![]() ![]() “ Please stop calling us Tories, say Tories.Allan Border, Australian cricketer and commentator, 68 David TC Davies, secretary of state for Wales, Conservative MP for Monmouth, 53 Dehenna Davison, Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland, levelling-up minister, 30 Christopher Dean, ice skater, Olympic gold medallist (1984), 65 Bob Diamond, banker, chief executive, Barclays (2011-12), 72 Jo Durie, tennis player, seven-time British national singles champion, 63 Bobbie Gentry (Roberta Lee Streeter), singer, Ode to Billie Joe (1967), 81 Sir Jeremy Greenstock, diplomat, UK ambassador to the UN (1998-2003), UK special envoy for Iraq (2003-04), 80 Demis Hassabis, artificial intelligence researcher and neuroscientist, co-founder and chief executive, DeepMind, 47 Lord (Michael) Hintze, founder of CQS (asset management), 70 General Sir James Hockenhull, commander, UK Strategic Command, 59 Cressida Hogg, chairwoman, BAE Systems, Landsec (2018-Jul 2023), 54 John Howell, Conservative MP for Henley, 68 Simon Jones, actor, Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981), 73 Tom Kerridge, chef, 50 Michael Longley, poet, The Weather in Japan (2000), 84 Jonathan Rhys Meyers, actor, The Tudors (2007-10), Vikings (2017-19), 46 Sir James Munby, president of the family division and head of family justice (2013-18), lord justice of appeal (2009-13), 75 Robert Rankin, novelist, Snuff Fiction (1999), 74 Pete Reed, rower, three-time Olympic gold medallist (2008, 2012, 2016), former Royal Navy lieutenant commander, 42 Jonty Rhodes, cricketer, South Africa (1992-2000), 54 Jordan Spieth, golfer, winner of the Open (2017), 30 Emily Thornberry, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, shadow attorney-general, 63 Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, chief of the air staff (2006-09), 70 Joy Whitby, pioneer of children’s television, Play School (1964), Jackanory (1965), 93 Lt-Gen Sir Michael Willcocks, gentleman usher of the Black Rod (2001-09), 79. Latest News headlines, exclusives and opinion The Sun All News UK News World News Politics Opinion Health News Science News BEEB CRISIS BBC presenter in ‘sex pics’ scandal faces. Brian McDermott, longstanding chief subeditor, came up with a cute riposte on a story about the Conservatives’ plaintive attempt at a PR makeover in 2005. Alas, the subs of the day did not oblige.īut sometimes, the best course of action is simply to tell it as it is. This time, dog shoots man” – a tragic story that could only happen in America.Īnd what of women? There was a golden chance in February 1948 to toy with a cheeky “Woman bites dog” headline. Far darker was the story from 1998 headlined “Never mind man bites dog. It appeared in the Guardian’s 1951-2000 anthology under the title “Man bites dog biscuit”. In 1955 the newspaper published a short story about bakers testing a new calibre of treats for pooches. But sometimes there is scope for mischief. Sometimes, it is best to keep it simple, as per this tale from 1950. The “man bites dog” headline has given ample opportunity for playfulness over the years. A lyrically homophonous riff by Tim Burrows on Gavin Williamson’s educational woes – “ Algorithm and blues” – got the A* first prize, ahead of “ Summer of discount tents” (Tim Bryan on a piece about consumerism and the great outdoors), “ Oedipus Vex” (Lucy Blincoe’s line on a complex French tale of love and longing), and “A little nous on the prairie” by Nick Robinson on the changing face of ranching in the US. ![]() When the in-house contest was revived in 2020, puns were still de rigueur. ![]() The following year “ Where there’s muck, there’s bras” adorned a tale of a British farmer diversifying into mail-order lingerie. But Sheila Pulham’s “ X marks the despot”, about an election in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq cannot have been far behind. ![]() Julie Reid scooped the inaugural prize in 2002 with “ The banned played on”, a bitter-sweet homophone above a powerful story about musicians defying the Taliban. “ Funder enlightening” quipped another header about seminars teaching cash-strapped charities the art of fundraising.īy the early part of this century, Guardian subs were running a headline of the year competition. “Boys will be fathers” was the title of a 1981 article in the Bedside Guardian anthology about a 16-year-old schoolboy ordered to pay 5p a week towards the maintenance of a baby girl. “ Lucas in the sky with diamonds” ran the header across a film review of Star Wars in 1977. “Queen in rumpus at Palace” was the 1971 headline on a piece about a football brawl involving a player with a regal surname. At the time, senior editors were worried about the growing tendency for puns in headlines and tried to ban them. A play on a Gracie Fields song (The Biggest Aspidistra in the World), it was written by a sub, thought to be John Hall, for a critical review of Charlton Heston’s 1972 film Antony and Cleopatra. “Biggest asp disaster in the world” is perhaps one of the most memorable early puns that set the standard. ![]()
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