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📰 The Language of Headlines

Anyone can appreciate the economy of wordplay in a great headline, from 'Headless Body in Topless Bar' to 'Bezos Exposes Pecker.' But headlines are also derided as the empty calories of information — 'the art of exaggerating without actually lying' — and clickbait exploits the 'curiosity g

Danu Poyner

· 1 minute

How does the language of headlines work?
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Anyone can appreciate the economy of wordplay in a great headline, from 'Headless Body in Topless Bar' to 'Bezos Exposes Pecker.' But headlines are also derided as the empty calories of information — 'the art of exaggerating without actually lying' — and clickbait exploits the 'curiosity gap,' just enough to make you click. So what separates a good headline from clickbait, and is there a shared grammar to how they work? A blend of history, linguistics and a great many examples.

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Danu Poyner

Danu is a writer and founder of Grokkist, a learning community in the deepest sense. His work centres on coherence, curiosity, and helping people make sense of themselves in relation to ideas, experience, and one another.

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