Slam-Dunk Means What?

According to Merriam-Webster, slam-dunk either refers to a shot in basketball, or it is used to describe something that is certain to succeed or a sure bet. It even gives an example of that second definition with, "The case is a slam dunk."

This is what George Tenet says that he meant when he used that term in reference to WMD back in 2002.

"We can put a better case together for a public case. That's what I meant," Tenet said, explaining his remark for the first time in an interview to air Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," which begins at 6 p.m. Short excerpts were released Thursday.

The phrase "slam dunk" was associated with Tenet after it was leaked by a senior administration official to journalist Bob Woodward. According to Woodward's book "Plan of Attack," President Bush turned to Tenet during the meeting and asked if the information he had just presented on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was the best Tenet had.

"It's a slam-dunk case," Tenet replied, according to Woodward.

So, Tenet is saying that his use of slam-dunk is being misrepresented, yet he is also claiming that the meaning he intended to convey when he used the term is roughly the opposite of the dictionary definition of the term. That doesn't wash, and neither does the period of several years between his slam-dunk statement becoming public and his public explanation of what he really meant.

I think that he's full of crap and just trying to sell his book and cover his own tail. What a BF.

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