"Reverse" replaces "override"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/23/2013 01:52 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>On Aug 23, 2013, at 1:43 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
> > NYT headline:
> >
> > "Council _Reverses_ Bloomberg Veto of Policing Bills"
> >
> > --
>That *is* odd.  I don't have my hard copy on me so I can't tell if
>the difference between this 8-letter verb and the 9 letters it would
>have taken for "Overrides" was crucial.  The next step:  "Council
>Unvetoes Policing Bills"--protects Bloomberg's feelings.

At least it's not a reversed reverse.

The hard copy (at least in the N.E. edition) is slightly different
from what Wilson reported:

"Council Reverses Bloomberg's Vetoes of Police Bills"

Two s's and an apostrophe longer than on-line.  It does nearly fill
the width of four columns, although I think a thin i as the 9th
letter might still have fit.  And in any case room would have been
available for "Overrides" by changing to "Bloomberg" (without the
possessive), a construction I think is not uncommon in headlines.

Joel

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