Generally I look down on headlines with puns

because generally they're such a lazy way out. One example of a million: recently I saw a story about the sub-prime loan mess with the headline, "Can this mortgage be saved?" This was a "witty" turn on the old advice column "Can this marriage be saved?" Hardee-har! And I'm looking at one from a restaurant guide, about a Japanese place: "The seaweed is always greener." Please. But these two, from recent issues of the Wall Street Journal (Asia edition -- don't know if they were used in the U.S.) seemed to reflect some actual effort. Cleverness, even! Especially the one at the bottom.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2007/12/generally-i-look-down-on-headlines-with-puns/7848/