slobn.1
/slɒb/, U.S. /slɑb/ Chiefly English regional. Now rare.
A slab of metal, stone, or (most commonly) wood; a rough, broad plank. Cf. slab n.1 1a, 2.With quot. 1739 perhaps cf. slab n.1 3d.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > board or plank > thick, rough-hewn
slob1667
slab1829
1667 S. Colepresse Let. 13 Apr. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1966) III. 393 A Slob of Tin, or Metall usually contayns about 120 lb. weight in forme of a long square. & is ye usuall forme they cast their Metall in to for sale.
1707 in M. D. G. Wanklyn Inventories Worcs. Landed Gentry 1537–1786 (Worcs. Hist. Soc.) (1998) 314 Severall peices of slob planks and other peices of timber about the ricks.
1739 H. Purefoy Let. 7 Oct. in G. Eland Purefoy Lett. (1931) I. iii. 53 I also want a black marble slob for another chimney; it must be 5 foot 7 inches long & a proportionable breadth.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 32 You may Spike on the Slob or Plank.
1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. Slob, an outside board, ‘a shide’.
1937 Q. Jrnl. Forestry 31 316 He had also erected a slob hut roofed with turves after the Norwegian fashion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slobn.2
/slɒb/, U.S. /slɑb/, Irish English /slɑb/, Canadian English /slɒb/ Originally Irish English.
I. Senses referring to things that are wet, soft, slimy, etc.
1. Originally and chiefly Irish English.
a. Mud, esp. the mud covered and exposed by the tide in a river estuary, by the sea, etc.; land consisting of this (cf. slobland n. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > mud > [noun] > deposited by river or sea
oozeeOE
slimea1000
slitch?a1475
sleech1587
sludge1649
slob1748
1748 in Jrnl. House of Commons Ireland 1749–51 (1763) VIII. 772 To one hundred barrels of lime.., at thirteen pence per..6 2 4. To eight boat loads of slob, at four shillings and four pence per 1 14 8.
1815 Freeman's Jrnl. 3 Oct. He..saw this body lying about three feet from the wall of the quay in the slob of the river.
1855 Cork Examiner 22 Aug. 1/6 From time immemorial..these Parks consisted of a tract of slob, over which the River Lee flowed.
1882 R. Payne-Gallwey Fowler in Ireland 26 When the birds gather on an island of slob..at about half-tide.
1910 Drogheda Independent 7 May 7/7 Captain Kirwan said that some fifty acres of slob had been partly reclaimed.
1975 R. P. Breatnach tr. C. Ó Síocháin Man from Cape Clear (1992) ix. 65 He was standing one day on the quay in Cork and..saw six men trying to drag some heavy object out of the slob of the river.
2002 Southern Star (County Cork, Ireland) 22 June 29/7 Kinsale Town Council..voted not to recommend..that an area of slob between Lobster Quay and Archdeacon Duggan Bridge on the Bandon River be reclaimed and used as an amenity area.
b. Frequently in plural. Originally: a stretch of flat, muddy or marshy land beside the sea, an estuary, etc.; esp. one which is covered and exposed by the tide; a mudflat or tidal marsh. Now chiefly: a stretch of land of this type which has been drained and reclaimed. Cf. slobland n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
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
1836 Belfast News Let. 14 Oct. [With reference to the embankment and reclamation of land.] If encouraged, it is likely the company would extend their operations to the slobs in the Foyle.
1842 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall Ireland II. 178 The same master Ned I tended duck-shooting over the slobs.
1866 Irish Common Law Rep. 16 31 When the tide ebbs, the waters of the lough recede..; and the soil thus left uncovered is a muddy slob.
1930 Cork Examiner 30 Sept. 10/4 In the part of the street where he was living the houses were built on a slob, and at present when an ordinary heavy cart was passing..they shook every bit of the house.
1981 A. J. Prater Estuary Birds of Brit. & Ireland xv. 261 North and south of the broad estuary [of the Slaney River at Wexford] are the slobs, areas of alluvial mud which were reclaimed in the mid-nineteenth century and are now under arable crops or pasture.
2001 Irish Examiner 9 July (East Cork 2001 Suppl.) 9/3 Mid winter is..when migrant waders flock here in hundreds of thousands, filling the slobs and estuaries.
2. Angling. Any of various kinds of large soft worm used as bait. Also slob worm. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm) > used as bait
flag-worm1653
marsh worm1653
jag-tail1736
slob1814
sedge-worm1839
blackhead1842
bluehead1842
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > bait > worms and grubs
angletwitcheOE
wormc1320
codwormc1450
redwormc1450
gentle1577
touchangle1581
bob1589
Jack1601
dug1608
codbait1620
caddis-worm1627
caddis1653
cockspur1653
lob-worm1653
marsh worm1653
gilt tail1656
cadew1668
cad1674
ash-grub1676
clap-bait1681
whitebait1681
earth-bob1696
jag-tail1736
buzz1760
treachet1787
angleworm1788
cow-turd-bob1798
palmer bob1814
slob1814
angledog1832
caddis-bait1833
sedge-worm1839
snake feeder1861
hellgrammite1866
easworm1872
cow-dung bob1880
snake doctora1883
1814 Leeds Mercury 26 Nov. A few days ago, as a gentleman was angling with the maiden slob for trout,..an adder, lurking in the stream took the bait.
1844 New Sporting Mag. Nov. 337 Bait fishers know it by the name of ‘the red slob’; it is a large red worm, with, when handled, a flat, rough tail.
1895 W. Houghton Brit. Fresh-water Fishes (ed. 2) 124 The best baits known for these fish is the Eel-fry or Elvers.., also live shrimps, and best of all slob-worms commonly called ‘rag-worm’.
1987 P. Nevin Ireland, where our Roots go Deep viii. 75 The worms were not the big thick soft ‘slobs’ that North Americans call dew worms.
3. Canadian. Dense slushy sea ice; = slob ice n. at Compounds. Cf. sish n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > [noun] > semi-frozen
slusha1642
lolly1792
sludge1817
slob1832
slob ice1836
1832 Diary (Battle Harbour, Labrador) 4 July (Them Days Archive, Newfoundland: Battle Harbour Coll. APL 006) Strong breeze with a very heavy fall of Snow and the Slob made so fast in the Tickle, that about 10 o'Clock a Skift could scarce row through it.
1878 North Star (St. John's, Newfoundland) 30 Mar. 3/1 The bay here was caught over last week, and a string of ‘slob’ made its appearance across the mouth, but the heavy sea of Thursday broke it all up.
1920 W. T. Grenfell Labrador Doctor ix. 174 This ice is of very different qualities. Now it is ‘slob’ mixed with snow born on the Newfoundland coast.
1951 Beaver Sept. 20 Wind half a gale, temperature away down and slob in harbour and around schooner turning to ice.
2003 R. Mellin Tilting 15 Slob weather comes in around New Year's.
4.
a. English regional (Devon) and Irish English. A sloppy mass; a wet or muddy mess.With use in Irish contexts, cf. sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > semi-fluidity > [noun] > a semi-fluid substance or mass
sklucec1430
pap1435
slurryc1440
cream1540
batter1601
slabbermenta1620
swill1665
soss1691
porridge1700
cremor1701
sludge1702
semifluid1731
sludder1796
sloppery1832
slob1885
slabber1887
slather1928
gunk1949
1885 Rep. & Trans. Devonshire Assoc. 17 108 That gravel, when wet, will make a slob.
1892 S. Hewett Peasant Speech Devon 124 Zee what a slob yü be making wi' that watter! Take that clāth an' wipe 't up.
2009 FT Weekend 28 Nov. (House & Home section) 7/4 [With reference to Co. Waterford] I discovered the word for a muddy mess after a man working in our garden said it would be quite impossible to do any more work because with all the rain he would make a ‘slob’.
b. A lump, blob, or smear of a sticky or viscous substance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [noun] > drop of soft and moist substance
gobbon1550
gob1558
blob1725
dab1749
slobber1857
glob1900
slob1928
1928 R. Kampmeier in Contemporaries! (Coe Coll., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) p. li Watching..As he drops a splash of oil.., Or smears a slob of grease between two grinding gears.
1940 H. Walpole Bright Pavilions ii. 373 A slob of mud on the face of a merchant.
1960 Stars & Strips (European ed.) 27 Sept. 11/3 Painters today seem to have reached a point where they just slop slobs of paint on a canvas.
2012 New Afr. Jan. 31 The creek has been turned into a black cesspool, in which it is impossible to swim or paddle a canoe, without it being covered in thick slobs of oil.
II. Senses referring to a person.
5. Originally Irish English; later U.S. slang and colloquial.
a. A foolish, weak, or ineffectual person, esp. one who is gullible or easily imposed upon. Often in affectionate, familiar, or pitying use (esp. in Irish English of a child).Early and mid 19th-cent. uses of this sense and sense 6 in Irish English (see e.g. quot. 1810 here and quot. 1861 at sense 6) often bear a superficial resemblance to the later and now more frequent and widely used senses 5b and 7, but those senses appear only to have developed outside of Irish contexts in the later 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun]
dizzyc825
cang?c1225
foolc1225
apec1330
mopc1330
saddle-goosec1346
mis-feelinga1382
foltc1390
mopec1390
fona1400
buffardc1430
fopc1440
joppec1440
fonda1450
fondlinga1450
insipienta1513
plume of feathers1530
bobolynec1540
dizzard1546
Little Witham?1548
nodc1563
dawkin1565
cocknel1566
nigion1570
niddicock1577
nodcock1577
cuckoo1581
Jack with the feather1581
niddipol1582
noddyship?1589
stirkc1590
fonkin1591
Gibraltar1593
fopper1598
noddypeak1598
coxcombry1600
simple1600
gowka1605
nup1607
fooliaminy1608
silly ass1608
dosser-head1612
dor1616
glow-worm1624
liripipea1625
doodle1629
sop1637
spalt1639
fool's head1650
buffle1655
Jack Adams1656
bufflehead1659
nincompoopc1668
bavian1678
nokes1679
foolanea1681
cod1699
hulver-head1699
nigmenog1699
single ten1699
mud1703
dowf1722
foolatum1740
silly billy1749
tommy noddy1774
arsec1785
nincom1800
silly1807
slob1810
omadhaun1818
potwalloper1820
mosy1824
amadan1825
gump1825
gype1825
oonchook1825
prawn1845
suck-egg1851
goosey1852
nowmun1854
pelican1856
poppy-show1860
buggerlugs1861
damfool1881
mudhead1882
yob1886
peanut head1891
haggis bag1892
poop1893
gazob1906
mush1906
wump1908
zob1911
gorm1912
goof1916
goofus1916
gubbins1916
dumb cluck1922
twat1922
B.F.1925
goofer1925
bird brain1926
berk1929
Berkeley1929
Berkeley Hunt1929
ding1929
loogan1929
stupido1929
poop-stick1930
nelly1931
droop1932
diddy1933
slappy1937
goof ball1938
get1940
poon1940
tonk1941
clot1942
yuck1943
possum1945
gobdaw1947
momo1953
nig-nog1953
plonker1955
weenie1956
nong-nong1959
Berkshire Hunt1960
balloon1965
doofus1965
dork1965
nana1965
shit-for-brains1966
schmoll1967
tosspot1967
lunchbox1969
doof1971
tonto1973
dorkus1979
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
wally1980
wally brain1981
der-brain1983
langer1983
numpty1985
sotong1988
fanny1995
fannybaws2000
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe
foola1382
woodcockc1430
geckc1530
cousinc1555
cokes1567
milch cow1582
gudgeon1584
coney1591
martin1591
gull1594
plover1599
rook1600
gull-finch1604
cheatee1615
goata1616
whirligig1624
chouse1649
coll1657
cully1664
bubble1668
lamb1668
Simple Simon?1673
mouth1680
dupe1681
cull1698
bub1699
game1699
muggins1705
colour1707
milk cow1727
flat1762
gulpin1802
slob1810
gaggee1819
sucker1838
hoaxee1840
softie1850
foozle1860
lemon1863
juggins1882
yob1886
patsy1889
yapc1894
fall guy1895
fruit1895
meemaw1895
easy mark1896
lobster1896
mark1896
wise guy1896
come-on1897
pushover1907
John1908
schnookle1908
Gretchen1913
jug1914
schnook1920
soft touch1924
prospect1931
steamer1932
punter1934
dill1941
Joe Soap1943
possum1945
Moreton Bay1953
easy touch1959
1810 Balsam Anti-Union Madness 24 A low unlettered slob, Who somehow strives to smuggle in his gob, The pert Drum-major of a noisy mob.
1819 London Lit. Gaz. 24 July 469/3 ‘But run,’ said she, turning to a slob of a girl, that seemed to have stole her tatters from the shoulders of a scare-crow, ‘run, Judy, and fetch the child.’
1876 Dundalk Democrat 21 Oct. 6/3 Come over to me, Mary!.. You great big slob! you.., You were always a good girl, my poor thing.
1904 G. V. Hobart Jim Hickey i. 16 You're a warm young guy When you start to buy—You're a slob when you lose the price!
1910 P. W. Joyce Eng. as we speak it in Ireland xiii. 327 Slob, a soft fat quiet simple-minded girl or boy:—‘Your little Nellie is a quiet poor slob’: used as a term of endearment.
1948 Sunday News (N.Y.) 7 Mar. 21/2 I think any woman who falls for this is a foolhardy, gullible slob.
1950 P. G. Wodehouse Nothing Serious 29 ‘The poor old slob,’ she murmured.
1972 T. P. McMahon Issue of Bishop's Blood (1973) ii. 17 He's a real slob for his employees. He buys them houses, goes to their bar mitzvahs.
2000 B. G. Hodgkinson Spitfire Down x. 98 We used to get tens of thousands of dollars for a copy of a famous painting, and sometimes they were not even good copies. The poor slobs went away as happy as if they had bought the original.
b. Originally and chiefly U.S. An average or ordinary person; esp. a working-class man.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun] > ordinary or average man
Richard Roe1593
Tom Stiles1681
John Doe1756
the man in the street1831
the next man1848
Everyman1901
the man on the Clapham omnibus1903
slob1910
John Citizen1918
average Joe1940
Joe Blow1941
Joe Public1942
Joe Doakes1943
Joe Soap1943
Joe Bloggs1969
Joe Sixpack1972
everyguy1976
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > [noun] > working class > one of
working manOE
mechanical1600
mechanic1607
workman1704
proletarian1841
proletary1879
prole1887
slob1910
1910 Inland Printer Aug. 696/2 Union men..only wanted..to safeguard the interests of the poor slobs who have no capital or machinery.
1949 M. E. Smith With my Eyes Wide Open 148 I'm being the honest, hard-working slob these days. I'm trying the old-fashioned pitch . . . that honest toil pays off.
1984 Toronto Star 7 Apr. m2/5 Yuppies... They're driving decent slobs away from the city centre with money.
1999 R. Perrucci & E. Wysong New Class Society i. 4 The honest, hard-working slob who pays taxes, tries to raise a family, and has a helluva time making ends meet.
2012 Leader-Post (Regina, Sask.) (Nexis) 9 Feb. a8 After six years, an MP receives the same amount as it takes us average slobs 30 years to work for.
6. Originally Irish English. A person with a large or heavy build; esp. a fat person.See note on sense distinction at sense 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [noun] > fat or plump shape or physique > person having
porknellc1540
porkling1541
porridge belly1580
tallow catch1598
woolsack1598
candle-mine1600
trillibub1600
bauson1607
panguts1617
firkin1630
porker1665
poke pudding1706
pudsy1710
jolluxa1797
fatty1797
fattener1817
rotundity1824
tun-butt1829
stout party1855
pig1858
fatlinga1861
slob1861
bladder of lard1864
butterball1877
lard-bladder1891
jelly-belly1896
tub1897
barrel1909
flop1909
pussy-gut1909
gutbucket1919
Billy Bunter1939
endomorph1940
Fatso1944
slug1959
1861 J. S. Le Fanu House by Church-yard iv, in Dublin Univ. Mag. Oct. 408/2 The Lord Mayor, a fat slob of a fellow.
1890 Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado) 27 Sept. 1/1 (heading) Billy Madden's big slob from the Pacific Coast goes out in two rounds. [Referring to a ‘giant-like’ boxer of ‘magnificent appearance’ being defeated by a smaller and lighter opponent.]
1920 B. MacNamara In Clay & Bronze iv. iv. 213 Damn its soul, didn't he grow into the fine big slob of a lad? But a bit heavy on his feet.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 168 The unfortunate fat boy..is known as:..slob, [etc.].
1975 B. Harrell & G. Bishop Orderly House x. 174 This great big slob of a guy—he must have weighed nearly 300—picked her.
2007 P. Morgan Don't you know who I Am? (2008) 104 My favourite act was a huge slob of a man called Big John.
7. A person who is (habitually) lazy, slovenly, careless, or untidy, esp. with regard to physical exercise, personal hygiene and appearance, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirty person > [noun]
mesela1400
scabbardc1440
slotterbugc1440
drivel1498
sow1508
wallydraigle?a1513
sloven1530
filthy1553
ketterela1572
slabberer1611
slubberdegullion1612
Grobian1621
slabberdegullion1653
slobber-chops1670
slate1718
haverel1720
slobberer1732
slummock1760
fleabag1805
slush1825
slob1876
trashbag1887
crumb1918
garbage can1925
hog1932
crud1940
sordid1959
grot1970
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > [noun] > sluggishness or heaviness > person
sluggard1398
slugc1425
dawa1500
belly huddroun?a1513
slowbelly1526
luggard?1528
heavy arse1530
slugger1539
druggard1569
slowback1577
snaila1593
slugplum1593
druggle1611
dawdlea1764
laggard1808
doldrum1812
dawdler1818
slowcoach1828
lag-last1830
slowpoke1847
morepork1874
slob1876
slow boat to China1919
schlump1941
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > sloth or laziness > [noun] > lazy person
caynard1303
sluggard1398
luskc1420
slugc1425
truantc1449
dawa1500
hummel?a1513
rook?a1513
wallydraigle?a1513
sloven1523
dronea1529
draw latch1538
slim1548
slouk1570
do-nothing1579
bumbiea1585
do-little1586
lazybones1593
luskin1593
do-naught1594
loiter-sack1594
bed-presser1598
lazy lizard1600
lazy-back1611
fainéant1618
nothing-do1623
trivant1624
slothful1648
lolpoop1661
tool1699
haggis1822
lazy-boots1832
lazy-legs1838
poke1847
never-sweat1851
slob1876
bum1882
haggis bag1892
lollop1896
trouble-shirker1908
warb1933
fuck-off1948
poop-butt1967
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [noun] > carelessness or lack of thoroughness or exactness > one who
sloven1684
scamper1851
slob1876
pot-shotter1904
Sloppy Joe1942
1876 T. E. Brown Doctor 83 That big slut..—The sarvint', you know, And the dirty mob Of a cap that was at her. Aw, a reglar slob!
1894 Union Printer (N.Y.) 21 Apr. 5/3 It is easier for a good man to set 40,000 ems a night than it is for a slob to set 20,000.
1948 S. Heym Crusaders vi. x. 616 ‘Here!’ Willoughby picked the shorts up from the floor and threw them to him. ‘You're a messy slob. Always been one. Here's your shirt. Want me to dress you, too?’
1950 F. Loesser Guys & Dolls in R. Kimball & S. Nelson Comp. Lyrics of F. Loesser (2003) 160/3 When a lazy slob Takes a good steady job And he smells from Vitalis and Barbasol.
1960 ‘E. McBain’ Heckler v. 60 There are people..who always look like slobs... The tendency toward sloppiness first exhibits itself when the subject is still a child.
1992 New Yorker 6 July 72/3 The cartoon picture of Congress as a bunch of lazy slobs is wide of the mark.
2011 @ambermarlow 8 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 1 Nov. 2019) I turn into a slob when Rob is gone. I'm watching Cheaters and I'm unshowered. There are Dorito crumbs in my bra.
Compounds
slob ice n. originally Canadian dense slushy sea ice composed of ice fragments and snow; cf. sish ice at sish n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > [noun] > semi-frozen
slusha1642
lolly1792
sludge1817
slob1832
slob ice1836
1836 E. Wix Six Months of Newfoundland Missionary's Jrnl. 11 I crossed through the ‘slob ice’, which was very thick in Conception Bay, to Port de Grave, four leagues, in three hours.
1910 R. E. Peary North Pole xiii. 117 It took an hour to break up the ‘slob’ ice which had cemented about the ship.
2001 Richmond (Va.) Times-Disp. (Nexis) 29 Mar. c1 Seal boats out of St. John's used to send teams of men scrambling across slob ice.
slob trout n. originally Irish English a brown trout ( Salmo trutta) which stays in a river estuary rather than going further out to sea; cf. sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > family Salmonidae (salmon) > [noun] > genus Salmo > trout (unspecified and miscellaneous) > salmo trutta (sea trout)
salmon-trout1421
scurf1483
grey trout1557
cock1677
sea-trout1745
slob trout1849
fossack1884
1849 Nenagh (County Tipperary, Ireland) Guardian 28 Mar. 1/2 [Referring to Cork.] These fish, which are called ‘slob trout’, are not to be found in fresh water rivers, but are almost exclusively confined to the channel, where they prey on eel fry..as they pass up the river with the tide.
1878 Fishing Gaz. 5 July 323/2 Slob trout have also been plentiful in the tidal waters, and I have seen several well-filled creels.
1907 W. L. Calderwood Life of Salmon i. 6 In the West of Ireland we have..the so-called slob trout.
1930 G. H. Nall Life Sea Trout vi. 75 These brown Trout, feeding in brackish and salt water, are numerous, and special names have been given to them, such as ‘Slob Trout’, and ‘Estuarine Trout’.
2010 N. Fisher River Cottage Sea Fishing Handbk. 99 Slob trout are always easiest to catch in the summer and autumn months.
slob weir n. Irish English (now historical and rare) a type of fish weir used in the estuary of a river (cf. sense 1).
ΚΠ
1828 Waterford Mail 24 May A fair description of this most destructive slob weir cannot be given—nor of the injury it has done for so many years.
1864 New Sporting Mag. June 467 Sweeping away the Scotch or slob weirs from the mouth of the various rivers.
1901 App. to Rep. Irish Inland Fisheries Comm.: Pt. I. Minutes Evid. in Parl. Papers (Cd. 450) XII. 314/2 The stake weirs and slob weirs were after being taken up when I went fishing, and for a few years until they got down again we had very good fishing.
2004 J. J. O'Sullivan Breaking Ground iv. 29 A stake weir was placed across the River Laune in Kerry as well as a slob weir for eels.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slobv.
/slɒb/, U.S. /slɑb/ I. Senses relating to slob n.2
1. intransitive. To walk or move in a slow, sluggish, or ungainly manner. Usually with along or other complement.When used with reference to a person, often additionally with the implication of untidiness or slovenliness (cf. slob n.2 5), and now passing into sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > in a trailing or untidy manner
traipse1593
daggle1705
sloba1804
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > heavily > and slowly
trudge1547
ploda1566
sloba1804
stog1818
slump1854
stodge1854
podge1866
a1804 J. Mather Songs (1862) 14 [She] came slobbing home in a large pair of shoes.
1880 ‘A Victim’ Our Jemimas ii. 12 Placid Jemima..slobbed along as slowly and comfortable as a well-fatted pig returning from feeding-trough to stye.
1953 J. D. MacDonald Dead Low Tide xiv. 115 One of them [sc. waitresses] got up reluctantly and slobbed over to me and tossed a menu in front of me.
1961 E. K. Gann Fate is Hunter 381 I knew this particular ship [sc. an aeroplane] had a reputation for sluggishness... We slobbed along for hours and by using extra power eventually descended for Tokyo.
2013 @bergersmicer 26 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 27 Aug. 2019) Trains slobbing along thru a cluster-funk of signal + other delays.
2. intransitive. colloquial (now chiefly British). To behave in a lazy or slovenly way; to act like a slob. Chiefly with out, about, or around, etc. Somewhat rare before the later 20th cent.
ΚΠ
1916 Canad. Farm Implem. Nov. 24/4 The married woman who slobs around the house and looks like something the cat dragged in, often wonders why other women look so good to her husband.
1960 ‘P. Quentin’ Green-eyed Monster iii. 32 In a couple of years your hair'll start falling out or you'll lose your waistline or they'll find themselves another boy, and there you'll be, slobbing around the bars, being stood up.
1993 Guardian 24 Mar. ii. 5/1 Would we rather stay in our homes and watch EastEnders after work, before tucking into a microwave meal and slobbing out in front of a vid?
1998 Daily Tel. 16 July 27/1 On non-school days, the boy has taken to slobbing in his bed until midday, or at least until he is dragged out of it, cursing, by his parents.
II. Senses relating to slobber v.
3.
a. transitive (usually in passive). To splash, smear, or daub (something) with liquid, paint, mud, etc. Frequently with over, up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of splashing > splash [verb (transitive)] > bespatter
spirtle?1606
spattle1611
sprent1616
spurtle1633
bespatter1674
splash1699
spatter1718
sparge1786
splutter1835
slob1851
splatter1888
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear
smear971
besmearc1050
slobber1529
slubber1530
smore1530
to-ray1562
slubbera1586
blur1592
beblur1598
beslubber1598
besmother1598
besmouche1600
slur1602
illine1615
slerga1758
slaister1773
gaum?1825
smarm1847
slob1851
maum1888
1851 Goshen (Indiana) Democrat 25 June The annoyance of finding a new coat slobbed over with whitewash after having heedlessly taken a seat too near a whitewashed wall.
1907 Michigan Rep. 147 625 He had a pail of paint and I didn't want to get slobbed up with paint, and I says, ‘Go right through first’.
1937 Harper's Monthly Mag. Sept. 348/2 The government employees..were now handing back..punch glasses stuck over with cherry peel, and white plates slobbed with streams of sickly pink.
2010 J. Rogers Charlatan's Boy 276 He was dressed in pelts and slobbed all over with mud.
b. transitive. To spread or spill (a substance) in a messy or careless way on or over something. Also occasionally: to slop out (liquid, food, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > let out > spill
shed?c1225
spilla1340
slop1557
skail1828
skedaddle1862
slob1894
1894 Boston Post 3 Aug. 5/2 One of the..cars got stuck yesterday morning at the corner of Tremont street and Temple place, owing to the grease that had been slobbed on the curve [i.e. of the tracks] there pretty thickly.
1909 Bookman Nov. 263/1 He sits..by the roadside, ‘slobbing’ water-colours on a board in a vain effort to arrest the magic of a shaded forest.
1946 B. Marshall George Brown's Schooldays 56 The master began to slob out the tapioca.
2012 @Phoenix_Leigh 10 May in twitter.com (accessed 1 Nov. 2019) If you can paint your nails perfectly without slobbing paint on your cuticles with your non-dominant hand, Fuck You.
4.
a. intransitive. To let saliva or other fluid run or drip from the mouth (or, occasionally, mucus from the nose); to slaver, drool, or dribble on or over a person or thing. Cf. slobber v. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (intransitive)]
drivelOE
slaverc1325
slobberc1400
drib1523
slabber1648
dribble1673
drool1810
slubberc1820
slob1860
slaum1911
1860 [implied in: G. D. Gibb On Dis. Throat, Epiglottis, & Windpipe xv. 100 Typhoid symptoms now ensue, as evidenced by rapid pulse, pallor and lividity of the face and lips, slobbing, dysphagia, ichorous discharge from the nostril, and finally coma and quiet death. (at slobbing n. 1a)].
1915 A. D. Luckman Tod Sloan xxix. 215 She [sc. a horse] coughed once or twice and slobbed at the nose.
1999 sci.med.transcription 3 Feb. (Usenet newsgroup, accessed 16 Sept. 2019) When my husband pisses me off I use his towel to wipe where dogs have slobbed/eaten on the bed, etc.
2009 A. J. Wynn-Yeldell Climbing Trees & Hiding in Bushes xi. 193 Brian is asleep and slobbing on her neck.
b. transitive. To express (saliva, other fluid, etc.) from the mouth by or with slobbering; to slobber.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)]
slob1908
1908 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 3 Oct. 18/3 You used to try sliding your portion of the roast to Pat at dinner time, under the table; but he exposed the combine by snapping his jaws gratefully together and slobbing an audible appreciation of your bounty.
a1918 W. Owen in Coterie (1919) Dec. 50 Drooping tongues from jaws that slob their relish.
1949 H. E. Bates Dear Life xii. 134 It awoke in her mind all sorts of echoes: the echo of Oakley slobbing blood as he clutched the wire.., the echo of the gun going off in her hands.., [etc.].
2012 @dantsypants 30 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 1 Nov. 2019) Hey cute boys I'm having a good hair day and dressed kinda nice except my dog just drank water and slobbed it all over my dress. #doglife.
5.
a. intransitive. U.S. slang. Of two people: to kiss amorously, esp. at length and with contact between the tongues; to French kiss. Also transitive: to kiss (a person) in this way (sometimes with down). Cf. earlier slobbing n. 1b.Sometimes with the implication that the kiss is conspicuously wet and slobbery; cf. slobber v. 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > kiss > give or indulge in kisses [verb] > give or indulge in French kisses
slob1904
French kiss1923
French1975
1904 [implied in: ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 253/1 Slobbing, kissing.].
1951 Indianapolis Recorder 3 Feb. 7/4 I caught her and Thomas Baker slobbing like mad in the flick. Was he just trying to make Phyllis Rochester jealous?
1975 J. P. Spradley & M. A. Rynkiewich Nacirema 154 Some girls estimate that it is a frequent activity and say that about three-quarters of courting partners slob each other.
1988 D. Covin in G. Carter-Douglas Griot iii. 145 They started slobbing.., mouths all open to each other, tongues going into each other's mouths, spit going everywhere.
2005 E. S. Gray Money Power Respect (2008) ii. 32 I..shoved my tongue down her throat, and slobbed her down for a good five minutes.
b. transitive and intransitive. U.S. slang. to slob (on) someone's knob, to slob the knob, and variants: to perform fellatio on a man. Cf. to polish someone's knob at knob n. Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > oral sex > practise oral sex [verb (intransitive)] > fellatio
fellate1884
to suck cock1902
blow1933
nosh1961
to slob (on) someone's knob1989
to slob the knob1989
1989 ‘Donald D’ F.B.I. (transcribed from song) in Notorious I saw her one night in an alley, slobbin' the knob To her, it's a full-time job.
1998 New Yorker 7 Sept. 40/2 I ask her if she would please slob on my knob because under the circumstances..I have to stick to my own kind and not go catting around with everyone.
2016 @ShockerSara 22 July in twitter.com (accessed 29 Mar. 2019) I left before they did..so I will never know if she slobbed his knob.
6. intransitive. to slob over ——: to be excessively attentive to, affectionate towards, or enthusiastic about (a person or thing); to fawn or gush over. Cf. to slobber over —— at slobber v. 1f.
ΚΠ
1908 Vienna (Georgia) News 13 Nov. There are too many people in this state who slobbed over those in power.
1919 Moving Picture World 1 Feb. 617/3 Not only is the picture itself puffed and praised beyond all reason and belief, but everybody connected with it is slobbed over.
2014 @craigcermak 10 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Aug. 2019) I can't afford any of these hip new comics people are slobbing over.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11667
n.21748
v.a1804- translocational
- translocations
- transluce
- translucence
- translucences
- translucencies
- translucency
- translucent
- translucently
- translucid
- translucidity
- translucidness
- translunar
- translunary
- transmake
- transmaking
- transman
- transmanchurian
- transmarginal
- transmarinal
- transmarine
- travel-worn
- travelable
- travelator
- travelators