6 .
The words in capitals below consist of a typically tightly-written newspaper headline. Which of the explanations do you believe offers the clearest and most likely guess as to what the full story is about?
FINE COUNCILLOR LOSES SEAT
Someone who has given long and noble service on a local council is sadly becoming old and forgetful, and now can't remember where he left his deckchair
A SEAT car has been stolen from outside the home of a local councillor
A councillor who was fined (i.e. had to pay a legal penalty for breaking council rules, e.g. parking his car where this was not allowed) has been in enough trouble over this that he was not elected back into office, and no longer sits in Council meetings
The ancient family home ('seat') of a councillor has been destroyed, perhaps by fire, and we should be sorry that this should happen to such a good public servant
From there we can unravel the fact that this 'gang' specialises in robbing jewellers' (the classic shops, since their goods are usually particularly small and portable and valuable); and that the police are 'holding' them temporarily in custody, presumably in the cells at a local police station.
This example shows how several quite short words (which can then be printed large, to catch the reader's eye) can encapsulate a fairly complex story