The original UK phrasing of the law was even sillier. They had taken into account codes as well as cyphers. You could be forced to explain the meaning of any other messages such as "the geese fly south for the winter" .

But the wording was ridiculous, something about any hidden or private meaning in any otherwise innocuous text.

So if you happened to have a book of poetry around the police could compel you to explain the symbolism! Heaven help you if you had a Torah and they asked you to explain any "hidden meanings"