taking a SIP

It seems appropriate I first noticed the SIP feature on Amazon when looking at Oblivion by David Foster Wallace (DFW), known for his penchant for oblique phraseology and acronyms. Amazon pulls out unique phrases that, I guess, are supposed to help you decide whether you're interested in the book. Useful for non-fiction maybe, but not so handy for fiction. Give it a whirl: would you buy Oblivion based on this?

Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): consultant caste, executive intern, snoring issue, head intern, dominant village, editorial interns, qua group, elliptical trainer

Now, to make their homage to DFW complete, Amazon should move its explanation of SIPs from a separate page to a footnote.