Gimmie a G!

I work at a newspaper, and one of the perks is that I get a free copy to take home each week. Since I'm a copy editor and proofread almost everything in it before publication, I often only take the free copy for the syndicated crossword puzzle. The following, preserved for posterity, is a conversation I just had with my girlfriend:

Me: Okay, the theme is "2011 in Review" and 19 across is "deposed despot." It's going to be Ghaddafi. How the hell do you spell that?

Her: Well, the first letter is a G or a Q.

Me: Unless it's a K.

Her: ...Right. Well, the second letter is definitely an A.

Me: Unless it's an H.

Her: Shoot, right. I thought I had that one. The last letter is definitely an I.

Me: ...Yeah, I think they all end in I.

Her: How do you think he spelled it?

Me: In Arabic.

[They spelled it "Gaddafi."]
[Later!]

Me: 25 down is "site of nuclear disaster." I don't think they can fit "Fukushima Daiichi" in there, so let's see what they did.

[Glances at word slot, which already has first two letters filled in.]

Me: It's "Japan." MOTHER FUCKER.

In summary, I know that my generation has a reputation for bad memory and worse decorum, but I want the future to recognize that this started generations earlier with the crossword people.

Also, Moammar Ghaddafi should be played at some point by Mickey Rourke. You can't spell "Moammar Ghaddafi" without "Mickey Rourke" if you try hard enough.