Only People With A PhD Can Figure Out These Confusing Crash Blossoms
Only People With A PhD Can Figure Out These Confusing Crash Blossoms
Crash Blossoms are driving grammar junkies nuts!
Crash Blossoms are driving grammar junkies nuts!
You know what a crash blossom is, right?
Crash blossom?
No. It's not a 90s alt-rock band.
Crash Test Dummies
A crash blossom has nothing to do with explosions or flowers.
It has to do with newspaper headlines.
In a quest to be succinct, newspaper headlines often fail to be clear and, in some cases, are downright confusing. Take, for example, the headline about a violinist whose career took off after father died in a Japan Airlines plane crash: “Violinist Linked to JAL Crash Blossoms.”
That headline was so confusing, the term Crash Blossom is now used to describe a headline that has been made obtuse by its brevity.
Here are three of the most hilariously confusing crash blossoms.
See if you can figure them out.
British Left Waffles on Falklands
British left waffles on Falklands? That sounds so baffling and so delicious, especially for the lucky island dweller who found those waffles.
If you think about it for a minute, though, you'll realize the "British left" are the people in Britain who lean left politically left and waffle is a verb meaning to change one's mind and not a sweet breakfast treat.
Here...here's another one.
Gator Attacks Puzzle Experts
How terrifying!
Especially for anyone who's ever finished a NYT crossword in pen.
It's slightly less scary when you figure out that the attacks themselves are puzzling experts. Gators are still attacking, sure, but they're not singling out brainteaser buffs.
Let's look at one more.
Infant Pulled from Wrecked Car Involved in Short Police Pursuit
Infant Pulled from Wrecked Car Involved in Short Police Pursuit? But...how did the infant learn to drive a car?
Of course, this one is a little less funny when we figure out that the poor infant was rescued from a crashed car that had been in a police chase, but for just a moment, this headline had us imagining a baby leading a slew of police cars on a high speed chase.
Have you ever heard of crash blossoms before?
Have you ever heard of crash blossoms before?
What is your favorite crash blossom? Leave it in the comments.