A Crash Blossom for Your Morning

[gnomi]

This morning's hard-copy Boston Globe had the following headline on a story about recent violence in Dorchester (they changed the headline for the online version):

Police Bear Down After Killing

mabfan and I had a conversation about the police bear and what might have happened to make the bear so sad.

(For more on crash blossoms, see this "On Language" column or Wikipedia.)

Comments

[p-m-cryan.livejournal.com]

I'd be depressed, too, if I were a police bear, especially if it was a fishkill.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Actually I interpreted "down" as having been killed, meaning that it was the poor police bear that was killed. Although I suppose it could also have been turned into down.

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

That's how I read it, too. Killed, or injured, which is a bit less depressing.

[cathshaffer.livejournal.com]

There's yet another way to read this unfortunate headline. "Bearing down" of course is how one might have a bowel movement (or give birth). Tsk tsk.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Er, I'm pretty sure that was the *intended* surface reading.

[cathshaffer.livejournal.com]

You're saying the story is about the police going to the bathroom? Is it a joke? I thought they meant something more like "crack down" but I could be wrong. I don't want to sign up for access to the paper to read the story.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

The story is about the rash of murders in a neighborhood of the city and how the police are trying to stem the tide of violence. I believe it was just a seriously unfortunate choice of phrasing.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

"Bear down" literally means to apply pressure (downwards) -- sometimes with one's internal musculature, as in the examples you describe, but not exclusively so.

[aunt-becca.livejournal.com]

how dare they kill a police bear! what is this world coming to?!

[aunt-becca.livejournal.com]

also, I never knew that this was called a crash blossom. TMYK.

headlines

[laceymcbain.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of the poor police bear, all depressed. "I didn't mean to kill anyone," and the PR people trying to spin it, "He just doesn't know his own strength!"

One of my favourites of those sorts of things is "British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands". *snort*

[batyatoon]

Poor police bear. :(

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Don't most people feel down after a killing? Either he's sad, or he feels guilty. I think that's very evolved for a bear, but I would expect no less of one with such a strong sense of public duty that he joined a human-centric police force. :)

[autotruezone.livejournal.com]

Got another one for you. "Pakistan: Doctor Who Aided C.I.A. Should Face Charges, Panel Says". st_rev comments: "I knew it! Bin Laden was working with the Daleks!" See http://st-rev.livejournal.com/362610.html