How To Use Double Meanings To Write Great Headlines
By: Ugur Akinci
Tags: Storytelling, Headlines, Writing, Marketing, English

How To Use Double Meanings To Write Great Headlines

Photo by harun asrori on Unsplash

Techniques for Using Double Headlines

Technique 1. Use a noun that is also a verb

Consider this headline: “Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing”

Here “hearing” denotes a court session (noun) as well as the main function of the ear (verb).

What makes this headline extra delightful is the way both meanings are indexed to the main verb of the sentence, “to waive,” which means to forgo.

A man with no ear lost not only his hearing (verb) but the court session (noun) as well. A delightful play of words creates an attention-grabbing heading.

Exercise: Can you create a similar headline with the verb “to see” and the nouns “seer” and “vision”? Example: “The blind seer has a dark vision of the future.”

Exercise: How about a headline about a person without a tongue and their involvement in something “tasteless”? People without tongues would not be able to taste anything, of course. So their involvement in something tasteless would be a great pun for a headline. Example: “Convict who lost tongue in a fight finds jail tasteless.”

Photo by Jason Blackeye on Unsplash

Technique 2. Use a verb with double meanings

From The Wall Street Journal: “Makers of Military Drones Take Off”

The (compound) verb is “taking off.” It’s definitely (literally) related to the word “drones” in the header.

But with a semantic shift, the verb is used not in its literal sense but in a figurative sense to point at the success of the makers of the drones.

We understand that the “taking off” in question here does not only refer to leaving the earth physically and rising to the sky but to making money as well.

Obviously, in English “taking off” has another meaning, getting rid of clothing, which is not utilized in this instance. But as a good headline writer, you need to keep in mind every nuance and connotation of a noun, adjective, or verb.

This technique is used daily by finance reporters talking about stock prices:

“American Airline stock experienced some turbulence today and lost 4%” To experience turbulence is what airplanes do from time to time.

To experience turbulence is what airplanes do from time to time. “Starbucks shares percolated up 2%” Percolating is what coffeemakers do.

Percolating is what coffeemakers do. “General Motors shifted into reverse and lost 2% today” To shift into reverse is what automobiles, the main product of General Motors, do.

Exercise: Try to write similar headlines for the following companies’ imaginary stock news by using the following verbs (or use your own verbs instead):

Bostonian Shoes — “to walk,” e.g., “Bostonian Shoes’ stock walked up 2%”

Heaven Mattresses — “to sleep,” e.g., “Heaven Mattresses stock slept at $2.98: no change”

Proctor & Gamble —“to foam up,” e.g., “Proctor & Gamble stock foamed up 10%”

Trump Casinos —“to hit the jackpot,” e.g., “Trump Casinos hit the jackpot with a 10% jump on Wall Street yesterday”

Royal Cruise Lines —“to sail,” e.g., “Royal Cruise Lines sailed to a smooth 10% increase today”

Photo by Carlos Magno on Unsplash

Technique 3. Use an adjective with double meanings

From The Wall Street Journal: “Home Barbering Grows in Recession, With Hairy Results”

The adjective “hairy” is related both to the primary verb of the sentence (“to grow”) and the subject of the sentence (“home barbering”).

Plus, “hairy” also has two meanings: with follicles (literal) and difficult and complicated (figurative).

Result: a perfect news story headline with a humorous twist.

Exercise: Try to write similar headlines for the following topic by using the following adjective:

The veteran actor in a beer commercial — “juicy” (Hint: Try using the verb “to drink” as well), e.g., “Veteran actor drinks up the juicy part in the beer commercial”

Photo by Derek Owens on Unsplash

Technique 4. Use nouns with multiple meanings

Sometimes you can create arresting headlines by using nouns that have more than one meaning.

Here is an example: “Iraqi Head Seeks Arms”

Here “head” has two meanings: 1) the part of the human body that’s above the neck and 2) the leader of an organization.

“Arm” also has two meanings: 1) the part of the human body that’s below the shoulder and above the wrist and 2) a weapon.

The above headline not only makes a delightful read for the whimsical image it conjures up but also manages to convey the desperation and difficulty with which the weapon inspectors carry out their thankless jobs in countries like Iraq.

Try to imagine a human head running around looking for the lost arms — it seems like that’s a similar sort of “Mission: Impossible” task for the weapon inspectors.

The literal meaning of the expression “human body” bolsters and supports its figurative meaning (weapons inspection).

Technique 5. Find a word with double meanings and use it as an adverb

Find a word with two meanings (literal and figurative) and use it as an adverb to qualify the verb of the header.

For example: “Shutting This Wind Tunnel Should Be a Breeze, but Its Fans Won’t Be Silent”

“Breeze” has two meanings: 1) wind (literal) and 2) to do something easily (figurative).

Here the word “breeze” in its figurative usage also denotes a task accomplished easily. It’s used to qualify the verb “shutting.”