slackn.1
/slak/, U.S. /slæk/, Scottish English /slak/ northern and Scottish.
1. † b. A pit, a hole. Obsolete. rare.
a. A small shallow dell or valley; a hollow or dip in the ground; a depression in a hillside or between two stretches of rising ground.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun]
pathOE
slackc1400
navela1425
trough1513
nook1555
falling1565
swale1584
hella1653
depression1665
holl1701
sag1727
dip1783
recession1799
holler1845
sike1859
sitch1888
sulcus1901
c1400 Rowland & O. 1418 Doun þay dange þaire Baners brade Bothe in slakkes & in slade.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7418 Slike paynes suffird all þe pak Þat wer broght in to þat slak [= a vale of depnes 7407].
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur vi. v. 189 Ther by a lytyl slake syr launcelot wounded hym..nyghe vnto the deth.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiv. 536 Till the hill thai tuk the way. In a slak thame enbuschit thai.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid viii. x. 91 Sitand into ane holl valle or slak.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iii. f. 38 Quhite as the snaw that euer lay in slak.
1615 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 326 The samen is mercheit be stanes..quhill it come to the end of the Gallow slackis.
1682 O. Heywood Autobiogr., Diaries, Anecd. & Event Bks. (1885) IV. 85 My danger upon Clifton common..; in a slack full of snow my horse got fast.
1718 in W. Cramond Rec. Elgin (1903) I. 402 Ane stripe that rins in ane slack.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 353 Slack, a valley, or small shallow dale; a dip.
1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake ii. xii. 166 O'er slope and slack She sought her native stall.
1825– in northern glossaries.
1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish 186 A series of short banklets, hillocks, mounds, and peaks, with intertwining gullies, slacks, and hollows.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun]
dalea800
piteOE
dike847
hollowc897
hole946
seathc950
delfOE
hollc1050
ditchc1275
lakec1320
holetc1380
slacka1500
dell1531
vault1535
pit-hole1583
delve1590
lough1672
sinusa1676
gap1696
self-lough1700
scoop1780
cup1819
a1500 in Ratis Raving (1870) 23 Mony man makis a slak in an vthir manis vay, and fall fyrst thar in.
2. A hollow in the sand- or mud-banks on a shore. Also, a depression among sand-dunes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > other
slack?a1400
swamp1691
cauldrona1763
hog wallow1829
tomo1859
kettle1866
pocket1869
dolina1882
kettle hole1883
frost hollow1895
impact crater1895
uvala1902
frost pocket1907
sotch1910
pingo1938
lagg1939
tafoni1942
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > between sand-dunes
low1929
slack1929
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3720 Thane was þe flode passede; Thane was it slyke a slowde in slakkes fulle hugge, That let þe kyng for to lande.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxiv. 39 Had not bene ane slack was in the sands, Weill had he payit ȝow tratouris for ȝour tressoun.
1901 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 138 The ‘slacks’ I have mentioned are fresh-water pools which extend just inside the outer sandhills [of the estuary of the Mersey].
1929 Jrnl. Ecol. 17 138 Very characteristic of the Blakeney dunes are the ‘lows’—narrow valleys between the dune-ridges, corresponding to the ‘slacks’ of the west-coast dunes. The lows differ from slacks in not being permanently moist..and in being liable to flooding by unusually high tides.
1934 Geogr. Jrnl. 83 498 The question that always comes to my mind in looking at dune formations is what is the primary cause of the rhythmical or ripple effect, the succession of ridges and slacks.
1963 Times 27 Feb. 11/6 In the lee of the high dunes lie wet slacks and attractive freshwater pools out of which grow strands of reed and reed-mace.
1964 V. J. Chapman Coastal Vegetation vi. 153 The damp soil of the slacks is colonized by a carpet of the Creeping Willow.
3. A soft or boggy hollow; a morass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun]
marsheOE
fenc888
sladec893
moorOE
mossOE
marshlandlOE
lay-fena1225
lay-mirea1225
moor-fenc1275
flosha1300
strother?a1300
marish1327
carrc1330
waterlanda1382
gaseync1400
quaba1425
paludec1425
mersec1440
sumpa1450
palus?1473
wash1483
morass1489
oozea1500
bog?a1513
danka1522
fell1538
soga1552
Camarine1576
gog1583
swale1584
sink1594
haga1600
mere1609
flata1616
swamp1624
pocosin1634
frogland1651
slash1652
poldera1669
savannah1671
pond-land1686
red bog1686
swang1691
slack1719
flowa1740
wetland1743
purgatory1760
curragh1780
squall1784
marais1793
vlei1793
muskeg1806
bog-pit1820
prairie1820
fenhood1834
pakihi1851
terai1852
sponge1856
takyr1864
boglet1869
sinkhole1885
grimpen1902
sphagnum bog1911
blanket bog1939
string bog1959
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > wet place, mire, or slough
sloughc900
mooreOE
letch1138
mire1219
sougha1300
dew1377
slop?a1400
flashc1440
slothc1440
slonk1488
slot?a1500
rilling1610
slab1610
water-gall1657
slunkc1700
slack1719
mudhole1721
bog-hole1788
spew1794
wetness1805
stabble1821
slob1836
sludge1839
soak1839
mudbath1856
squire-trap1859
loblolly1865
glue-pot1892
swelter1894
poaching1920
1719 in W. Cramond Ann. Cullen (1888) 79 The magistrates appoint..that none cast above two spades casting in the common moss or Chamar Slack without liberty.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 49 A deep morass, termed in that country a slack.
c1880 J. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale 278 Slack, a hollow boggy place.
1897 E. W. Hamilton Outlaws of Marches xxviii. 310 The yellow slack that feeds the Blackburn, and in which horse and rider might readily disappear for ever.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slackn.2
/slak/, U.S. /slæk/ Small or refuse coal. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > coal or types of coal > [noun] > small, refuse, impure, or coal-dust
slackc1440
smith coal1466
smithy coal1482
coal dusta1529
panwood1531
smith's coal1578
kirving1599
culm1603
coom1611
small coal1643
smit1670
smut1686
slag1695
duff1724
duff coal1724
small1780
gum1790
stinking coal1803
cobbles1811
nubbling1825
stinkers1841
rubble1844
pea1855
nuts1857
nut coal1861
slap1865
burgee1867
smudge1883
waste1883
treble1901
coal smut1910
gumming1938
nutty slack1953
α.
β. 1729 J. Swift Let. on Irish Coal in Wks. (1841) II. 110 In every half barrel of coals you have the one-half of it slack, and that slack of little use.1795 J. Phillips Gen. Hist. Inland Navigation (rev. ed.) Add. 173 For all slack or small and inferior coal for the purpose of burning lime-stone or bricks,..six-pence per ton.1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 358 The fire is now slackened, and a quantity of slack, or refuse pit-coal, thrown into the furnace.1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §1420. 649 The fuel used is fine coal generally called ‘Smith's coal’ or ‘slack’.?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 84/3 Slack-picker, -washer.c1440 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 152 Vndonged sleck wole make hem lene, as preue is.
1665 D. Dudley Mettallum Martis sig. B7 These Colliers must cast these coles, and sleck or drosse out of their wayes.
1677 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 12 898 The Men..hid themselves as well as they could in the loose sleck or small Cole.
1800 Hull Advertiser 29 Nov. 2/1 For every chaldron of coals, sleck, cinders, culm, coke.
1857 E. Waugh Sketches Lancs. Life (ed. 2) 197 Nearly every cottage had its stock of coals piled up under the front window,..the ‘cobs’ neatly built up into a square wall, and the centre filled up with the ‘sleck an' naplins’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slackn.3
/slak/, U.S. /slæk/ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > course or passage of time
process1357
concoursec1400
coursec1460
successionc1485
passing-by1523
by-passing1526
slacka1533
continuancea1552
race1565
prolapse1585
current1587
decurse1593
passage1596
drifting1610
flux1612
effluxion1621
transcursion1622
decursion1629
devolution1629
progression1646
efflux1647
preterition1647
processus1648
decurrence1659
progress1664
fluxation1710
elapsing1720
currency1726
lapse1758
elapse1793
time-lapse1864
wearing1876
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1539) R iij b All onely for slacke of time, and driuyng of one houre to a nother.
2.
a. A cessation in the strong flow of a current or of the tide. (Cf. slack-water n.) Also, a drop in the strength of a wind; a light wind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > tide > type of tide > [noun] > slack
slake water1589
still water1626
slack1642
pinch-water1682
pinch1721
slack-water1769
1642 Maine Doc. Hist. 3 308 Ready..to attend for a slack of wind to bring over the ship to the Ile of Shoulds.
1757 Philos. Trans. 1756 (Royal Soc.) 49 531 He met an unexpected slack in Greenwich-reach.
1757 Philos. Trans. 1756 (Royal Soc.) 49 531 During the time of the water flowing, the strength of the current going down was greatly abated, almost to a slack.
1892 Law Times Rep. 67 251/1 The tide was low water slack, and the weather was fine and clear.
1902 Ld. Avebury Scenery of Eng. 456 They are the debris of the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast, and are deposited at the slack of highwater.
b. A stretch or reach of comparatively still water in a river.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > still part
keld1697
steady1792
slack1825
slack-water basin1836
slack-water1837
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Slack, a long pool in a streamy river.
1889 in E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2)
1902 Daily Chron. 28 Jan. 8/3 Some perch and pike have also been taken out of the eddies and slacks.
3.
a. An interval of comparative inactivity; a lull in business or in action of any kind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > [noun] > a temporary cessation of activity or operation > period of inactivity or quiescence
lull1815
slack1851
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 83/1 An ingenious..costermonger, during a ‘slack’ in his own business, [etc.].
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. xi. 208 Though there's a slack, we haven't done with sharp work yet, I can see.
b. A slackening of speed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > [noun] > decreasing rate of movement or progress
relent1580
slowing1598
slowing up1868
slowing down1870
slow-up1874
slowdown1882
deceleration1897
slack1899
slow1954
1899 Daily News 14 Sept. 7/6 The 231/ 4 miles..are covered in 211/ 2 minutes; and this though there is a relaying slack at Farnborough.
c. In critical path analysis, the length of time by which a particular event can be delayed without delaying the completion of the overall objective.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [noun] > a form or kind of operation > series of dependent operations > important sequence of operations > delay possible without jeopardizing completion
slack1962
1962 NASA PERT & Compan. Cost System Handbk. (U.S. Nat. Aeronaut. & Space Admin.) B-3 The accomplishment of event #3 could be delayed by three weeks without jeopardizing meeting the expected date for the end objective. This difference or cushion is called slack.
1964 K. G. Lockyer Introd. Crit. Path Anal. v. 46 A different expression of the ability of activities to move is given by considering the head and tail events. These have ‘earliest’ and ‘latest’ times, and slack is the difference between these times.
1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing xxii. 346 After the critical path has been found, it may be possible to transfer resources from activities with a big slack to certain critical activities.
4.
a. That part of a rope, sail, etc., which is not fully strained, or which hangs loose; a loose part or end. Also figurative, esp. in to take up the slack, to use up a surplus or make up a deficiency, thereby maintaining or returning to a stable condition; to hold on the slack, to skulk; to be lazy (1864 Slang Dict.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [noun] > hanging down > hanging down loosely > loose end
slack1794
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > slack part
slack1794
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > slack part of rope
slatcha1625
slack1867
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > be or become equal [verb (intransitive)] > compensate
supererogate1582
compensate1648
commute1653
compense1825
to take up the slack1930
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 95 Topsails are allowed 3 inches slack in every cloth in the foot.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 437 When the sledge is in motion,..it pulls up the slack of the rope from the bottom of the rope-walk.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling viii. 246 Gathering the line up..so that no slack hangs about.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 89 I sat on the poop beside the tiller, hauling back the slack of the wheel-ropes.
1915 J. London Jacket viii. 63 Jones was forcing his foot into my back in order to cinch me tighter, while I was trying with my muscle to steal slack.
1930 Economist 21 June 1391/2 There is general agreement that the termination of the Stevenson Scheme left the industry with much more ‘slack’ to take up than was realised two years ago.
1933 Sun (Baltimore) 12 Sept. 1/6 The American Federation of Labor..was framing demands for further..wage-boosting to take up employment slack.
1957 Economist 16 Nov. 610/2 Sir Alexander Fleck's investigations may show just how much slack has crept into an organization that should be, if anything, over-cautious.
1967 Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) 33 There is the feeling that slack will develop as the year progresses.
1972 A. MacVicar Golden Venus Affair vi. 61 It was a comfort having somebody like Mary Jo to take up the slack of decision-making.
1980 B. Paul First Gravedigger v. 60 We'd no longer be handling his speciality... Our new rare books department in London would take up the slack.
b. colloquial. The seat of a pair of trousers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > parts of > seat
doup1819
seat1834
slack1848
arse?1859
ass1888
bum1949
1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. ii To take a feller up jest by the slack o' 's trowsis.
1879 E. Waugh Chimney Corner 229 I took it bi th' slack o'th' breeches, an' chuck't it into th' poand.
c. to give (or cut) (a person) some slack, to show (a person) understanding or restraint, to give (one) a chance. U.S. slang (chiefly Black English).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity for [verb (transitive)] > have mercy upon
sparec825
milceeOE
arec1000
i-milcec1000
to have (also take) mercy on (also upon, of)a1225
to show (also do) mercy (to)a1225
methec1225
savea1382
miltha1400
tender1442
to take to (also into) mercy1523
mercify1596
bemercy1660
to give (or cut) (a person) some slack1968
1968 M. F. Jackmon in Jones & Neal Black Fire (1969) 555 Say, baby, light'n up on me—gimme some slack.
1969 H. R. Brown Die Nigger Die! ii. 29 Now, if the brother couldn't come back behind that, I usually cut him some slack.
1971 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) Winter 3 Cut me some slack!, to give one a chance. (imperative.)
1973 Black World May 39/1 Tradesmen give them no slack in the unfamiliar bargaining processes.
5. plural. Trousers. Now spec. loosely-cut trousers for informal wear, esp. those worn by women.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > wide or loose
slops1481
shipman's hose1540
slop1560
shipman's breek1563
drawers1567
kelsouns1568
scaling1577
scavilones1577
scabilonian1600
calzoons1615
linings1631
swabber-slopsa1658
pantaloon1686
underslops1737
trousers1773
pyjamas1801
Cossacks1820
Turkish trousers1821
hakama1822
salwar1824
slacks1824
sherwal1844
overall1845
bag1853
sack-pants1856
bloomer1862
trouser skirt1883
petticoat trousers1885
mompe1908
step-in1922
bombachas1936
baggies1962
jams1966
palazzo1970
hose-
1824 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1825) 346 His inexpressibles (drab slacks) were napless.
1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour viii. xlii. 238 Formidable in ‘slacks’, as he called his trousers.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 28 Sept. 7/2 Eight nice little British sailors, in eight nice little pairs of white pants, called slacks.
1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase ii. 31 He wore a pair of old flannel slacks, and a khaki shirt.
1937 Night & Day 29 July 22/2 Deeply to be deplored are such things as sandals..slacks and sun-top dresses.
1942 A. Christie Body in Libr. xii. 139 She was wearing grey slacks and an emerald jumper.
1947 W. S. Maugham Creatures of Circumstance 303 He changed from his business clothes into slacks and an old coat.
1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest i. 32 Dressed casually in slacks and a sweater, he invited me cordially into his study.
1966 J. Betjeman High & Low 56 The debs may turn disdainful backs On Pearl's uncouth mechanic slacks.
1968 Listener 10 Dec. 790/3 In Jordan, girls at Amman University have been instructed not to wear..slacks either, and, moreover, to keep off heavy make-up.
1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) i. i. 27 Nor could you wear slacks or any other sort of pants to class, even in the snow.
6. dialect and U.S. colloquial. Impertinence, cheek.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > impudence > [noun] > speech
sauce malapert1529
petulancea1652
jaw1748
snash1786
slack-jaw1797
slang1805
gob1807
lip1821
cheek1825
slack1825
sass1841
back-talk1858
back sass1883
mouth1891
slack lip1899
back-chat1901
chin1902
slop1952
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 156 ‘None o' your slack,’ says I..‘none o' your pokin' fun at me.’
1842 H. J. Daniel Bride of Scio 177 in Eng. Dial. Dict Howld tha slack! Yer tongue young chap's too saucy.
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta II. xlvi. 236 Let's have none of your slack.
1901 Munsey's Mag. 24 481/2 I've taken a lot of your slack for a month or two, and I'm..gettin' somewhat peevish.
7. Prosody. A syllable or part of a foot which does not receive stress.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > beat > thesis
thesisa1398
slacka1889
dip1894
a1889 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) Pref. 1 Every foot has one principal stress or accent, and this or the syllable it falls on may be called the Stress of the foot and the other part, the one or two unaccented syllables, the Slack.
1970 J. Malof Man. Eng. Meters i. 2 In the freer varieties of accentual verse, meter is determined simply by counting the number of stresses in the line.., ignoring the relatively unemphatic or unstressed syllables, which we call slacks.
1973 Word 1970 26 56 None or as many as six slacks may appear between such isochronous accents, though one, two, or three slacks are more normal.
8. A street-walker or prostitute. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > a prostitute
meretrixOE
whoreOE
soiled dovea1250
common womanc1330
putec1384
bordel womanc1405
putaina1425
brothelc1450
harlot?a1475
public womanc1510
naughty pack?1529
draba1533
cat1535
strange woman1535
stew1552
causey-paikera1555
putanie?1566
drivelling1570
twigger1573
punka1575
hackney1579
customer1583
commodity1591
streetwalker1591
traffic1591
trug1591
hackster1592
polecat1593
stale1593
mermaid1595
medlar1597
occupant1598
Paphian1598
Winchester goose1598
pagan1600
hell-moth1602
aunt1604
moll1604
prostitution1605
community1606
miss1606
night-worm1606
bat1607
croshabell1607
prostitute1607
pug1607
venturer1607
nag1608
curtal1611
jumbler1611
land-frigate1611
walk-street1611
doll-common1612
turn-up1612
barber's chaira1616
commonera1616
public commonera1616
trader1615
venturea1616
stewpot1616
tweak1617
carry-knave1623
prostibule1623
fling-dusta1625
mar-taila1625
night-shadea1625
waistcoateera1625
night trader1630
coolera1632
meretrician1631
painted ladya1637
treadle1638
buttock1641
night-walker1648
mob?1650
lady (also girl, etc.) of the game1651
lady of pleasure1652
trugmullion1654
fallen woman1659
girlc1662
high-flyer1663
fireship1665
quaedama1670
small girl1671
visor-mask1672
vizard-mask1672
bulker1673
marmalade-madam1674
town miss1675
town woman1675
lady of the night1677
mawks1677
fling-stink1679
Whetstone whore1684
man-leech1687
nocturnal1693
hack1699
strum1699
fille de joie1705
market-dame1706
screw1725
girl of (the) town1733
Cytherean1751
street girl1764
monnisher1765
lady of easy virtue1766
woman (also lady) of the town1766
kennel-nymph1771
chicken1782
stargazer1785
loose fish1809
receiver general1811
Cyprian1819
mollya1822
dolly-mop1834
hooker1845
charver1846
tail1846
horse-breaker1861
professional1862
flagger1865
cocodette1867
cocotte1867
queen's woman1871
common prostitute1875
joro1884
geisha1887
horizontal1888
flossy1893
moth1896
girl of the pavement1900
pross1902
prossie1902
pusher1902
split-arse mechanic1903
broad1914
shawl1922
bum1923
quiff1923
hustler1924
lady of the evening1924
prostie1926
working girl1928
prostisciutto1930
maggie1932
brass1934
brass nail1934
mud kicker1934
scupper1935
model1936
poule de luxe1937
pro1937
chromo1941
Tom1941
pan-pan1949
twopenny upright1958
scrubber1959
slack1959
yum-yum girl1960
Suzie Wong1962
mattress1964
jamette1965
ho1966
sex worker1971
pavement princess1976
parlour girl1979
crack whore1990
1959 Encounter May 24 Slack, which is the call-girls' word for a street-girl.
1963 Observer 29 Sept. 31/4 A young master was asked by a boy..‘Can a slack (prostitute) work hard enough to earn a living?’
1965 W. Young Eros Denied xiv. 141 The slack is afraid of disease, and afraid of the sex maniac who thinks it'd be fun to strangle her.
Compounds
slack suit n. a pair of slacks with a matching jacket, as a fashionable garment for women.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > for specific people > for women > trouser suit
trouser suit1898
slack suit1940
pants suit1964
pantsuit1964
1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xxvii. 203 Miss Anne Riordan stood there, in a pale green slack suit.
1973 H. Nielsen Severed Key viii. 91 She had..changed into a lime-green knitted slack-suit.
slack variable n. Mathematics a variable which expresses the difference between the two sides of an inequality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > variable
variable1816
variate1909
random variable1914
random variate1914
explanatory variable1939
predictor1943
regressor1953
slack variable1953
1953 Cooper & Henderson Introd. Linear Programming i. ii. 6 These values λi (i = 10,11,…16) so introduced may be referred to as slack variables... The requirement that the slack variables be non-negative merely extends the range of the subscript.
1974 P. R. Adby & M. A. H. Dempster Introd. Optimization Methods v. 156 At least some evidence exists which suggests that the use of slack variables is an effective method for handling inequality constraints, both linear and non-linear.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
slackadj.adv.
/slak/, U.S. /slæk/ A. adj.
I. Senses relating to people who lack energy or diligence, and related uses.
1.
a. Of persons: lacking in energy or diligence; inclined to be lazy or idle; remiss, careless; negligent or lax in regard to one's duties.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased
untrumc825
sickc888
unwholec888
slackc897
unstronga900
sicklea1000
sam-halea1023
worseOE
attaint1303
languishinga1325
heallessc1374
sicklyc1374
sicklewa1387
bada1393
mishalea1400
languoring?c1425
distempered1440
unwell?c1450
detent?a1475
poora1475
languorousc1475
maladif1481
illa1500
maladiousc1500
wanthriven1508
attainted1509
unsound1513
acrazed1521
cracked1527
unsoundya1529
visited1537
infirmed1552
crazed1555
healthless1568
ill-liking1572
afflicted1574
crazy1576
unhealthful1580
sickish1581
valetudinary1581
not well1587
fainty1590
ill-disposed1596
unhealthsome1598
tainted1600
ill-affected1604
peaking1611
unhealthy1611
infirmited1616
disaffected1626
physical1633
illish1637
pimping1640
invalid1642
misaffected1645
valetudinarious1648
unhale1653
badly1654
unwholesome1655
valetudinous1655
morbulent1656
off the hooksa1658
mawkish1668
morbid1668
unthriven1680
unsane1690
ailing1716
not wellish1737
underlya1742
poorly1750
indifferent1753
comical1755
maladized1790
sober1808
sickened1815
broken-down1816
peaky1821
poorlyish1827
souffrante1827
run-down1831
sicklied1835
addle1844
shaky1844
mean1845
dauncy1846
stricken1846
peakyish1853
po'ly1860
pindling1861
rough1882
rocky1883
suffering1885
wabbit1895
icky-boo1920
like death warmed up1924
icky1938
ropy1945
crappy1956
hanging1971
sick as a parrot1982
shite1987
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adjective] > indiligent or remiss
nesheOE
slackc897
undreigha1350
dissolutea1382
defaultyc1390
defaultive1398
remissivec1487
remissa1500
slakea1538
undiligent1564
unindustrious1599
discinct1604
unofficious1611
inindustriousa1631
indiligent1633
lax1812
remissful1836
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xvii. 125 Ðæt he..ne sie to stræc on ðære lare, ne to slæc on ðære mildheortnesse.
OE Beowulf 2187 Geata bearn..wendon, þæt he sleac wære, æðeling unfrom.
c1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) 8 317 Þæt þam sleacan preoste ne þince to mycel geswinc þæt he undo his eagan herto.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 32 Huanne he is ontrewe, sleuuol,..uoryetinde, slak, and fallinde.
c1386 G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale 413 Ye han mo slakkere dettours than am I.
c1400 Gamelyn 711 Allas! seide Gamelyn, þat euer I was so slak That I ne hadde broke his nekke.
1492 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 78 Yf he se othyr be slakke or necligent.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Hab. ii. A For in very dede he wil come, and not be slacke.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. i. i. 18 If they haue been found to be slacke, their negligence is openlie reprooued.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy iii. ii. v. v. 654 Many slacke & carelesse parents..measure their childrens affections by thier own.
1667 J. Dryden Indian Emperour iii. i. 28 The truce will make the Guards more slack.
1741 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 304 I put those of the women who were grown slack, into distinct Bands.
1793 A. Mann Let. 28 Oct. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 438 A Government unhinged, an exhausted Treasury, and slack Allies.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. ii. 61 When you complained that you and meat had been but slack friends of late.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. xlix. 255 In such parts of the West.., if the sheriff is distant or slack, lynch law may usefully be invoked.
b. With various constructions, esp. in with gerund or noun, and to with infinitive. Also †slack of, short of (quot. 1608).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > unsuccessful [phrase] > shortcoming
short of or from1560
slack of1608
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 100 Se ðe on oðrum dagum sleac wære to godnysse.
c1000 in Anglia (1889) 11 117 Handa mine..synd..sleace to ænig wyrcenne god.
1535 T. Starkey Let. ?Aug. in Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. xxiv I perceyue you haue byn slakker in wrytyng bycause you mor lokyd for ferther instructyon.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccl. v. 4 Yf thou make a vowe vnto God, be not slacke to perfourme it.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iii. 9 If you come slacke of former seruices, You shall doe well, the fault of it ile answere. View more context for this quotation
1681 H. More Plain Expos. Daniel (1782) ii. 97 Thy purged eye will see God is not slack..to fulfil his word.
1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 96 Neither the King, nor the Parliament, being slack in pursuing the business by the Sword.
1753 G. Washington Jrnl. in Writings (1889) I. 33 The French were not slack in their Inventions to keep the Indians this Day also.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 94 The sturdy armourer was not..slack in keeping the appointment.
1867 S. Smiles Huguenots Eng. & Ireland vii. 169 Louis was not slack in obeying the injunction.
1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 694 Florence..was not slack at attributing crimes to Eadric.
c. Slow in coming; tardy, late. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adjective] > late
lateOE
latefulc1384
tediousc1485
overlate1574
tarde1609
tardy1667
belated1670
sero1682
late in the day1689
slack1694
1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Amphitryon iv. v, in tr. Plautus Comedies 53 An empty Belly and a slack Guest, makes one as mad as the Devil.
2. Not busy; having little work, etc. (Cf. A. 6.)
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > [adjective] > working > not busy
slack1834
1834 Tait's Edinb. Mag. New Ser. 1 421/2 There are plenty of empty or slack hotels in Edinburgh that would answer your purpose.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. xv. 237 As we are rather slack just now, if you would give me a half-holiday.
1870 G. C. T. Bartley One Square Mile East-end London 54 He would not mind when in work, but when slack he thought they should go free.
II. Senses relating to things that are weak or lacking vitality.
3. Of conduct, actions, etc.: Characterized by remissness or lack of energy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > not vigorous or lively
slackc900
sapless1598
unquickened1610
invital1650
down1873
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adjective] > indiligent or remiss > characterized by indiligence or renissness
slackc900
remiss?1504
unassiduous1776
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. v. xv. 442 Ðiode he swiðe druncennisse & mongum oðrum unalefednessum ðæs slæcran lifes.
c960 Rule St. Benet (Schröer) xviii. 44 Hit is ealles to sleac munuca þeowdom..gif hie læsse singað on þære wucan.
c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 602 We sceolon asceacan ðone sleacan slæp us fram.
1534 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. 1312/2 Their fastynges were also verye paynefull and precyse: and ours neglygent, slacke, and remysse.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 1 The cause of my slacke and seldome comming to the Church.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 136 If they will decypher..a slow and slacke victory, they picture a Scorpion.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. x. 4 He becommeth poor that dealeth with a slacke hand. View more context for this quotation
1848 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. vii. i, in Wks. VII. vii. i. 380 The slack though fitful reign of William the Testy.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xxi. 566 The correspondence gradually became more and more slack.
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. xiv. 820 Some very great men have effected absolutely nothing, not because their labour was slack, but because their method was sterile.
4. Of pace: Slow; not smart or hurried.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [adjective]
lateeOE
slackc1000
slowc1225
heavya1400
lent14..
slowfulc1400
sloth1412
latesomea1425
sluggedc1430
sluggingc1430
tardy1483
lingeringa1547
tarde1547
sleuth1567
snailish1581
slow-moving1592
lagging1597
snail-paced1597
snail-slow1600
slow-pacing1616
snail-like1639
sluggish1640
ignave1657
languishing1693
slow-stepping1793
lentitudinous1801
somnolent1812
slow-coachish1844
tardigradous1866
vermigrade1938
slow-cooking1968
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > specifically of things or actions
slackc1000
slowa1300
lent14..
slow-paced1610
adagio1729
vermigrade1938
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > of pace
slackc1000
amblinga1470
softly1572
slow-paced1610
downtempo1972
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 138 Sum oðer munuc..mid sleaccre stalcunge his fotswaðum filigde.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 2037 The nobleste of the Grekys..carieden the beere With slak paas.
1682 J. Dryden Medall 4 Their pace was formal, grave and slack.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 283 As he came nearer, I found his Pace was slacker, because he had something in his Hand.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) v. 59 His companion slackened the slack pace of the horse.
5.
a. Comparatively weak or slow in operation; deficient in strength or activity; dull.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > not vigorous or lively > not vigorous enough or as expected
slack1398
laxc1450
mild1612
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) v. xxxvi Whanne þe vertu is feble and slake it may nought sprede þe woosen and veynes into euerich place and side of þe body.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iii. met. ii. l. 1851 Wiþ slakke and delitable soun of strenges.
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. xxviiv This infyrmite doth come thorowe euyll, slake, or slowe dygestion.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 95 Rebellion now began for lack Of Zeal and Plunder to grow slack.
1718 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 8 The moral Spaniard's ebbing Veins, By Study worn, and slack with Age.
1786 F. Burney Diary 7 Aug. (1842) III. 63 I pretended not to understand him. I am forced to that method of slack comprehension continually.
1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 15 Many brewers hesitate in applying what are called slack liquors, lest their worts should be foul.
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. IV. viii. iv. 81 It may be imagined whether imitation is in danger of being slack.
1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. v. 167 The culture of Germany,—so wide,..that it is apt to become slack and powerless.
b. Of heat, etc.: Not strong or excessive; gentle, moderate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > [adjective] > gentle or moderate
slack1495
the world > relative properties > quantity > moderateness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective]
evenlya1200
methefully?c1225
renable?1305
reasonablea1325
measurablec1330
skillwisea1340
moderatea1398
temperate1398
meetlya1400
measurablyc1450
rationablec1475
competent1535
midway1573
modest1582
sober1619
medious1657
slack1662
meeverly1819
low key1941
1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. ix. xv. 356 Thys monthe [July] the heete is stronge in the begynnynge and slacker in the ende.
1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike 57 They give the greatest coldness to the water, with a slack or mean moystness.
1735 Dict. Polygraph. at Varnish Harden it..first with a slack heat, the next with a warmer, and the third with a very hot one.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. iii. 165 Set them in a slack Oven till they are tender.
1892 Daily News 11 Mar. 5/8 Three-fourths of the blast furnaces have been put on slack blast.
c. Of wind, or tide: Blowing, or running, with very little strength or speed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > gentle
plaina1425
small1542
soft-footed1603
supple1648
favonian1656
zephyrian1661
slack1670
zephyrousa1750
zephyry1791
zephyrean1793
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > tide > type of tide > [adjective] > slack
spentc1595
slack1670
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 41 Cæsar..about sun sett hoysing saile with a slack South-West, at midnight was becalm'd.
1816 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges iv. 122 Pontoons used as row-boats when the tide was slack.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Satyrane's Lett. in Biogr. Lit. i The wind continuing slack.
1892 W. C. Russell List, ye Landsmen xi The breeze has fallen slack.
6.
a. Of work, etc.: Not brisk or active.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [adjective] > of business: slack
slack1813
slow1823
1813 Sporting Mag. 42 119 When betting became slack.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 17 Discourses..'Bout work being slack, and rise and fall of bread.
1873 C. Robinson New S. Wales 50 The work..is not always continuous as the demand is sometimes slack.
b. Of times: Characterized by inactivity or dullness in work or business.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [adjective] > of business: slack > characterized by
slack1828
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) Slack times.
1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) ix. 99 A slack season in which many workmen remain unemployed.
1894 Field 1 Dec. 838/2 There would be a slack three weeks between two of the fruit crops.
III. Held or holding loosely; relaxed, open, and related uses.
7.
a. Not drawn or held tightly or tensely; relaxed, loose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > textures or states of skin > [adjective] > loose
slackc1386
loosec1460
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adjective] > slack or not tense
slakec1374
slackc1386
remiss?a1425
loosec1460
relax1605
lax1660
stray1791
relaxed1825
unstraitened1859
unstrained1882
tensionless1905
c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 605 The slakke skyn aboute his nekke shaketh.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1250 Þe stedes rennen wiþ slake bridlen.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 317/2 Lusch, or slak, laxus.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 324/1 Slacke, nat fast togyther, lasche.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Mar. 83 His..siluer bowe, which was but slacke.
1621 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1618–21 (1906) I. 272 In the morning wee bore a slack saile.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 4 The Stays were very slack, being loosened by the force of the Wind the day before.
1798 W. S. Landor Gebir vii. 52 The slack cordage rattles round the mast.
1819 S. Cooper First Lines Pract. Surg. (ed. 4) I. i. xvi. 179 It was an invariable rule with me to be sure that the bandage was slack.
1879 J. Beerbohm Wanderings in Patagonia iii. 29 The slack canvas being no longer water-tight, little pools of water gathered round the furs and saddle-cloths.
b. In figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1590 R. Hitchcock tr. F. Sansovino Quintesence of Wit f. 13 Wicked men let slacke their raines with liberty to follow vice.
1648 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 104 To reward merritt and punish offenders.., not letting slacke the raignes.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 101 Somewhere must a screw be slack!
c. Free from confinement. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > [adjective] > free from confinement
freeOE
deliverc1300
loose1303
unironedc1450
unbandoned1487
slack1565
unshut1610
unpinioned1621
unthronged1648
untrapped1648
unconfined1649
footloose1702
unensnareda1711
uncaged1731
unlockeda1740
unfettered1748
uncramped1797
unshackled1816
unleashed1825
foot-free1837
unhandcuffed1861
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis i. f. 4v Eche one of them vnlosde his spring, and let his waters slacke.
d. Not contracted; open, wide. rare.
ΚΠ
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 73v You must take heede..that the cleft be not to slacke nor to strayt.
e. Phonetics. Of a vowel: = lax adj. 5c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1909 H. C. Wyld Elem. Lessons Eng. Gram. ii. 28 Vowels formed with the tongue tense we call Tense Vowels, those with the tongue soft we call Slack Vowels.
1934 C. Davies Eng. Pronunc. 8 It was probably a slack, round mid-back, vowel.
1970 B. M. H. Strang Hist. Eng. 285 The letter æ represents a long, low, slack front vowel /æ:/ in dælan.
8. Lacking cohesiveness or solidity; not compact or firm; crumbling, loose; soft.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > [adjective] > loose texture > lacking cohesion
slackc1440
running1598
incoherent1695
incohering1713
shaken1747
incohesive1881
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 72 Slak [v.r. sclak] sonde, lymous and lene, vnswete & depe.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 269 Of these Cobwebs..some..are loose, weake, slacke, and not well bound: other contrarywise well compacted.
1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. I. iv. 91 When malt which has been thus sprinkled remains some time in store, it grows soft, or slack, as it is called.
1897 Daily News 29 Dec. 4/7 The mud, which was a cake during the frost, became slack dough with the thaw.
9.
a. Of the hand: Not holding or grasping firmly. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of placing or holding body in relaxed posture > [adjective] > specific part of body
relaxed?a1425
lank1637
slack1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 892 From his slack hand the Garland wreath'd for Eve Down drop'd. View more context for this quotation
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 187 A slack Hand has..been held upon them.
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 547 Down dropp'd the leg, from her slack hand releas'd.
1853 W. C. Bryant Poems (new ed.) 65 His slack hand Drops the drawn knife.
1871 F. T. Palgrave Lyrical Poems 120 Some finish'd thing, Ere the slack hands at eve Drop, should be his to leave.
b. Similarly of one's hold of anything.
ΚΠ
1836 E. B. Barrett Poet's Vow in New Monthly Mag. Oct. 211 A somewhat slacker hold.
1876 S. Smiles Life Sc. Naturalist ii. 29 Her hold getting a little slacker, he made a sudden bolt.
B. adv.
a. In a slack manner; loosely, slackly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adverb] > without diligence
slowlyeOE
slacklyc960
unduly1423
remissly1533
slenderly?1542
dissolutely1553
indiligentlya1631
slack1641
undiligently1645
unindustriously1659
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [adverb]
lateeOE
latelyOE
heavilyc1000
hoolya1340
slowlyc1384
slowa1398
sluggedlyc1450
tarryingly1530
loiteringly1547
sluggishly1565
languishingly1579
limpingly1579
lingeringly1589
tarde1598
unnimbly1607
longsomelyc1610
tardilya1616
languidly1655
heavy1701
slack1854
snailishly1889
tharfly1894
pole pole1902
weedy-slow1921
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [adverb] > slack
slack1854
slackly1884
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adverb] > tardily or sluggishly
slacklyc960
latelyOE
heavilyc1000
hoolya1340
sluggedlyc1450
sluggishlyc1450
tarryingly1530
loiteringly1547
tediously1557
languishingly1579
limpingly1579
lingeringly1589
unnimbly1607
longsomelyc1610
tardilya1616
a-sluga1620
sluggingly1653
languidly1655
dilatorily1700
heavy1701
lagginglyc1817
laggardly1835
slack1854
slackly1884
logily1912
1641 J. Milton Of Reformation 9 Persecuting the Protestants no slacker then the Pope would have done.
1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid v. 357 It is better they [the joints] be bound slack a whole week, than too hard one hour.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 81 Makes the Joint go stiffer, or slacker, at Pleasure.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 242 Tradesmen..say, ‘Money comes in very slack’.
b. With past participles, as slack-done, slack-dried, slack-laid, slack-salted, slack-sized, slack-spun, slack-tethered.
ΚΠ
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ viii. 133 A handfull of slack dryed Hops will marr, and spoyl many pounds.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 56 Slack-laid means slack-twisted.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 59 If slack-spun, it will break.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 242 Anything dressed before a slack fire, or in a slow oven, as ‘slack-done meat’.
1862 G. Rawlinson Five Great Monarchies: Chaldæa I. v. 91 A third [brick], the coarsest of all, is slack-dried, and of a pale red.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vi. [Hades] 95 On the towpath by the lock a slacktethered horse.
Compounds
C1. Special collocations.
slack barrel n. one made to hold dry goods.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > barrel or cask > [noun] > for non-liquids
meal fat1360
dryfat1526
yoting vat1543
vat1766
slack barrel1877
slack cask1877
1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 338/2 Slack barrels are..extensively employed.
slack cask n. = slack barrel n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > barrel or cask > [noun] > for non-liquids
meal fat1360
dryfat1526
yoting vat1543
vat1766
slack barrel1877
slack cask1877
1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 338/1 Tight or wet and dry or slack cask manufacture.
slack-course n. (see quot. 1875).
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2197/2 Slack-course (Knitting-machine), a range of loops or stitches more open than those which precede them.
slack helm n. (see quot. 1867).
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 630 Slack helm, if the ship is too much by the stern, she will carry her helm too much a-lee.
slack key adj. [translating Hawaiian kī hō‘alu, < kī key + hō‘alu slack] Music used absol. and attributively, esp. as slack-key guitar, with reference to a style of guitar-playing originating in Hawaii, in which the strings are slightly relaxed to produce strong bass resonances.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > playing stringed instrument > [noun] > guitar techniques
slidec1608
rasgado1876
fingerstyle1923
bottleneck1928
fingerpicking1956
bottleneck style1959
bottleneck playing1968
slide guitar1968
bottleneck slide guitar1973
chicken scratch1974
slack key1975
1975 G. S. Kanahele in Ha‘ilono Mele (Hawaiian Music Found.) Jan. 2/2 Our first concert [in 1972] was memorable. It featured the slack key guitar, the first time that an entire concert was devoted to the unique style of playing.
1976 Guitar Player Apr. 14/2 The original style is kept alive solely by those guitarists who insist on playing only slack key.
1977 Zigzag Mar. 20/1 Could you explain about slack-key guitar?
slack lip n. = slack-jaw n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull talk
humdrum1727
slack-jaw1797
slack lip1899
the mind > emotion > pride > impudence > [noun] > speech
sauce malapert1529
petulancea1652
jaw1748
snash1786
slack-jaw1797
slang1805
gob1807
lip1821
cheek1825
slack1825
sass1841
back-talk1858
back sass1883
mouth1891
slack lip1899
back-chat1901
chin1902
slop1952
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif ix. 104 No man durst give him ‘slack lip’ on pain of being instantly knocked endways.
slack party n. Nautical slang (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > [noun] > punishments
fatigue1776
rack-lashing1822
pack-drill1836
shot-drill1864
jankers1916
slack party1933
1933 J. Masefield Conway iv. 145 For official punishments there was an institution known as ‘slack party’, which meant employment upon every available job..from morning till night.
1945 ‘Tackline’ Holiday Sailor 133 Jimmy's pet form of punishment was his ‘slack party’. Hands tardy in going on watch or performing some allotted task with lack of zeal were enrolled in the slack party. And the slack party did not lead an especially restful existence.
slack sail n. (cf. slack n.3 4a).
ΚΠ
1621 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1618–21 (1906) 272 In the morning wee bore a slack saile.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. at Slab-lines They are used to truss up the slack sail, after it has been ‘disarmed’ by the leech and bunt-lines.
1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys 129 If the slacksail was allowed to hang down abaft the yard in a gale, and beat about, it would chafe the sail through.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 154/2 Where slack sail has to be taken in, it is the practice to leave it to the judgement of the sailmaker.
slack wire n. a wire not drawn tight, on which an acrobat performs.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > rope-walking or dancing > rope or wire
ropeeOE
low rope?c1635
slack-rope1749
slack wire1753
tightrope1801
blondin1863
high wire1863
slackline2002
1753 N.-Y. Mercury 20 Aug. 3/3 The Surprizing Performances of the celebrated Anthony Joseph Dugee..On a Slack Wire scarcely perceptible and without a Balance.
1825 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 1185 Another female danced on the slack-wire.
1866 M. Mackintosh Stage Reminisc. xi. 138 Andrew was at once a good tight-rope dancer and slack-wire vaulter.
1977 E. Ambler Send no More Roses viii. 183 A slack-wire baggy-pants act out of a third-rate circus.
C2. † b. † slack-grace n. Obsolete one who has little grace.
a. Parasynthetic adjectives, as slack-backed, slack-fingered, slack-haired, slack-hammed, slack-handed, slack-jawed, slack-mouthed, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > [adjective] > open-mouthed
with open mouth1548
open-mouthed?1606
slack-jawed1642
slack-mouthed1642
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > mouth > [adjective] > open-mouthed
yawningc890
galpingc1386
open-mouthed?1533
gaping1594
wide-mouth?c1599
mouthed1609
slack-jawed1642
slack-mouthed1642
open-mouth1702
wide-mouthed1776
gapish1850
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 301 Debaucht and slacke hayred companions.
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 20 O, there's a monstrous league between these soft And slack-ham'd pathicks!
1669 J. Flavell Husbandry Spiritualized i. i. 22 What, now slack handed, when so neer to my everlasting rest!
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) at Slag A slack-mettled fellow, one not ready to resent an affront.
1822 G. W. Manby Voy. Greenland 130 In what are called slack-backed fish.
1880 G. Meredith Tragic Comedians I. vi. 113 This time if I let you slip, may I be stamped slack-fingered!
1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ For White Rose Arno (U.K. ed.) 25 A slack-lipped specimen of the young blood of the period.
1901 R. Kipling Kim iii. 76 Our colonel used to send for slack-jawed down-country men who talked too much.
1936 W. Faulkner Absalom, Absalom! 44 Wild-eyed and considerably slack-mouthed.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 32 He stood for perhaps ten seconds, slackjawed with amazed and incredulous comprehension.
1976 P. Cave High Flying Birds iii. 42 I continued to gaze at Sonya with slack-mouthed adoration.
1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends ii. iii. 170 The people were Catholics nearly to a person, and they stared slack-jawed at the line of nuns.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > evil and graceless > [noun] > person
gracelessc1405
want-grace1603
slack-grace1623
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [noun] > reprobacy > person
gracelessc1405
castaway1526
losthope?c1550
reprobate1592
want-grace1603
perdu1611
slack-grace1623
1623 R. Carpenter Conscionable Christian 29 Weaklings and slacke-graces, set not their hands to the worke.
Draft additions August 2001
a. colloquial (originally Caribbean). derogatory. Of a person, esp. a woman: sexually promiscuous, licentious. Also: immoral, indecent. Cf. loose adj. 7.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective]
golec888
canga1225
light?c1225
wooinga1382
nicea1387
riota1400
wantonc1400
wrenec1400
lachesc1450
loose?a1500
licentious1555
libertine1560
prostitute1569
riggish1569
wide1574
slipper1581
slippery1586
sportive1595
gay1597
Cyprian1598
suburb1598
waggish1600
smicker1606
suburbian1606
loose-living1607
wantona1627
free-living1632
libertinous1632
loose-lived1641
Corinthian1642
akolastic1656
slight1685
fast1699
freea1731
brisk1740
shy1787
slang1818
randomc1825
fastish1832
loosish1846
slummya1860
velocious1872
fly1880
slack1951
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > unchaste or sexually compliant (of women)
strumpeta1382
jadish1573
comingc1576
short heeled1591
loose in the hilts1598
loose-legged1598
loose-tailed1598
light-tailed1600
overscutched1600
stuprous1603
light-skirted1607
brothelly1608
light-heeled1611
wagtailed1648
loose-hilteda1652
feather-heeleda1674
loose-gowneda1717
frank1744
shake-tail1782
(a woman) of a certain description1803
hetaeric1868
round-heeled1926
floozy?1930
trampy1944
slack1951
slaggy1973
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > promiscuous
harlotry1579
light o' love1589
trolloping1701
promiscuous1804
wutless1853
slutty1912
make-out1949
slack1951
swinging1964
bed-hopping1979
bonking1987
1951 Bim (Barbados) 4 No. 14. 98 The woman muttered a curse and drew her slack self along.
1976 Sunday Chron. (Georgetown, Guyana) 8 Aug. 27 He told me that I must consider him a friend and not as a ‘slack’ doctor. I would like to know if this doctor was trying to exploit my innocence or if it is really his duty to do what he did to me.
1998 P. Gwynne Deadly Unna? x. 57 The only time a girl's name would appear was when one of us wrote it, like ‘Monica is a slut’ or ‘Josie is slack.’
b. Originally Jamaican. Esp. of language: sexually explicit, lewd.Particularly associated with the lyrics or DJ toasts (see toast n.3 2) of reggae, ragga, and dancehall.
ΚΠ
1979 ‘General Echo’ (perf. under the name ‘Ranking Slackness’) (title of record) Slackest LP.
1984 New Musical Express 4 Aug. Ringo and the late General Echo, two seriously slack deejays.
1989 J. O. Stewart Drinkers, Drummers, & Decent Folk 152 The young boys took over the center then..with their tampi, and their slack talk.
1997 in S. Barrow & P. Dalton Reggae vii. 307/1 Me nah do slack deejay talk.
2012 Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 17 Aug. 25 Slack lyrics aside, Jamaican pop music is still consistently the most innovative, daring and at times downright bonkers in the world.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slackv.
/slak/, U.S. /slæk/ I. transitive.reflexive.1881 J. Ruskin Love's Meinie Pref. p. viii Languages called living, but which live only to slack themselves into slang, or bloat themselves into bombast.
1. † b. To neglect (an opportunity, etc.); to allow to slip or pass by. Obsolete.† c. To lose or waste (time). Obsolete.
a. To be slack or remiss in respect of (some business, duty, etc.); to leave undone or not properly attended to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > be careless or heedless of [verb (transitive)] > be remiss about
slack1530
loiterc1540
forslack1570
disneglect1800
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 720/2 Whye slacke you your busynesse thus?
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 7th Serm. sig. Ddiiiv What a remorse of conscience shall ye haue, when ye remembre howe ye haue slacked your dutye.
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 37 Who slacketh his tillage, a carter to bee, for grote got abrode, at home lose shall three.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 403 Why not my Lord? if then they chanc'st to slacke you, We could controwle them. View more context for this quotation
1621 F. Quarles Hadassa §2 in Wks. (1880) II. 48/2 But in contempt, she slacks our dread behest, Neglects performance of our deare Request.
a1659 R. Brownrig 65 Serm. (1674) I. i. 16 Fear had made him..slack the performance of what he had promised.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. IV. 68 My duty has limits, and if I slack it for a day [etc.].
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 76 Breeding ewes that are kept too well..seldom acquit themselves so well..as those that have been slacked a little in winter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [verb (transitive)] > fail to take advantage of an opportunity
waivec1400
slack1548
slipc1592
balka1616
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > not do [verb (transitive)] > allow to pass or miss (an opportunity, etc.)
overleapa1400
slack1548
slake1560
lapse1667
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xxvijv The occasion of so glorious a victory..was..putte by and shamefully slacked.
1595 S. Daniel First Fowre Bks. Ciuile Warres iii. lxxvi. sig. Qv This good chaunce that this much fauoureth, He slackes not.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus iii. 1 Slacke not this thy tearme-time, but get..knowledge of God.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 352 Time calls you now,..Slack not the good Presage.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > waste time
leese?c1225
losea1340
defer1382
wastea1400
slip1435
consumea1500
superexpend1513
slow?1522
sloth1523
to fode forth1525
slack1548
dree1584
sleuth1584
confound1598
spenda1604
to fret out1608
to spin out1608
misplace1609
spend1614
tavern1628
devast1632
to drill away, on, outa1656
dulla1682
to dally away1685
squander1693
to linger awaya1704
dangle1727
dawdle1768
slim1812
diddle1826
to run out the clock1957
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxj Like a spedy puruior, whiche slacketh not tyme.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. ii. 82 Lest by slacking the time they prouoked his further displeasure.
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. v. 40 Slacke not time..to prosecute him freshly in the Reare-ward.
2.
a. To cease to go on with, or prosecute, in a vigorous and energetic manner; to allow to fall off or decline. Also to slack one's hand(s), to diminish one's exertions or activity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > make less active or vigorous > allow to become less vigorous > specific one's actions, etc.
slake1390
mitigate?a1500
slack1520
slake1586
relax1655
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > relax one's efforts
slakec1000
slakea1225
flakec1500
slack1560
slacken1641
relax1652
to slack one's hand(s)1688
to drop off1827
ease1863
slack1864
to ease off1925
1520 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 63 Though the preparacions here bene slacked, because moche money nedith.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 143 The king of clemencie tha besocht, to slak the seige a lytle.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 15 Neither is there any reason why we should slacke our endeavours.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Rrr4v/2 To slack his hand, in point of Liberality, to give less liberally, être moins liberal.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 58 If they slack their hands, or cease to strive, Then down the Flood with headlong haste they drive. View more context for this quotation
1790 J. Wesley Jrnl. 1 Jan. I do not slack my labour. I can preach and write still.
1835 N. P. Willis Melanie 57 I did not slack my love of life and hope of pleasure.
b. To allow to mitigate or abate. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > make less active or vigorous > allow to become less vigorous
slack1560
slackena1631
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clxj Consideryng how the Turke slacketh nothyng of his fiersenes.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ix. sig. I3v Yet neither would their fiendlike fury slacke, But euermore their malice did augment. View more context for this quotation
1609 C. Tourneur Funerall Poeme sig. B4v With their obedience, he did slacke the bent Of his seueritie in punishment.
3.
a. To reduce the force or strength of; to make less active, vigorous, or violent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)]
temperc1000
keelc1175
slakea1300
abate?c1335
settle1338
swagea1340
modifyc1385
rebatea1398
bate1398
moder1414
releasea1425
remiss?a1425
moderate1435
alethe?1440
delaya1450
appal1470
addulce1477
mollify1496
mean?a1513
relent1535
qualify1536
temperatea1540
aplake1578
slack1589
relaxate1598
milden1603
mitigate1611
relax1612
alleniate1615
allay1628
alloy1634
castigate1653
smoothen1655
tendera1656
mitify1656
meeken1662
remitigate1671
obviscate1684
slacken1685
chastise1704
dulcify1744
absorb1791
demulceate1817
chasten1856
modulate1974
mediate1987
1589 T. Nashe Anat. Absurditie sig. Diiiiv There be three things which are wont to slack young Students endeuour.
1610 Histrio-mastix vi. 149 To waile our want, let speaking slacke the paine.
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 155 The boiling heate of your love will be..at least something slackt.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 142 I slack'd my Fire gradually.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xxi. 399 Nor slack thy furious fires 'till with a shout I give command, then bid them cease to blaze.
1812 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 34 234 You ringers, slack the knell.
b. To slake (one's thirst).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (transitive)] > slake thirst
moistc1400
moisten1567
slack1631
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes v. x. 420 So much as might somewhat slacke their thirst.
1663 L. Womock Aron-bimnucha or Antidote to cure Calamites 29 Here is a Julip will slack his thirst.
1750 W. Beawes Lex Mercatoria (1752) 1 A neighbouring spring slacked their thirst.
1864 J. M. Neale Seatonian Poems 52 One drop to find, his maddening thirst to slack.
a1904 A. Adams Log of Cowboy v. 65 It was a novelty to see them reach the water and slack their thirst.
4. To make lax, neglectful, or remiss.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > be careless or heedless of [verb (transitive)] > be remiss about > make remiss
slack?c1599
?c1599 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid Certaine Elegies i. i, in J. Davies & C. Marlowe Epigrammes & Elegies sig. E2v I slackt my Muse, and made my number soft.
?1609 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 30 Not to slack you towards those friends which are religious in other clothes then we.
1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 399 Hold thy foot (when he hath thus slackt thy heart).
5.
a. To delay or retard; to render slower in respect of motion or progress. Also with up. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > reduce (speed) > cause to reduce speed
check1393
slow1557
lag1570
slack1577
slacken1580
slug1605
trasha1616
overslow1619
beslowa1644
steady1812
to slow up1868
decelerate1899
1577 tr. ‘F. de L'Isle’ Legendarie sig. Ivj When..the Kinge of Spaines embassador slacked his comming to ye Council.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. i. 3 I am nothing slow to slacke [1597 slacke to slow] his haste. View more context for this quotation
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. iv. 80 All other bodies are slacked by the medium or Aire by which they are to moue.
1638 W. Rawley tr. F. Bacon Hist. Nat. & Exper. Life & Death 33 This..conserveth the Greennesse, and slacketh the Dessication of it.
1891 Cent. Dict. To slack up, to retard the speed of, as a railway-train.
b. To allow (one's pace, course, etc.) to become less rapid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > reduce (speed)
slack1633
slacken1749
1633 J. Hart Κλινικη Ep. Ded. 1 It did not become one that was running a race, to intermit or slacke his pace.
1675 T. Otway Alcibiades iii. iii. 30 But you Sir.., Missing your game can eas'ly slack the flight.
1704 J. Swift Full Acct. Battel between Bks. in Tale of Tub 276 But W—tt—n..began to slack his Course.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality II. viii. 81 Here, slacking our pace, we found ourselves growing extremely sick.
1826 T. Hood Fall of Deer 23 Slacking Pace at last From runninge slow he standeth faste.
6. figurative.1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly III. vii. 118 Jack Dunquerque was to ‘slack off’ his visits to Twickenham.
a. To make slack or loose; to render less tense or taut; to loosen, relax.
ΚΠ
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 720/2 I slacke a knotte,..I lowse a thynge that was to strayte tyed, je lasche.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 720/2 Slacke his gyrdell.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ii. sig. N4v Ne euer Artegall his griple strong For any thing wold slacke, but still vppon him hong. View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xi. 43 Slacke the bolins there. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island viii. i. 107 The Sunne began to slack his bended bow.
1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum 53 As often slacking the Turneke.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Slack the hand, is to slack the bridle, or give a horse head.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality xii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st. Ser. IV. 270 Tak the gentleman's horse to the stable, and slack his girths.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 630 Slack the laniard of our main-stay.
b. With adverbs, as back, down, off, etc.
ΚΠ
1806 Port of London Bye-Laws (1807) xxvii. 34 If the person..shall not..slack off the breastfasts of such ship.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 631 Slack up the hawser.
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools Pl.Q 7 The saw can be instantly stopped by slacking back one of the slides.
1883 Cent. Mag. Sept. 654 With..the peak of the foresail slacked down.
1893 F. M. Crawford Children of King i. 8 A hand forward to slack out the cable.
c. absol.
ΚΠ
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth v, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 134 Give her line enough; but do not slack too fast.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 27 Slack back two or three turns.
1884 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases 9 426 They slacked astern-about 25 feet.
7. To cause (lime) to disintegrate by the action of water or moisture; to slake.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > lime materials > actions of lime materials [verb (intransitive)] > slake
fry1624
slack1700
slacken1703
slake1766
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 21 When you slack the Lime, take care to wet it every where a little.
1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 40 It..takes the form of a fine powder, and the title of ‘Lime slacked in the air’.
1812 J. Sinclair Acct. Syst. Husbandry Scotl. i. 177 Lime, if exposed to rain,..and slacked like mortar, loses half its effect.
1905 Daily Mail 2 Jan. 5/6 Where 150 sacks of lime, slacked by the inrushing water, burst into flame and were destroyed.
II. intransitive.† 8. To delay, tarry. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)]
geleOE
studegieOE
abideOE
to do in or a (= on) fristc1175
dwellc1175
demurc1230
targec1250
dretcha1325
tarrya1375
sojourn1377
defer1382
letc1385
hinderc1386
blina1400
delay?a1400
honea1400
litea1400
overbidea1400
prolongc1425
supersede1433
hoverc1440
tarrowc1480
sunyie1488
stay?a1500
sleep1519
slack1530
protract1540
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
slug1565
jauk1568
temporize1579
detract1584
longering1587
sit1591
prorogue1593
to time it out1613
to lie out1640
crastinate1656
taigle17..
to hang fire1782
to hold off1790
to hang it on1819
prevaricate1854
to lie over1856
to tread water1942
to drag one's feet1946
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 720/2 You have slacked to longe, you shulde have come afore.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) ii. i. sig. C.iij I woulde not haue slacked for ten thousand poundes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Tardiver, to linger, foreslow, slacke, delay.
9. 1904 Daily Chron. 27 June 8/2 It is far better for any eleven to possess a duffer,—..provided he is a thorough ‘goer’—than a good player, however great, if he slacks.1906 Punch 20 June 437 After a heavy morning on the Pier, I always slack it in the afternoon.
a. To be inactive or idle; to fail to exert oneself in a due manner. Also with it. In modern use colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > relax one's efforts > fail to exert oneself
slack1543
coast1934
1543 Necess. Erudit. Chr. Man B iii Those men..slacking in suche care and desyre, as they shulde haue to please god.
1582 Queen Marguerite of Navarre's Godlie Medit. (new ed.) in T. Bentley et al. Monument of Matrones ii. 6 Thou..also didst put hir [sc the soul] within this bodie, not for to slacke with sloth.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme xliv. 86 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 37 Vpp O lord,..Sleepe not euer, slack not euer.
b. To neglect, to be backward or dilatory, to do something. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)]
geleOE
studegieOE
abideOE
to do in or a (= on) fristc1175
dwellc1175
demurc1230
targec1250
dretcha1325
tarrya1375
sojourn1377
defer1382
letc1385
hinderc1386
blina1400
delay?a1400
honea1400
litea1400
overbidea1400
prolongc1425
supersede1433
hoverc1440
tarrowc1480
sunyie1488
stay?a1500
sleep1519
slack1530
protract1540
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
slug1565
jauk1568
temporize1579
detract1584
longering1587
sit1591
prorogue1593
to time it out1613
to lie out1640
crastinate1656
taigle17..
to hang fire1782
to hold off1790
to hang it on1819
prevaricate1854
to lie over1856
to tread water1942
to drag one's feet1946
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > be or become slow [verb (intransitive)] > be dilatory
slowOE
tarrya1375
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
forslow1571
to hang back1581
to hang an (also the) arse1596
to hang fire1782
to be slow off the mark1972
c1560 E. G. in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) II. 505 Thy word to offer thou doest not slacke.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 41 Slack not my woords to remember.
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Ecclus. v. 8 Slacke not to be converted to our Lord.
1611 Bible (King James) Deut. xxiii. 21 When thou shalt vow a vow vnto the Lord.., thou shalt not slacke to pay it. View more context for this quotation
1886 C. Rossetti Poems (1904) 146 The kind Physician will not slack to treat His patient.
10.
a. Of persons (or animals): To become less energetic, active, or diligent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > relax one's efforts
slakec1000
slakea1225
flakec1500
slack1560
slacken1641
relax1652
to slack one's hand(s)1688
to drop off1827
ease1863
slack1864
to ease off1925
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxiiiv After they..found in manner nothing, they begin somewhat to slack.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice iii. 70 If after a traine or two more, they slacke againe the second time.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 30 In case any man appointed to worke seemed to slacke,..he chastised and put him off.
1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 13 We rowed with fourteen oars, and continued so most part of the day, slacking at times when it was very hot.
1875 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) I. 319 I have somewhat slacked from the Virgil translation.
b. Similarly with off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > relax one's efforts
slakec1000
slakea1225
flakec1500
slack1560
slacken1641
relax1652
to slack one's hand(s)1688
to drop off1827
ease1863
slack1864
to ease off1925
1864 C. M. Yonge Trial II. ii. 41 If he slacks off in his respect or affection for you.
1884 Bazaar, Exchange & Mart 17 Dec. 647/2 This young artist..has not slacked off, as so many do when a certain..standard is reached.
11.
a. To diminish in strength or speed; to become weaker or slower; to moderate in some respect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (intransitive)] > decrease speed
slack1580
slow1594
slacken1734
to flag rein1848
steady1850
to slow down1857
to slow up1861
decelerate1928
downshift1974
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)]
allayc1275
softc1300
assuage1330
swagec1330
slakea1352
stanchc1420
overslakec1425
appeasec1440
to swage ofc1440
to sit downa1555
soften1565
slack1580
mitigate1633
moderate1737
gentle1912
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)]
littleOE
setc1000
wanzec1175
lessc1225
allayc1275
wane1297
slaken1303
disincreasec1374
slakec1380
decrease1382
debatea1400
unwaxa1400
wastea1400
adminishc1400
lessenc1400
imminish14..
aslakec1405
minish?a1425
assuagec1430
shrinkc1449
to let down1486
decay1489
diminish1520
fall1523
rebate1540
batea1542
to come down1548
abate1560
stoop1572
pine1580
slack1580
scanten1585
shrivel1588
decrew1596
remit1629
contract1648
subside1680
lower1697
relax1701
drop1730
to take off1776
to run down1792
reduce1798
recede1810
to run off1816
to go down1823
attenuatea1834
ease1876
downscale1945
1580 H. Smith in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 475 The storme began to slacke, otherwise we had bene in ill case.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. ii. xvi. 11 For that naturall motions doe either hasten or slacke.
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia (new ed.) 21 If the fire chance to slack, which I have kindled.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World ii. 69 Just as we had gain'd somewhat more than mid passage, the tide slack'd.
1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 28 July in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 394 Rain slacked about six, and we set out.
1865 W. G. Palgrave Narr. Journey through Arabia II. 313 The breeze slacked, and we slowly worked up to the north.
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad 274 One expected to see the locomotive pause, or slack up a little.
b. Of affairs, business, etc.: To fall off; to go more slowly; to be less brisk.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [verb (intransitive)] > of business activity: fall off
slack1609
slacken1725
to turn down1936
downshift1974
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 24 Their negotiations all must slacke, Wanting his mannage. View more context for this quotation
1831 R. Shennan Tales, Songs, & Misc. Poems 37 When business had begun to slack.
12. To become less tense, rigid, or firm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [verb (intransitive)] > be or become slack or not tense
relax?a1425
slack1577
relaxate1598
slacken1850
unstretch1888
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. v. i. 117 Hir garter, which slacked by chance and so fell from her leg.
1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 21 When the bodies strongest sinewes slake, Then is the Soule most actiue.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 196 How maun their weyms wi' sairest hunger slack.
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 215 The ice slacked, and the ship was towed..to the east~ward.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. To Slack,..to become flaccid.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. A tumour is said to slack.
13. Of lime, etc.: To become disintegrated under the action of moisture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (intransitive)] > crumble
grushc1420
crumb1546
crumble1577
shalder1577
murl1600
slack1700
shatter1733
fall1743
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 5 Lime..appears to be cold, but Water excites it again, whereby it Slacks and crumbles into fine Powder.
1760 R. Brown Compl. Farmer: Pt. 2 46 Good marle in hot weather will slack with the heat of the sun like lime.
1874 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 15 It..often crumbles to powder, even the pebbles of a certain sort ‘slacking’ to a sandy consistency.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1?a1400n.2c1440
n.3a1533adj.adv.c897v.1520