News of the World Staff Sneakily Mocks CEO in Crossword Puzzle

Orders from the top of News International allegedly tried to "ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive" in the final edition of News of the World, the Daily Mail reports. But that didn't stop the paper's wily, bitter, and freshly unemployed staff from hiding clues mocking Rebekah Brooks in the crossword puzzle in the final issue of the paper.

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Clues to the Quickie puzzle included: "Brook," "stink," "catastrophe," and "digital protection." Answers included "stench," "racket," and "tart." The Cryptic Crossword had clues ranging from "criminal enterprise," "mix in prison," and "string of recordings." If these still seems like mere coincidences, note the clue for 24 Across, which reads "Woman stares wildly at calamity." The Telegraph speculated that it was a reference to the photo of Brooks staring from the window of a car as she left News International's Wapping headquarters following the announcement the News of the World was to be shut down. The answer to that clue? "Disaster."

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The paper's staff has been expressing their fury against Brooks, with one journalist scolding her for her "arrogance" in a brief speech, and another secretly making a recording of that off-the-record meeting. No doubt Brooks was on her guard: a source told the Daily Mail that she had ordered two "very senior" Sun journalists "to go through every line on every page with a fine toothcomb." But the source added, "But they failed and we've had the last laugh." 

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