[PW] Two-part query: Journalistic cliches and real estate argot

[Don]

1) Are there books or lists describing the history and origin of how, why, and when various journalistic clichés and hackneyed phrases enter and stay in popular currency? Typical examples gleaned from the print media recently (and which often appear, ad nauseum) are given below:
   
              “closed-door” meetings 

              storms “dumped” X feet of snow

              prices “skyrocketed” 

              “at the end of the day” 

              “sends a clear message” 

   
              2) Are there books* which translate a) realtor’s lingo or argot used in describing the features and desirability of homes or housing developments:  
   
              Examples of a) “Handyman Special” for a dilapidated shack needing major repair or refurbishing;
                                      “Estate-size lots” , etc.
   
              * Is there an Idiot’s Guide to Realtor’s Flim-Flam or some comparable guidebook so homebuyers can separate the metaphorical wheat from the chaff?
   
  and which explain b) current practices in the naming of housing developments, by attribution to either real or implied physical or geographical features or reference to prior landowners or events which occurred on the site?
   
              Example of b) “Willow Creek Estates” (or similar intimation of rural or bucolic settings, even where there may not be either a creek nor willows nearby)
                                     “Smith’s Farm” (or similar proper-name allusion possibly tied to a prior owner of the land on which a development is located) 
                                      “Fox Deceived Farm” (or similar reference to an event or happening significant in the local history of the site)
   
       Again, the aim is to know whether current naming practices must have bases in fact, by law, or are such naming conventions generally contrived, ersatz, and full of flummery just to snare the unwary. Are there legal implications for possible deceptive wording and where is the line drawn?
               
              My searches have been confined to Google and Yahoo online and inquiries made of local realtors. Neither tactic has yielded any substantive results. I’m currently subscribed to the Digest version of the Project Wombat list and can pick up any replies to these queries there. These questions are for my personal use...thus, no big sweat about response time. Many thanks for any help you can give.
   
  Don Wittig
   
   

       
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