Lambda the Ultimate

I'm revising a paper and have gotten stuck on a very hard problem: how do you describe a completely new programming language in 3 pages to an audience that might not want to care very much (the language is a detail rather than the core contribution). My current style of writing feels like an example dump: describe feature X, describe example that uses feature X, wash rinse and repeat with feature Y.

Or perhaps the question should be: what do readers care about when reading a PL? What details will satisfy them and what details can be left out without angering them or making them feel deceived?