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Slang of the Week: shoot
fish in a barrel (verb phrase)
do something with guaranteed success
slam dunk (usually a verb phrase, used in this example as a noun)
an easy success
Example:
For a woman as beautiful as Rachel, getting a man to buy her a drink
was like shooting fish in a barrel. However, men found getting
her phone number was not a slam dunk.
Celebrity quote:
"I purposely didn't do the Harry Potter movie because for me, that
was shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's
just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal
bank account. There's no challenge."
-Steven Spielberg
True, it's usually fish in a barrel, but, shooting ducks would
be even easier, since they'd float on top of the water. Spielberg may
have been combining this expression with the phrase a sitting duck
(an easy target) to add emphasis. Or maybe he was just confused.
Though shooting fish in a barrel is not a popular sport, many people
have slam dunked. The expression comes from the basketball term
meaning to force the ball through the hoop from above. Hit a home run,
a similar expression from baseball, can be used to talk about business
or sexual success. For more information on that topic, see the Ask
AC Archives.
What's new at Slang City?
Take a look at these two movies from the American South and learn about
rednecks, tent meetings and double-wides. Steel Magnolias
and Sweet Home Alabama in MOVIE
QUOTES.
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