particularly strong connotations, that is, carry an emotional loading beyond their literal meaning.
1. Headline 1: the expression foot-and-mouth is generally found with the word disease meaning a
disease of cows, sheep, etc, which causes sore places on the mouth and feet; to probe as an
intransitive verb means to investigate, but when you probe something, you touch, examine or look
for something, especially with a long thin instrument with medical purposes: The doctor probed the
wound for signs of infection.
2. Headlines 2 and 3: use the words carnage and butchered, both referable to a slaughter. In particular
to butcher means to slaughter and cut up an animal. When it is applied to a human being, it carries
both the meaning of extreme and cruel violence, and also implies that the killer must have seen
the victim as having the same status as an animal.

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 OTHER HEADLINE TECHNIQUES

Alliteration: repeating the same first letter or syllable (usually a consonant) in successive words to
create a poetic or humorous effect (Sexy Suzy’s sausage surprise!)
Assonance: repeating certain vowel sounds in the same phrase or sentence. (Away Day for Gay Ray)
Cliché: An over-used phrase or expression which has lost its originality
Euphemism: the use of a polite or pleasant form of words to describe something less pleasant
Exclamation: usually used to indicate surprise, sarcasm or amusement, e.g. Gosh!
Metaphor: implied comparison between two unconnected people or things
Metonym: where the name of a specific object or idea stands for something else to which it is related
or a part of. Thus, the Royal Family is often referred to as The Throne, or The Crown; ‘the bottle’ could
mean milk or alcohol
Mis-spellings words: deliberately mis-spelt for effect, e.g. Gawd for God
Parody: an imitation of a well-known phrase or saying which is in some way distorted or changed
Rhetorical question: a question to which no answer is expected
Rhyming: words ending in identical sounds, e.g. Pix nix flix in stix
Slang: words or phrases not considered part of standard English
Puns:

plays on words which have more than one related meaning (polysemic words). For example,
almost all names for parts of the body have metaphorical meanings as well: head can be head of the
body, of the table, of department, of a phrase... mouth can be mouth of the body, of a river, of a
fountain…

plays on words which are etymologically and semantically different (unrelated meanings and often
different word class - verb, noun…) but are written and pronounced in the same way (homonyms).
For example: see=vedere/sede, fair=bello,onesto/fiera, seal=foca/sigillo, sigillare,
book=libro/prenotare, face=viso/affrontare, tender=imbarcazione d’appoggio/tenero…

plays on words which have different meanings and are differently written but are pronounced in the
same way (homophones). For example: rite=rito/write=scrivere/right=destro, giusto,
diritto/wright=artigiano; male=maschio/mail=posta; Walles=Galles/wails=gemiti/whales=baleen;
seen=visto/scene=scena; they’re/their/there; to/too/two…..

plays on words which are written in the same way but have different pronounciation and meaning
(homographs): For example: lead (li:d)=guidare/lead (lεd)=piombo; wound (wu:nd)=ferita/wound
(wa nd)=past of to wind=snodarsi, cingere…

Puns are usually used for humour or memorability. We often find them in recent ads (in British ads
more than those in the US) on headlines of popular press front pages or on broadsheets’ sports pages.
Advertisers want you to look twice, and so do many authors, to make you appreciate the multiple
shades of language.

Exercise 1
Read the paragraph below and underline puns.
BY GUM! THOSE BOOKIES FACED A STICKY PROBLEM
One hundred London bookmakers faced a sticky situation when a quick-drying superglue was used to
seal their front doors, it was disclosed yesterday. Last night they were adhering to a theory that it could
have been Scottish football fans on their way to Wembley, who had gummed up the works last
Saturday...
(Article originally reproduced in Daily Mirror Style, Keith Waterhouse, 1981)

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Exercise 2
Match the definitions 1 – 9 with the corresponding words (a – i) in the box:

1. to reprimand or tell off 6. political corruption

2. to follow so. or to be pursued by so. or 7. to increase rapidly
something 8. people with left-wing political beliefs
3. a person who has behaved dishonourably 9. to make a strong commitment or promise
4. excellent or first class
5. to investigate

a. spiral or soar ____________________________

b. vow ____________________________
c. ace ____________________________
d. rap ____________________________
e. dog ____________________________
f. lefties or reds ____________________________
g. probe ____________________________
h. rat ____________________________
i. sleaze ____________________________

Exercise 3
For each of the following headlines find the sentence below which expresses it as it would appear in an
ordinary news announcement.

1. ‘POLLS RIGGED’ CHARGES

2. TWO SOUGH AFTER BREAK-OUT DRAMA
3. CABINET RESHUFFLE URGED
4. SERVICE CHIEFS GAGGED: TWO QUIT
5. GEMS HAUL SEIZED IN SWOOP

a. Allegations have been made that election results were falsified.

b. Police raided a house today and took possession of jewellery stolen in a recent robbery.
c. Police are hunting two men who made a daring escape from prison by helicopter.
d. Senior officers of the armed forces have been instructed not to talk to the media and, as a result,
two of them have resigned.
e. Strong appeals have been made to the Prime Minister to make changes in his ministers.

Exercise 4
Match each of the following words from the headlines above with its meaning below.
CHIEF DRAMA RESHUFFLE GAG GEMS SWOOP

POLL(S) QUIT SEEK/SOUGHT RIG HAUL

a. jewels f. to look for, ask for, want

b. goods stolen in robbery or taken by g. to silence, censor, censorship
police or customs h. exciting, dramatic event
c. to falsify i. election, voting, public opinion survey
d. director, high-ranking officer or official j. to rearrange, rearrangement (of jobs)
e. raid, to raid k. to resign, leave

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Exercise 5
For each of the following words, all frequently used in headlines, find the meaning in the list below (it
will help you if you look to see how they are used in the headlines at the foot of the exercise).
Then express each headline as it would appear in an ordinary news announcement.
MOVE CLASH WOO BID FOIL HALT

OUST QUIZ PLEA BAN BACK FLEE

a. to prevent g. support, to support

b. strong request, call for help, appeal h. to force out of office, remove from
c. attempt, to attempt high position
d. stop, to stop i. to run away from, to escape
e. to prohibit, prohibition j. to try to attract
f. fighting, argument, conflict, to argue, to k. action, step, to take action
fight l. to question, interrogate

1. DICTATOR OUSTED: PLEA FOR CALM ____________________________________________

2. NEW MOVES TO HALT BORDER CLASHES ____________________________________________
3. GOVT BACKS ARMS BAN TO WOO LEFT ____________________________________________
4. KIDNAP BID FOILED: 3 QUIZZED, 2 FLEE ____________________________________________

Exercise 6
Headlines in the British Music Press
British newspapers very often use the attention grabbing word play device. Among other papers, the
British music press use this technique quite much. In these the headlines are usually names of some
popular songs or singers, which the readers are supposed to know. That means that the target audience
of the music press know quite well how to decode these headlines, while a person who is not familiar
with today’s music scene is strongly unlikely to grasp their meaning at once.
The following headlines are taken from Melody Maker and New Musical Express. Match them with the
explanatory notes given beneath:

1. PULP HELP THE AGED DJ

2. COME ON PEEL THE NOISE - 30 YEARS ON
3. STAIRLIFT TO HEAVEN
4. NEW DENTURES IN HI-FI
5. REM: IT’S THE END OF THE BAND AS WE KNOW IT
6. A REDESIGN FOR A LIFE
7. HAPPINESS IS A WARM JET
8. DRUM ‘N’ BASSEY
9. FIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
10. NINETY-NINE-INCH WAIST!

a. One of REM’s hit singles is called “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”. Bill Berry, REM’s
drummer has left the band, so it’s the end of the band as we know it. REM played a long time
together with the same line-up, so for the fans it probably was a shock of some sort, when Mr.
Berry decided to quit.
b. “Come On Feel the Noise” is a song written by Slade and covered by Oasis.
c. The Beatles once made a song known as “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”. Warm Jet is a band which
has just made its debut single “Never Never”. The headline simply tells us that the reporter who

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 wrote the article is quite pleased with this new band; in fact he loved “Never Never” and therefore
he is very happy.
d. Trent Reznor, once a thin man behind the band Nine Inch Nails, has apparently gained some
weight.
e. This headline is about Pulp. It is altered from Led Zeppelin’s famous song “Stairway to Heaven”.
The word “stairlift” comes from Pulp’s video “Help the Aged”, in which the band travels to
heaven on a stairlift (I know it sounds a little strange, but trust me, even stranger things happen in
music videos.) The article itself is about a reporter, Mark Roland, who pretends to be Jarvis
Cocker, the lead vocalist of Pulp. He dresses up like Jarvis and travels around London in order to
get closer to “Jarvisism”, being a pop star and all the glory in it.
f. Pulp’s latest single is called “Help the Aged”. This article tells us that Pulp are to deputise for John
Peel, a legendary DJ at BBC’s Radio 1. John Peel has been doing his show for 30 years (as stated in
the following example), as long as Radio 1 has been around. He is now taking a short vacation and
Pulp is to take his place in the show for a few days.
g. This is the headline for a longer interview with Pulp. They have been making their new album for
some time now, and finally it seems to be finished. “New Dentures in Hi-Fi” comes from the title
of REM’s latest album, “New Adventures in Hi-Fi”. Again, this word “denture” seems to refer to
“Help the Aged”.
h. Kylie Minogue has changed her style. Once she was a sweet pop star who made sweet hits.
Nowadays she is known as IndieKylie, mainly because she made a song “Some Kind of Bliss” with
Manic Street Preachers, whose street credibility might be just a little bit better than Kylie
Minogue’s. The first single from Manics’ latest album was titled “A Design for a Life”, so “A
Redesign for a Life” fits Kylie’s current situation quite well.
i. Shirley Bassey, the famous diva, has made a song called “History Repeating” with a band known as
Propellerheads. The style of music which Propellerheads make could be described as “drum ‘n’
bass”. So “drum ‘n’ bass” + Shirley Bassey = “drum ‘n’ Bassey”.
j. The headline for an interview with John Woo, a director who likes to make violent movies with
almost non-stop action and a lot of fights. The headline comes from a phrase used in film making,
“Lights! Camera! Action!”.

GRAMMAR NOTE: Word formation

English words are formed in different ways. Everyday language is constantly enriched by new words
from one hand, and by new multiple usages of existing words from the other.
Compound Words
It is the combination of two words to give a new meaning
Ex.: bookcase – sunburn – wallpaper – voicemail - storage
Prefixes and Suffixes
1) Prefixes are elements placed at the front of a word. A prefix adds sth. to the meaning of the word.
Ex. unhappy – misrepresent – preface – multiracial – monosyllabic
The prefixes pseudo-, semi-, half, demi-, mis-, quasi-, para-, can add negative or ironical connotations:
pseudo-intellectual, misfit, misgovern, semi-educated, para-books
The degree or size prefixes usually give positive, negative or ironical connotations to the words they
modify: sublunary, overrated, megastar, multi.megacorps, minibudget, overworked and underpaid,
hypermarket.
The prefixes un-, in- (with variants il-, ir-, im-), dis-, de-, non-, can be used to indicate the opposite of
the word: unable, unaware, illogical, incomprehensible, impossible, irrelevant, disagree, dehumanise,
non-profit, non-resident. A characteristic of the negative and privative prefixes consists in forcefully
stressing the absence or loss of a positive (rarely negative) quality which remains attached to the word:
compare the synonyms untrue/false, unhealthy/ill, unintelligent/obtuse, impartial/neutral,
mistrust/doubt

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2) Suffixes are grammatical endings. There are two types of suffixes:
-derivational. They change the word class:
Ex. joyful (from noun to adjective) – careless (from noun to adjective) – terrorism (from noun to
adjective) – sadness (from adjective to noun)
In general:
o from verbs to nouns (people): -er; -or; -ee; -ist, (i)an [lead/leader, drive/driver, address/addresser,
addressee, act/actor]
o from adjectives or verbs to nouns: (abstract and concrete) -ness; -ity; -(at)ion; -ment
[aware/awareness, absurd/absurdity, act/action, examine/examination, develop/development]
o from nouns to adjectives: -y, -ic, -ical, -ful, -less, ous [blood/bloody, alcohol/alcoholic,
economy/economical, peace/peaceful, care/careless, fallacy/fallacious]
o from general nouns to people nouns: -ist; -(i)an [economy/economist, academy/ academician]
o from adjectives or nouns to verbs: -ize (-ise); -ify; -en [modern/modernise; symbol/symbolize,
simple/simplify, bright/brighten]
o from adjectives to adverbs: -ly (abbr. of like=come) [bad/badly, frequent/frequently]
The -ish and -like suffixes have a similar function: they form adjectives from other adjectives or nouns
to transfer or emphasise a quality of the original word (brownish, biggish, snobbish, but also Clintonish, for
the first, childlike for the second), but the former adds a negative connotation absent in the latter
(childish/childlike)
-inflectional: it indicates the grammatical behaviour: plural, past forms, etc.
Ex. books downloaded studying
Portmanteau Words or Blends
It is the combination of two separated forms, including only some parts of them, to create a new word
Ex. smog – smoke + fog; bit – binary + digit; brunch – breakfast + lunch; infotainment – information +
entertainment; edutainment – education + entertainment; shamateur – sham + amateur
New Coinages
Words that have been recently invented
Ex. nylon, zipper, kleenex, teflon [te(tra)-fl(uor)-on]
Loan Words
Words that are borrowed from other languages
Ex. alcohol (Arabic), croissant (French), robot (Czech), caffè latte (Italian), feng chui (Chinese)
Abbreviations
Creation of shorter forms
Ex. fax (facsimile), ad (advertisement), flu (influence), phone (telephone), plane (airplane)
Reductions
Reduction of a word-type (noun, adverb) to form another word-type
Ex. television → televise; editor → edit¸ babysitter → babysit
In particular, British and Australian English have frequent hypocoristic forms, that are long words
reduced to one-syllable words plus the suffixes –y or –ie
Ex. telly (television) bookie (bookmaker)
Conversion
The function of a word is changed (e.g. from verb to noun)
Ex.: They’re vacationing in France
He’s papering the bedroom walls
He isn’t in the group, he’s just a wannabe (want to be)
to print out → a printout
to takeover → a takeover
Acronyms
Words formed from the first letters of the words that make up the name of something
Ex.: NATO, NASA, UNESCO

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If they are commonly used, they lose block capitals
Ex.: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)
Meaning Extension
Sometimes, instead of inventing a new word, a new extended meaning is given to an old one
Ex. vanilla version version without any extra features like plain vanilla ice cream
Look!
You can find evidence of multiple processes in the formation of a new word
Ex. deli loan word from German Delikatessen plus abbreviation
waspish acronym of wasp (white anglo-saxon protestant) without block capitals and plus suffix
yuppie acronym of young urban professional plus –ie suffix like in the hypocoristic forms. There is
an analogy with yippie, then hippie (yippie – youth international party)

Exercise 7
Write the corresponding nouns
declare _____________________ oppress _____________________
define _____________________ recognise _____________________
add _____________________ destroy _____________________
accept _____________________ avoid _____________________
resist _____________________ occupy _____________________

Exercise 8
Write the corresponding adjectives using one (or more) of the following suffixes: "-able", "-ive", "-ing",
"-ion", "-al", or "-ory":
bore _____________________ depend _____________________
attract _____________________ decide _____________________
explain _____________________ entertain _____________________
destroy _____________________ read _____________________
agree _____________________ enjoy _____________________
educate _____________________ create _____________________
protest _____________________ suit _____________________

Exercise 9
Use the word given in capitals after the gap to form another word (noun, adjective, verb, adverb…)
that fits in it:
The fish and chip shop is the most (0) traditional (TRADITION) form of British take-away, a place
which sells…
(1)__________________ (AFFORD) hot meals at lunch time and in the evening. However, the last
thirty or forty years have seen the rapid spread of foreign fast food restaurants, and there are now few
towns without Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurants, as well as many other (2) __________________
(VARY) of food. Despite the constant (3) __________________ (INNOVATE), the concept is
always the same: (4) __________________ (ECONOMY) meals to eat in or take away for clients who
don't have the time or energy to cook for themselves. Restaurants such as McDonalds pioneered the
idea of fast food to be eaten whilst sitting down in the restaurant itself, and also developed ways to
(5) __________________ (SURE) their customers ate (6) __________________ (QUICK) and left.
Visitors to Britain are advised to try everything at least once, (7) __________________ (SPECIAL) the
foods which are not common in their own countries. They are also warned not to make
(8) __________________ (COMPARE) with the food they eat at home; the pizza and pasta which is
served in London is very (9) __________________ (LIKE) to be as (10) __________________
(TASTE) as the dishes available in Naples or Rome.

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