slantn.1
/slɑːnt/, /slant/, U.S. /slænt/ 1.
a. The slope of a hill, piece of ground, etc.; a sloping stretch of ground; an inclined plane or surface.
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the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > slope > [noun]
hield943
lithOE
pendanta1387
bankc1390
slentc1400
shoring1567
rist1577
inclining1596
slope1626
side-slip1649
slant1655
sideling1802
hang1808
siding1852
counterslope1853
bajada1866
tilt1903
palaeoslope1957
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun] > inclination from the level or slope > a sloping object, surface, etc.
clininga1552
slant1655
slope1707
incline1798
inclination1809
angle1840
1655 T. Moffett & C. Bennet Healths Improvem. iii. 18 The best situation of a house or city, is upon the slaunt of a southwest hill.
1728 H. Pemberton View Sir I. Newton's Philos. 84 If this globe be drawn along the slant DF, less force will be required to raise it, than if it were lifted directly up.
1757 J. H. Grose Voy. E.-Indies vii. 92 Returning then to the foot of the hill, you ascend an easy slant.
1802 C. Findlater Gen. View Agric. County of Peebles 41 Above it, lying against the slaunt of the roof, is the skelf, or frame, containing shelves.
1838 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Ferdinand & Isabella II. i. xiv. 46 Ferdinand..kept along the southern slant of the coast as far as Almeria.
1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 33 His dog..brought back some stray sheep to the sunny side of the slant.
b. A small surface, a short line, having an oblique position or direction.
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the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun] > that which inclines > a line or surface > small
slant?1711
?1711 J. Petiver Gazophylacii X. Table 98 Luzone Olive Whelk, with white Slants and Spots.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 10 First cut the pieces with a slope, or slant,..and then spread a thin layer of shoemaker's wax over the slants.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 122 Each pullet-egg Of diamond, slipping flame from fifty slants.
c. A sloping beam or ray of light.
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the world > matter > light > [noun] > ray or beam
beamc885
rowc1225
stringc1275
steamc1300
light beama1398
shafta1400
rayc1400
strakec1400
rade?a1563
gleed1566
radiation1570
shine1581
rayon1591
stralla1618
radius1620
rule1637
irradiation1643
track1693
emanation1700
spoke1849
spearc1850
slant1856
sword1866
secondary1921
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. v. 40 Pale slants of light from the yard above.
1862 G. W. Thornbury Life J. M. W. Turner I. 20 Crimson fog-suns and misty slants of sunshine.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. i. 2 A slant of light from the setting sun.
d. Mining. (See quot. 1881.)
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1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 176 Slant, a heading driven diagonally between the dip and the strike of a coal-seam; also called a run.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 27 Aug. 5/1 He succeeded in penetrating the mine a hundred yards into the main slant.
e. Typography. = oblique adj. 4, solidus n.1 2. Used esp. of either of a pair of lines enclosing the representation of a linguistic (esp. phonemic) element.
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society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > virgule or oblique
virguler1610
virgula1728
virgule1837
slant-line1954
slash1961
slant1962
oblique1965
1962 Gen. Systems VII. 299/2 Its mate is suffixed with a slant (virgule), thus: 4006 How to Silence. 4006/ How to Sound.
1964 E. Palmer tr. A. Martinet Elements Gen. Linguistics i. 24 This [sc. a significans] we represent between slants (/ž e mal a la tet/, /ž e mal/, /mal/).
1972 R. R. K. Hartmann & F. C. Stork Dict. Lang. & Linguistics 172/1 Phonemic transcription is usually written between slants, e.g. /hɑus/.
2. A course or movement in an oblique direction.
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the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [noun] > an oblique movement
slant1712
sklent1768
1712 E. Cooke Voy. S. Sea 313 Kept plying to Windward not far from the Land, sometimes making good Slants.
1889 T. E. Brown Manx Witch 2 Lek didn want The Pazon to know her, and made a slant.
3.
a. Slope, inclination, obliquity. on the slant, aslant, obliquely. Also on a slant.
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the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun]
hieldinga1340
angling1570
inclination1590
skewing1611
clinamen1704
inclension1751
slant1817
the world > space > relative position > inclination > obliquely [phrase]
on (the) slenta1400
of squinc1440
at angles with1646
on the angle1753
on the (or a) skew1881
on the slant1884
on a slant1951
1817 H. T. Colebrooke tr. Bhāskara Āchārya in Algebra 97 Where the length of the cavity, owing to the slant of the sides, is measured [etc.].
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad 258 The slant of a ladder that leans against a house.
1884 Queen Victoria More Leaves 97 Not a bad road, but on the steeper side of the hill, and quite on the slant.
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) xv. 286 Busse..leaped quickly, hit the lower level of the street pavement on a slant, and almost turned his ankle.
1957 D. Lessing Going Home ii. 35 The night was magnificent; the Southern Cross on a slant overhead.
b. Microbiology. A sloping surface of culture medium, usually prepared by letting it solidify in a sloping test-tube, and used for the culture of micro-organisms. Cf. slope n.1 3a. slant-culture: a culture made by inoculating the surface of a medium solidified in a slanting test-tube.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [noun] > culture or medium
culture1880
blood culture1881
cultivation1881
culture medium1883
pure culture1883
agar1885
broth1885
subculture1885
tube-culture1886
bouillon1887
stab-culture1889
streak culture1892
blood agar1893
microculture1893
shake culture1894
streak plate1895
broth culture1897
slant1899
plating1900
stock culture1903
touch preparation1908
tissue culture1912
plaque1924
slope1925
agar-agar1929
isolate1931
MacConkey1938
auxanogram1949
lawn1951
monolayer1952
replica plate1952
1899 T. Bowhill Man. Bacteriol. Technique ii. 60 Take three freshly prepared tubes of oblique surface agar-agar—usually called ‘agar-slants’—with plenty of water of condensation in the bottom.
1901 W. A. N. Dorland Illustr. Med. Dict. (ed. 2) Slant, a sloping surface of agar in a test-tube; also a slant-culture. Slant-culture, bacterial culture in which the test-tube is placed in a slanting position for the agar to solidify.
1909 Practitioner Nov. 596 (note) The stock culture of prodigiosus is kept upon agar slants.
1924 Jrnl. Bacteriol. 9 398 Loops were transferred, at intervals up to four hours, to agar slants, and these were incubated overnight.
1925 J. W. Bigger Handbk. Bacteriol. 38 ‘Slopes’ or ‘slants’ are generally used for the growth of bacteria already isolated in pure culture.
1949 Amer. Jrnl. Pathol. 25 7 Growth on plated media, while not unlike that on slants, was somewhat slower.
1972 Sci. Amer. Sept. 187/1 Dried yeast is typically sealed in an airtight envelope filled with nitrogen. Cultures can be perpetuated by inoculating slants of fresh nutrient agar under sterile conditions every 90 days.
4. technical.
a. A receptacle having a sloping bottom in which paint-brushes are placed in order to keep them moist.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > decorating equipment > [noun] > brushes > receptacle for
stenchall1688
slant1875
1875 G. Field & E. A. Davidson Gram. Colouring 168 The brushes..may be dipped in nut-oil and laid in a tin slant until wanted again.
c1896 Rowney's Price List 20 Oil Slant and Smutch Pan.
b. A slab having shallow sloping compartments or depressions for water-colours.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > palette
palette1622
colour palette1803
slab1888
slant1897
1897 Army & Navy Stores List 817 Round China Slants and Basins.
5. dialect and U.S. A sly hit or sarcasm.Occurs much earlier in the form slent n.1
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > caustic or ironic ridicule > [noun] > instance of
gesta1387
quippy1519
quip1532
irony1534
nip1549
taunta1566
slent?1567
gamegall1577
yark1577
veny1586
jerk1590
wipe1596
glance1602
satire1606
by-wipe1641
quib1656
trait1704
skit1727
slant1825
ironism1842
wiper1846
by-quip1855
satirization1868
snapper1890
crack1896
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > sarcasm > [noun] > instance of
quippy1519
quip1532
taunta1566
slent?1567
wipe1596
quib1656
trait1704
slant1825
wisecrack1924
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Slant, sly jokes, or petty lies.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Slant, an oblique reflection or gibe; a sarcastic remark. (In vulgar use.)
1856 H. B. Stowe Dred I. xxi. 274 Had the slant fallen upon himself, personally, Old Tiff would probably have given a jolly crow.
1897 W. D. Howells Landlord Lion's Head 94 Whitwell felt an ironical slant in the words.
6. slang. An occasion, chance, opportunity; also, an opportunity of going somewhere.
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the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun]
chance1297
occasiona1382
leisurec1386
opportunitya1387
advantage1487
portunity1516
in the nick1565
mean1592
vantage?1592
occasionet1593
overture1610
hinta1616
largeness1625
convenience1679
tid1721
opening1752
offer1831
slant1837
show1842
showing1852
show-up1883
window of opportunity1942
op1978
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > chance or opportunity
chance1297
occasiona1382
opportunitya1387
fair play?a1500
main chance1577
venturea1625
opening1752
ettle1768
slant1837
sporting chance1897
open go1918
a fair crack of the whip1929
1837 Fraser's Mag. 16 49 I boldly entered myself on board a privateer, with the determination of playing them a slippery trick the very first slant I had.
1859 K. Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 140 It was n't any wonder, when we did get a slant into town, if we took a drop too much.
1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. iii. 58 I have known many that will be always watching slants to get an extra quart of oats for their colts.
7. Australian slang. (See quot. 1897.)
ΚΠ
1897 ‘P. Warung’ Tales Old Regime 217 Pedder had got tired of things in general, and had organized that movement which was popularly known in Norfolk Island and Port Arthur as a ‘slant’, that is, he had planned a murder or a mutiny on purpose to obtain a trial in Hobart or Sydney.
8. A way of regarding something, a point of view or ‘angle’; an interpretation; a bias. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > mental attitude, point of view > [noun]
spectaclec1386
reckoninga1393
view1573
sect1583
prospective1603
light1610
posture1642
point of view1701
stand1819
attitude of mind1832
psychology1834
standpoint1834
perspective1841–8
position1845
viewpoint1856
angle1860
way of looking at it1861
attitudea1873
pose1892
Anschauung1895
slant1905
1905 N.Y. Evening Post 28 Jan. 5 The titles of articles on this subject bear an extremely pessimistic slant.
1921 R. D. Paine Comrades Rolling Ocean viii. 128 I need to get your slant on the situation.
1926 Publishers' Weekly 16 Jan. 168/2 New Slant on Books as Prizes.
1927 C. Connolly Let. 26 Jan. in Romantic Friendship (1975) 230 The slant at which I write betrays an unbearable optimism.
1929 P. Guedalla Missing Muse 280 He explained..that Russian novels had a Message or an Outlook, or something (if he happened to be an American, he called it a Slant).
1935 M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer xv. 138 Mentally he was going over his ‘story’..to change the slant of some of the phrases.
1948 Sunday Pictorial 18 July 12/3 A new and intriguing slant on the Borgias by Nigel Balchin.
1965 Amer. Notes & Queries Mar. 99/2 The book has a pro-Galvão slant showing the man as a romantic hero.
1973 J. Wood North Beat ii. 19 New slant—timing the lunch-hour, eh? When did we have that one before?
9. U.S. colloquial. A glance, look.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [noun]
eie wurpc950
laitc1175
looka1200
lecha1250
sightc1275
insighta1375
blushc1390
castc1400
glentc1400
blenkc1440
regardc1450
ray1531
view1546
beam of sight1579
eye-beam1583
eyewink1591
blink1594
aspecta1616
benda1616
eyeshot1615
eye-casta1669
twire1676
ken1736
Magdalene-look1752
glimmering1759
deek1833
wink1847
deck1853
vision1855
pipe1865
skeg1876
dekko1894
screw1904
slant1911
gander1914
squiz1916
butcher's hook1934
butcher's1936
gawk1940
bo-peep1941
nose1976
1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara viii. 109 You're supposed t'take a slant at th'things an' make up your mind w'at you want.
1921 R. D. Paine Comrades Rolling Ocean iv. 67 He took just one slant at me and read the story of my life.
1934 R. Chandler in Black Mask Oct. 28/1 The prowl car takes a slant down it [sc. the old road] now and then looking for petting parties.
10. U.S. slang (depreciative and offensive). A person with slanting eyes, spec. one of East or South-East Asian descent. Cf. slant-eye n. at slant adv. and adj. Compounds 1b.
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the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > person by shape of eyes or forehead > [noun]
slant-eye1929
slant1942
slope1948
slopy1948
roundeye1955
slopehead1966
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun] > by size, shape, etc. > person having
slant-eye1929
slant1942
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §385/19 Oriental..slant.
1969 Time 5 Dec. 26/1 To the G.I. the Vietnamese..is a ‘gook’, ‘dink’, ‘slope’ or ‘slant’.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline vii. 79 And the fuckin' Eskimo slants are tryin' to get the rest of it.
1978 J. Gores Gone, no Forwarding (1979) 191 He took me back to the slant broad... A slant or a Buddha-head.
Draft additions 1993
American Football. (a) An attacking play in which the ball-carrier moves into the line of scrimmage at an oblique angle. (b) In full, slant-in. A pass pattern in which a receiver runs diagonally towards the goal-line from the line of scrimmage.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > actions or manoeuvres
rush1857
punt-out1861
goal-kicking1871
safety1879
safety touchdown1879
scrimmage1880
rushing1882
safety touch1884
touchback1884
forward pass1890
run1890
blocking1891
signal1891
fake1893
onside kick1895
tandem-play1895
pass play1896
spiral1896
shift1901
end run1902
straight-arm1903
quarterback sneak1904
runback1905
roughing1906
Minnesota shift1910
quarterbacking1910
snap-back1910
pickoff1912
punt return1914
screen forward pass1915
screen pass1920
power play1921
sneak1921
passback1922
snap1922
defence1923
reverse1924
carry1927
lateral1927
stiff-arm1927
zone1927
zone defence1927
submarine charge1928
squib1929
block1931
pass rushing1933
safetying1933
trap play1933
end-around1934
straight-arming1934
trap1935
mousetrap1936
buttonhook1938
blitzing1940
hand-off1940
pitchout1946
slant1947
strike1947
draw play1948
shovel pass1948
bootleg1949
option1950
red dog1950
red-dogging1951
rollout1951
submarine1952
sleeper pass1954
draw1956
bomb1960
swing pass1960
pass rush1962
blitz1963
spearing1964
onsides kick1965
takeaway1967
quarterback sack1968
smash-mouth1968
veer1968
turn-over1969
bump-and-run1970
scramble1971
sack1972
nose tackle1975
nickel1979
pressure1981
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [adjective] > actions or manoeuvres
end-around1934
blitzing1940
slant1947
bootleg1949
red-dogging1951
pass-rushing1961
bump-and-run1970
run-and-shoot1975
1927 G. S. Warner Football for Coaches & Players 143 (caption) 10 precedes 11, the ball carrier, in a driving, slanting tandem, hitting between E and F. For a sure gain of a few yards this is a better play than A-3.]
1947 D. X. Bible Championship Football iv. 33 Straight-ahead plunges and slants are direct plays.
1953 C. C. Caldwell Mod. Football for Spectator vii. 142 Slant charge. In this type of charge, the defensive lineman moves obliquely across the line of scrimmage.
1957 Encycl. Brit. IX. 478/2 Reverses..are even more important in the double wing formation than they are in the single wing, but slants and plunges also are effective.
1982 S. B. Flexner Listening to Amer. 243 Stanford during his own long career, refined the single wing at Pitt and combined it with his own unbalanced line and slant plays.
1988 L. Wilson Amer. Football ii. 29/1 If you are running a slant-in, look for the ball over your inside shoulder.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slantn.2
/slɑːnt/, /slant/, U.S. /slænt/ Nautical.
a. A slight breeze or spell of wind, etc.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > short spell of
slent1596
spurt1699
spirt1726
slant1823
1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. Voy. Northern Whale-fishery 381 Having a slant of wind from the eastward, we fetched the coast of Ireland.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. lxii. 195 Trimming his sails, so as to catch any slant of a breeze.
1871 Daily News 16 Mar. We got a slant of bad weather, which, however, did not prevent other balloons from starting.
1892 W. C. Russell List, ye Landsmen i Should there come a slant of wind, I'm off.
b. Used without the genitive phrase.
ΚΠ
1832 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log xv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 751/2 Having had a slant from the land-wind in the night previous.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xii. 119 The wind coming against them in slants and flaws.
1876 R. F. Burton Two Trips Gorilla Land II. 15 There was no wind except a slant at sunset.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slantv.
/slɑːnt/, /slant/, U.S. /slænt/ 1. intransitive. To strike obliquely on, upon, or against something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > impinge [verb (intransitive)] > obliquely
slant?1521
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > move sideways [verb (intransitive)] > move obliquely > glide off obliquely
gliff?c1225
twinec1400
glancea1500
slant?1521
glenta1533
?1521 J. Fisher Serm. agayn Luther sig. Biiijv For the sonne shooreth so lowe by the grounde that his bemes thanne sklaunteth vpon the grounde.
1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 132 The ball..slanted upon the right shoulder of the Prince..and struck off the skin.
1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 161 Mr. Bates's sword bent and slanted against the Captain's breast-bone.
1873 S. Smiles Huguenots in France (1881) ii. ii. 342 The shot..slanted on the King's right shoulder, [and] took a piece out of his coat.
2.
a. To be in, to have or take, an oblique direction or position; to deviate from a straight line or course; to slope.
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the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline or be oblique [verb (intransitive)]
lean1398
embelif1413
incline1553
cast1599
shelve1644
descend1675
slant1698
angle1741
cant1794
squint1799
oblique1814
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > incline in a direction > obliquely
wryc1374
slant1698
angle1835
to train off1891
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 37 The Governor's House in the middle overlooks all, slanting diagonally with the Court.
1766 J. Cunningham Poems 75 Where the green hill so gradual slants, Or flowery glade extends.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 21 An aged oak, That slanted from the islet rock.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Kubla Khan in Christabel 56 That deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill.
1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sketches (1873) II. i. i. 24 The Tartar eyes are not only far apart, but slant inwards.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 218 A range of minor peaks ran slanting downwards.
b. Of light or shadow: To fall obliquely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > incline in a direction > obliquely > fall obliquely
slant1795
1795 W. Cowper Moralizer Corrected 15 And from the trees..Shades slanting at the close of day Chill'd [etc.].
1807 J. Grahame Poems 22 The sunbeam slanting through the cedar grove.
1837–42 Ld. Tennyson St. Agnes' Eve 6 The shadows of the convent-towers Slant down the snowy sward.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. xvii. 292 A sickening sense of the sunlight that slanted before him.
3.
a. Of persons: To travel, move, sail, etc. in an oblique direction; to diverge from a direct course. Also U.S., to move off.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > change course or turn off > diverge from direct course
swervec1330
digress1552
stray1561
deviate1635
slant1702
diverge1856
excurse1891
1702 R. L'Estrange tr. Josephus Jewish Antiq. xvi. xii, in Wks. 461 And so by a side-wind he slaunted all the way upon Pheroras.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 167 I stretch'd a-cross this Eddy slanting North-west.
1776 C. Carroll Jrnl. (1845) 74 From La Prairie you go slanting down the river to Montreal.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations III. ix. 135 We went along Cheapside and slanted off to Little Britain.
1897 W. D. Howells Landlord Lion's Head 12 The father and the elder brother came out, and..slanted away to the barn together.
b. Of things: To take an oblique course.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > move sideways [verb (intransitive)] > move obliquely
glentc1330
lean1398
slenta1400
glintc1440
skew1488
sklent1513
slanta1849
sashay1865
cater1873
diagonalize1884
shail1895
a1849 H. Coleridge Poems (1850) II. 11 The thunder roar'd, the sharp rain slanted.
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. iii. 69 From this her mind would slant off into a sideway.
1885 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Prophet Great Smoky Mountains vii Her rebuking glance slanted beyond him from under her half-lifted lashes.
c. figurative. To be inclined, have a bent, towards something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > tend or incline [verb (intransitive)]
wryc888
driveOE
drawc1175
rine?c1225
soundc1374
tendc1374
lean1398
clinea1400
movec1450
turnc1450
recline?a1475
covet1520
intend?1521
extenda1533
decline?1541
bow1562
bend1567
follow1572
inflecta1575
incline1584
warpa1592
to draw near1597
squint1599
nod1600
propend1605
looka1616
verge1664
gravitate1673
set1778
slant1850
trend1863
tilt1967
1850 J. R. Lowell Unhappy Mr. Knott i. xi I've always heard our poor friend somewhat slanted Tow'rd taking liquor overmuch.
4. transitive. To cut with a slant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline [verb (transitive)] > make oblique
skew1611
slant1770
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 439 We venture to disapprove the custom of slanting Quoins on both sides, and planing their edges and corners off.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 439 It would deserve the name of an improvement, were Quoins slanted on one side only.
5.
a. To give an oblique or sloping direction to (something); to cause to slope.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline [verb (transitive)] > cause to incline
incline?a1425
decline1578
lean1683
slant1805
rake1842
angle1953
1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. xviii. 358 The evening glories, which the sun Slants o'er the moving many-coloured sea.
1812 F. Burney Jrnls. & Lett. (1975) VI. 718 I turned suddenly from my Walk..to slant my steps close to where he sat.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. iv. ii. 316 Their inky sails are hither slanted.
1891 Sportsman 8 July 8/1 The rain came down in torrents, slanted by the wind.
b. figurative. To give a slant (slant n.1 8) or bias to (something). Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > mental attitude, point of view > view in particular way [verb (transitive)] > present in particular way
skew1872
slant1939
angle1944
spin1988
1939 Writer's Digest Sept. 26/2 These types of articles are exceptionally valuable in slanting the writing for certain magazines and trade journals.
1951 H. MacInnes Neither Five nor Three ii. xi. 166 Did that fool Weidler see that Blackworth was ‘slanting’ his use of material?
1960 New Left Rev. May 66/1 There is no suggestion..that Mr. Bullock is deliberately slanting the picture he paints.
1980 M. Babson Dangerous to Know vi. 41 ‘I suppose it could be slanted that way.’ It was obvious that May had been considering a different slant.
6. Of a path: To ascend in a sloping direction.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > lead to [verb (transitive)] > go across a slope
slant1850
slab1889
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxii. 37 Where the path we walk'd began To slant the fifth autumnal slope. View more context for this quotation
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slantadv.adj.
/slɑːnt/, /slant/, U.S. /slænt/ A. adv.
In a slanting, sloping, or oblique manner or direction; slantingly, aslant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adverb]
sidelonga1398
aslanta1400
aslopec1400
embelifc1400
a-sloutc1440
sleetc1440
slant1495
obliquely1503
shoringc1503
a-swash1530
biaswise1545
biasways1556
slantingly1570
sideways1572
slantwise1573
avelinges1577
bias?1578
askant1602
slopely1605
slantinga1625
oblique1667
bias-way1702
skew1706
slantly1719
inclinably1760
slantways1828
slantindicular1831
slantindicularly1834
skewly1896
slaunchways1933
the world > space > direction > [adverb] > off the direct line > obliquely
asidec1369
aslanta1400
slant1495
obliquely1503
asklenta1540
askew1565
slantingly1570
slantwise1573
wry1575
bias?1578
askance1590
askant1602
slantinga1625
asquint1645
across1700
slantly1719
akimboc1796
slantways1828
aslantwise1852
slantingways1899
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [adverb] > obliquely
aslanta1400
sideslepes?a1400
embelifc1400
slant1495
obliquely1503
slantling?1521
askance1530
asklenta1540
biaswise1545
askew1565
wry1575
bias?1578
slentwise1579
overthwartly1591
asquint1645
transversally1648
aslope1667
slantways1828
skeow-ways1869
slantingways1899
1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. viii. ix. 306 Zodiacus is a cercle that passith slonte [Bodl. MS. aslonte].
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. iv. 29 Cut the nebbe first slant downewards to make it thinne, and after strait ouerthwart.
c1700 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 294 Encompassing ye maze, in which are some slaunt cut wayes.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vii. 625 The mighty Talbot came, And smote his helmet: slant the weapon fell.
1804 Wolcot's Beauties Eng. Poetry II. 11 A bridge, that cuts From Richmond Ferry slant to Brentford Butts.
1878 P. Bayne Chief Actors Puritan Revol. v. 185 The sunbeams fell slant through the church windows.
B. adj.
1. Of wind, etc.: Blowing or coming from the side; moving obliquely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [adjective] > oblique in motion
embelifc1400
sklenting1568
diagonial1624
slanta1630
biasing1636
slanting1688
sidelong1695
diagonal1796
diagonic1881
a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) i. viii. 136 Beholding an English Shipp woorke into the harbor with a very slant, and boysterous gayle of wynde.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 1075 The slant Lightning, whose thwart flame driv'n down Kindles the gummie bark of Firr or Pine. View more context for this quotation
1790 Naval Chron. 24 49 A slant wind..brought me..in with the island.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 35 Trampling the slant winds on high.
2.
a. Having an oblique or sloping position or direction; inclined from the perpendicular or horizontal; falling, lying, placed, etc. slantwise.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adjective]
embelifc1400
inclining?c1400
oblique?a1425
inclinate?1440
hieldingc1480
inclined?a1500
bias1551
overthwart1594
sidelong1598
squinty1598
skew1609
traverse1609
skewed1611
obliquous1614
squint1703
inclinated1751
slanting1768
slanted1770
slant1776
aslant1791
diagonal1796
rakish1830
slantindicular1832
slantwise1856
slaunchways1913
slanty1928
1776 W. J. Mickle tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad vi. 260 On the wide mountain-wave's slant ridge.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 59 The southern side of the slant hills.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) 194 Hatched with slant lines.
1863 B. Taylor Hannah Thurston xviii The sun threw softer and slanter lights over the beautiful picture of the valley.
1883 R. A. Proctor Great Pyramid ii. 56 The slant tunnel would give the direction of the true north.
b. Of direction: Oblique.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > [adjective] > oblique
eavelongc1300
oblique?a1425
obliquida1599
sidelong1598
sideways1684
slanting1688
slant1793
1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 45. 354 Those fine obliquities of his genius began to expand..taking a thousand slant and cross directions.
1807 R. Southey Lett. from Eng. II. 173 Across which we had about three leagues to sail in a slant direction.
1871 Daily News 25 Jan. The French began to retreat, and in a slant direction right in front of us.
Compounds
C1.
a. In special collocations.
slant fire n.
ΚΠ
1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 40 Slant fire..[is] when the shot strikes the interior slope of the parapet, forming with it a horizontal angle not greater than 30°.
slant height n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > element of > height
altitude1570
slant height1798
1798 C. Hutton Course Math. II. 42 To find the Surface of a Pyramid or Cone. Multiply the perimeter of the base by the slant height, or length of the side [etc.].
1873 J. Pryde Pract. Math. 156 The slant height of a cone.
slant side n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > line > [noun] > other
medial line1570
radius1590
lineature1630
foot line1658
rectification1685
axis1734
slant side1824
radiant1842
transverse1867
median1883
bilinear1923
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > of a circular or spherical body > sloping surface of a cone
slant side1824
1824 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 8) II. 138 Suppose the same cone to be cut by a plane parallel to one of the slant sides, entering the other slant side at 4 inches from the vertex.
1873 J. Pryde Pract. Math. 156 A line from the vertex of a right cone to any point in the circumference of its base, is called its slant side.
slant tack n.
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 631 Slant tack, that which is most favourable to the course when working to windward.
slant vein n.
ΚΠ
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Qj Having duly weighed its randome and Inclination either Way, whether any Cross or Slant Vein appears.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Slant-vein, one vein crossing another at an acute angle.
b.
slant-drill v. Oil Industry (intransitive) to drill a bore hole at an angle to the vertical; also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > drill for oil or gas [verb (intransitive)] > method of drilling
slant-drill1969
society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > drill for oil or gas [verb (transitive)] > method of drilling
spud1886
rathole1922
turbodrill1948
slant-drill1969
1969 New Scientist 24 Apr. 169/1 They suggest the search for oil..should be restricted to slant-drilling from the shore.
1975 Offshore Sept. 244/2 Much of the area covered by the sale can be slant-drilled from the shoreline or the barrier islands.
1976 L. St. Clair Fortune in Death i. 8 We've wasted enough time fishing drill pipe out of this hole. Let's plug back and slant-drill.
slant-drilling n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > [noun] > methods of drilling
spudding1885
sidetracking1911
secondary recovery1940
turbodrilling1955
slant-drilling1977
1977 Time 28 Feb. 17/2 Two weeks ago the Israelis began sinking another hole on the shore at El Tur, slant-drilling into the waters whose ownership it disputes.
slant-eye n. (also slant-eyes) slang (depreciative and offensive) (originally U.S.) a person with slanting eyes, spec. an Asian person; cf. slant n.1 10.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > person by shape of eyes or forehead > [noun]
slant-eye1929
slant1942
slope1948
slopy1948
roundeye1955
slopehead1966
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun] > by size, shape, etc. > person having
slant-eye1929
slant1942
1929 Amer. Speech 4 344 Slant eye, an oriental.
1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) xii. 85 One might assume that contempt for American imperialism would by now have produced Chinese equivalents of insulting American epithets such as slopeys, slant-eyes and chinks.
1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 31 A few terms [for Orientals] reflect stereotype racial characteristics, i.e., yellow-belly, yellow~man, slant eyes.
1972 Times 20 May 3/4 I have engaged in campaigns against blacks, yellows and slant-eyes. Why should we have one rule for the whites and one for coloureds?
1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 26 July 795/4 And those Jap Ph.D.'s, their questionnaires! (Replying ‘Sod off, Slant-Eyes’ led to friction.)
1977 ‘J. le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy i. 36 Renting a cottage in the New Territories, he..proposed to expire under a slanteye heaven.
slant-line n. = slant n.1 1e.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > virgule or oblique
virguler1610
virgula1728
virgule1837
slant-line1954
slash1961
slant1962
oblique1965
1954 F. G. Cassidy Robertson's Devel. Mod. Eng. (ed. 2) iv. 61 Phonemic symbols are placed between virgules (or ‘slant-lines’, or ‘diagonals’).
1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlvi. 16 In line with Haugen's procedure..slant lines..used in this article perform double duty for phonemic and diaphonic representations.
slant-rhyme n. = half-rhyme n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhyme > [noun] > half-rhyme
alternity1792
skothending1838
assonance1917
pararhyme1931
off-rhyme1938
slant-rhyme1944
1944 Mod. Lang. Q. V. 324 Traditional prosodists have discussed rhyme as a degree of likeness in word sounds and have catalogued its approximations, alliteration, assonance, slant rhyme, eye rhyme, [etc.].
1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Jan. 50/2 Wilfred Owen and Yeats opted for slant-rhyme because it suited their poetic purposes; Fry seems to chime because sometimes he cannot rhyme.
C2.
slant-eyed adj. (now offensive)
ΚΠ
1865 Daily Tel. 17 Nov. 5/2 A slant-eyed, saffron-coloured race.
1870 J. G. Whittier Miriam 126 The slant-eyed sages of Cathay.
slant-shouldered adj.
ΚΠ
1897 C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 103 That hatchet-faced, slant-shouldered,..comic valentine.
Draft additions 1993
ˈslanty adj. = slanting adj. a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adjective]
embelifc1400
inclining?c1400
oblique?a1425
inclinate?1440
hieldingc1480
inclined?a1500
bias1551
overthwart1594
sidelong1598
squinty1598
skew1609
traverse1609
skewed1611
obliquous1614
squint1703
inclinated1751
slanting1768
slanted1770
slant1776
aslant1791
diagonal1796
rakish1830
slantindicular1832
slantwise1856
slaunchways1913
slanty1928
1928 Daily Express 22 Dec. 8/3 With bright slanty eyes like a mouse, and the pretty animation of a tit in a spring hedgerow.
1983 New Scientist 10 Feb. 387/2 rnd, step and not share keys with obscure wiggly brackets, slanty lines and arrows pointing every which way.
Draft additions July 2010
slant distance n. the distance in a straight line between two points having different elevations.
ΚΠ
1803 I. Dalby Course Math. 359 If rising grounds intervene, the slant distances must be measured separately as hypotenuses.
1901 F. M. Gilley Princ. Physics viii. 110 As the work is the same, whether the load be pulled up the slant or lifted up vertically,..the pull times the slant distance = weight times the height.
2003 Electronics World Jan. 12/2 This system..could automatically alert human operators whenever the slant distance between any two adjacent aircraft decreased past the safety factor.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11655
n.21823
v.?1521adv.adj.1495