Definition:
A short, attention-getting expression (or catchphrase) used in promoting a product, candidate, or cause. A maker or user of slogans is a sloganeer, and the frequent use of slogans is called sloganeering. See also:
Etymology:
From Scottish Gaelic, "army" + "cry"Examples and Observations:
- "The very title 'No Child Left Behind' is an appropriation of Marion Wright Edelman's slogan 'Leave no child behind,' used for her work with the Children's Defense Fund. Commenting on NCLB, and the fact that most urban schools are making no progress in reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students, Edelman said in January of 2006:
Our children have been hijacked and shackled by bad policy and bad politics. . . . This nation has squandered away four years and billions of dollars in education funding. Our children have been tested to death, forced to regurgitate and at the end of the day they haven't learned to do basic reading and math or much less learned to think. It's a national shame.
Yet, most Americans seem to have a better opinion of the policies, in part because of Wright's slogan. While opinion polls suggest most people actually know few specifics of NCLB, many broad slogans and buzz words in the law have wide support."
(Levister, 2006)
(P. Shaker and E. E. Heilman, Reclaiming Education for Democracy: Thinking Beyond No Child Left Behind, Routledge, 2008) - "To the list of great copy writers in advertising, add an unlikely name: Gary Gilmore.
"Mr. Gilmore, the notorious spree-killer, uttered the words 'Let’s do it' just before a firing squad executed him in Utah in 1977. Years later, the phrase became the inspiration for Nike’s 'Just Do It' campaign."
(J. W. Peters, "The Birth of ‘Just Do It’ and Other Magic Words," The New York Times, August 19, 2009)
Pronunciation: SLOW-gen
