Get yer gists here

Would a gist ever be on sale? Can you get your gists at a discount? Is there a gist for every person, or is a gist a one-size-fits-all thing? Blame it on Lynne Truss. She's the one who got me thinking about getting the gist, such as a gist is.
"Yet there is an idea steadily gathering force in this country that communication should be judged only by functional effectiveness and that, if you 'get the gist' of what someone is saying, this is enough. Notions of 'correct' English are for fuddy-duddies who take nasty pleasure in other people's mistakes.
Not surprisingly, I am not persuaded by this argument. In fact, it makes me weep and thunder by turns. 'Please don't use the expression 'Get the gist'!' I pray, whenever I have to engage in chat-show debate with the latest person advocating the liberating joy of a grammatical free-for-all.
But they always do. 'Ah, but does it matter, so long as we get the gist?' they ask, as if saying something original and profound. 'Is conveying a gist the highest aim of language?' I ask (sometimes a bit emotionally). 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but cavemen pointing and grunting got the bloody gist!'"