Slam dunks and no-brainers
Subtitle: language in your life, the media, business, politics, and, like, whatever / Leslie Savan
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Knopf
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 340
Subjects: Mass media and language -- United States.; Mass media and culture -- United States.; Language and culture -- United States.; Intercultural communication -- United States.; Popular culture -- United States.; English language -- Rhetoric.; United States -- Civilization -- 20th century.
Description: Explores the continuously evolving mysteries and complexities of the English language from the perspective of what popular idioms reveal about American society and culture.

"In this marvelously original book, three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Leslie Savan offers fascinating insights into why we're all talking the talk--Duh; Bring it on!; Bling; Whatever!--and what this reveals about America today. Savan traces the paths that phrases like these travel from obscure slang to pop stardom, selling everything from cars (ads for VWs, Mitsubishis, and Mercurys all pitch them as "no-brainer"s) to wars (finding WMD in Iraq was to be a "slam dunk"). Real people create these catchy phrases, but once media, politics, and businesses broadcast them, they burst out of our mouths as celebrity words, newly glamorous and powerful. Witty, fun, and full of thought-provoking stories about the origins of popular expressions, Slam Dunks and No-Brainers is for everyone who loves the mysteries of language." -- Publisher's description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.