Cross words in NoW crosswords

News International executive Rebekah Brooks has been abused and mocked by sacked staff in the News of the World’s final crossword puzzle.

Brooks reportedly used two loyal proofreaders to “sanitize” Sunday’s final edition, should there be any headlines or copy that directed abuse her way, following the loss of 200 jobs at the now-defunct paper.

But the cleaning squad failed to pick up some mocking clues on the page 47 Quickie puzzle.

Among the clues in the paper’s Quickie puzzle were: "Brook", "stink", "catastrophe" and "digital protection".

The Cryptic Crossword included not so veiled hints about the paper’s tumultuous week including ‘‘criminal enterprise’’, ‘‘mix in prison’’, ‘‘string of recordings’’, and ‘‘will fear new security measure’’.

Appearing to reference the photos of Brooks leaving the News International headquarters last week with a strange, fixed stare was the clue ‘‘woman stares wildly at calamity.”

The answer to that particular clue was "disaster."

The answer to four down was “Repast”, meaning the meal which comes after a funeral.

The clue to eight down was “We’re off to get a jug” – British slang for "we're off to the pub to get a large vessel of beer."

Other answers included: ‘‘Deplored’’, ‘‘stench’’, ‘‘stir’’, ‘‘menace’’, ‘‘desist’’, ‘‘racket’’ and ‘‘tart’’.

The Daily Mail reported an insider at the News of the World was quoted as saying ,”Rebekah tried everything to stop the staff having the last word and she utterly failed’’.

‘‘She brought in two very senior Sun journalists to go though every line on every page with a fine tooth comb to ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive,’’ the source said.

‘‘But they failed and we’ve had the last laugh.’’
 

The tabloid newspaper closed it doors after it became engulfed in scandal last week, following revelations of hacking into the mobile phone of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 while her family and police were desperately searching for her.