ATLANTA—Shortly before he found himself in trouble in the Memphis airport, Peter Townshend, leader of the British rock group "The Who," said, "I heard it was going to bomb in New York."

At the time, he and his group were on an Eastern Airlines flight here, but when the stewardess overheard the comment, the plane was turned around and searched in Tennessee.

It turns out that the problem was that Britishers and Americans sometimes attach different meanings to the same word.

Townshend had been talking about his new album, and was saying that the album was going to sell very well in New York.

Townshend was questioned by the FBI, but was released when he explained.