Issue
The Mythos moment
Issue of April 18, 2026
Headlines
Blockade heads
Leaders · Blockade heads
“Blockheads” — stubborn idiots — split open into “Blockade heads,” because both America and Iran are being pig-headed about their duelling naval blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. The compound noun cracks in exactly the right place.
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Strait talk in Singapore
Asia · Strait talk in Singapore
“Straight talk” becomes “Strait talk” — Singapore’s foreign minister bluntly refused to negotiate passage through the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a diplomatic row with Malaysia over the Strait of Malacca. Two straits, one pun.
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Shooting for peace
International · Shooting for peace
The ceasefire between America and Iran got off to a violent start, with both sides still attacking during the truce. “Shooting for” peace while literally shooting during it. The double meaning is the whole thesis of the article.
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Cancer’s cheat code
Science & Technology · Cancer’s cheat code
Video-game terminology for biological rule-breaking. Cancer cells have found an actual cheat code — extra-chromosomal DNA that lets them dodge Mendel’s laws of inheritance and evolve drug resistance at supernatural speed.
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POTUS v the Pope
United States · POTUS v the Pope
Boxing-match syntax — or Supreme Court case caption — for Trump’s clash with Pope Leo over the Iran war. The alliteration of the P’s makes it land like a fight card.
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Kingdom of swing voters
Britain · Kingdom of swing voters
“Kingdom of Swing” — the Benny Goodman era — meets the United Kingdom’s unprecedented political promiscuity. Britain is literally a kingdom, and its voters are swinging in every direction at once.
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Buried in the text
”Don’t tread on they/them”
United States · A tax revolt is under way in America
A subheading in the tax revolt article. The Gadsden flag’s “Don’t Tread on Me” — the libertarian battle cry — collides with gender-neutral pronouns. Democrats are ditching identity politics for tax-cut populism: the snake now hisses in the third person plural.
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“Mr Xi, in the study, with the spanner”
Finance & Economics · Global imbalances are back. Who’s to blame?
A subheading in the trade imbalances article, done in full Cluedo format. The whole article is a whodunnit — who caused global imbalances? — and Xi Jinping’s property crackdown is the murder weapon. The spanner is both a tool and British slang for throwing one into the works.
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“Operation Never Say Die”
United States · Why the Trump administration is waging war on fraud
The FBI’s name for its hospice fraud sting. The suspects ran a hospice company where nearly three-quarters of “terminally ill” patients survived past six months. The patients never say die — because they were never dying.
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“The hunger shames”
Leaders · The impending global food shock is preventable
The closing subheading. “The Hunger Games” becomes “The hunger shames” — an avoidable famine is baked in by political inaction from both America and Iran, and that’s shameful. The kicker sentence: “In the face of an avoidable disaster, that is shameful.”
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“Beware geeks with gifts”
Leaders · America wakes up to AI’s dangerous power
A subheading in the cover leader. “Beware Greeks bearing gifts” — the Trojan Horse warning from the Aeneid — becomes “geeks with gifts,” because five tech moguls are offering powerful AI models that may be too dangerous for public release. The gift is the threat.
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“A detour de force”
International · Millions will go hungry if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed
A subheading on the food crisis. “Tour de force” becomes “detour de force” — the World Food Programme is rerouting aid shipments on epic nine-country detours around the closed Strait of Hormuz. The detour is the opposite of a tour de force; it’s a logistical nightmare presented with French flair.
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“Losing his religion”
United States · J.D. Vance’s theory of Trumpism is no match for the practice
A subheading in the Lexington column. R.E.M.’s 1991 hit about losing faith, applied to Vance’s “Christian civilisation” project — which collapsed the same week Trump posted an image of himself as Christ and attacked the Pope. Vance is losing the religion he built his political theory on.
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“To Peter the spoils”
Leaders · Peter Magyar’s victory will keep Hungary in the spotlight
A subheading on Hungary’s election. “To the victor go the spoils” becomes “To Peter the spoils” — Peter Magyar’s landslide over Viktor Orban. The victor is literally named Peter.
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“Visible hands”
Business · Could AI’s leading men become as powerful as Ford or Rockefeller?
A subheading in the AI tycoons article. Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” of the free market — inverted, because the hands of Dario, Demis, Elon, Mark and Sam are anything but invisible. They are shaping the economy in plain sight.
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“Change few can believe in”
Briefing · Venezuela is not the triumph Donald Trump claims, but it’s improving
A subheading on post-Maduro Venezuela. Obama’s “Change we can believe in” shrunken to “few can believe in” — because Venezuela’s improvements are real but far murkier than Trump or the opposition suggest.
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“Fare well with arms”
International · The game theory behind violating ceasefires
A subheading in the ceasefire analysis. Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms split into “Fare well with arms” — combatants are faring quite well with their weapons even during a ceasefire. The farewell to arms hasn’t happened yet.
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“Vibe hacking”
Science & Technology · How AI hackers will shake up cyber-security
A play on “vibe coding” — the AI-assisted programming trend — applied to cyber-security. Amateurs using AI to find software vulnerabilities and write exploits. If you can vibe-code an app, you can vibe-hack one too.
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