Re: The Pages of Punch
1949: Thinly Disguised Truth
Cinemas were big business during the post war time of austerity. More often that not one had to queue to get in. The manager looks positively tycoon like while the commissionaire looks like the sergeant major summoned by the commanding officer.
The signwriter has underestimated the intelligence of his boss and he will soon be looking for a new situation. That should not be a problem since this was a time of full employment.
Other people have used the same trick in order to smuggle a real message into a bland statement. I remember the occasion when Robert Maxwell, very soon before his death, was talking up the share price of his Daily Mirror flotation. Knowing that Maxwell was very quick to resort to litigation, a financial journalist headed his piece with the following:
Cannot
Recommend
A
Purchase.