slack

See also: släck

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology

From Old English slæc (“slack”). For sense of coal dust, compare slag.

Noun

slack (countable and uncountable, plural slacks)

1. (uncountable) Small coal; coal dust.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Raymond to this entry?)

2. (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.
3. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.

   The slack of a rope or of a sail.

4. (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow, that periodically fills and drains.

Synonyms

• (small coal; coal dust): culm
• (tidal marsh): slough

Derived terms

• (coal dust): nutty slack

Translations

small coal, coal dust

• Dutch: slak (nl) m, f
• Finnish: hiilipöly (dust), hiilimurska (small coal)
• French: gravier (fr) m

• Russian: у́гольная (úgolʹnaja) пыль (pylʹ) (úgolʹnaja pylʹ) f
• Spanish: carbonilla f, carboncillo (es) m (Chile and Cuba)

small shallow dell or valley

• Finnish: notko, notkelma

loose part of anything

• Finnish: löysä (fi)
• Irish: ligean m

• Russian: слабина́ (ru) f (slabiná)
• Tagalog: lundo

tidal marsh or periodically filling shallow

• Finnish: kluuvi

• Spanish: charco (es) m

Adjective

slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

1. Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended.

   a slack rope

2. Weak; not holding fast.

   a slack hand

3. Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager.

   slack in duty or service

   • Bible, 2 Peter iii. 9

     The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.

4. Not violent, rapid, or pressing.

   Business is slack.

   • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 3, in Well Tackled!^[1]:

     “They know our boats will stand up to their work,” said Willison, “and that counts for a good deal. A low estimate from us doesn't mean scamped work, but just for that we want to keep the yard busy over a slack time.”

5. (slang, West Indies) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music

Synonyms

• (not violent, rapid, or pressing): slow, moderate, easy

Derived terms

• slack-jawed

Translations

not tense

• Dutch: slap (nl)
• Finnish: löysä (fi)
• German: schlaff (de)
• Maori: pūngohe (of a rope), tatetate (of a rope or lashing), korokoro (of clothing, rope, cord etc), tāngengangenga (of a rope), kōrurururu (of a rope), kaewa (of a rope)

• Russian: рассла́бленный (ru) (rassláblennyj), ненатя́нутый (ru) (nenatjánutyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: labavo (sh), opušteno (sh)
• Spanish: flojo (es) m, flojo (es) m

weak

• Dutch: week (nl)
• Finnish: veltto (fi)
• German: schlaff (de)
• Portuguese: frouxo (pt) m

• Russian: сла́бый (ru) (slábyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: mlohavo (sh)
• Spanish: flojo (es)

not using due diligence or care

• Dutch: slecht gemaakt
• Finnish: huolimaton

• Irish: leibideach
• Russian: небре́жный (ru) (nebréžnyj)

not rapid or pressing

• Dutch: tam (nl)

• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)

Adverb

slack (not comparable)

1. Slackly.

   slack dried hops

Translations

adverb of slack

• Finnish: löysästi (fi), veltosti (fi), huolimattomasti

Verb

slack (third-person singular simple present slacks, present participle slacking, simple past and past participle slacked)

1. To slacken.
   • Robert South

     In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.

2. (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.7:

     Ne did she let dull sleepe once to relent, / Nor wearinesse to slack her hast, but fled / Ever alike [...].

3. (followed by “off”) to procrastinate; to be lazy
4. (followed by “off”) to refuse to exert effort
5. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.

   Lime slacks.

Derived terms

• skive off

Translations

to procrastinate

• Dutch: treuzelen (nl)
• Finnish: velttoilla, viivytellä (fi), vetelehtiä
• French: glander (fr)
• German: trödeln (de), bummeln (de), faulenzen (de), faul sein

• Russian: ло́дырничать (ru) (lódyrničatʹ), безде́льничать (ru) (bezdélʹničatʹ), (colloquial) сачкова́ть (ru) (sačkovátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: odugovlačiti (sh)
• Spanish: haraganear (es), flojear (es)

to refuse to exert effort

• Finnish: löysäillä
• German: (anstrengende) Arbeit scheuen

• Russian: лени́ться (ru) (lenítʹsja)
• Spanish: aflojarse (es), relajarse (es)

Anagrams

• calks
• lacks