[slap one’s wrist]{v. phr.} To receive a light punishment. •/Shecould have been fired for contradicting the company president in public, butall she got was a slap on the wrist./

[slap together] See: THROW TOGETHER(1).

[slate] See: CLEAN SLATE.

[slated for] or [slated to be] Going to be; planned or intended for.•/People think the governor is slated to be president./ •/That subject isslated for debate at the next meeting./

[slave driver]{n.} A cruel, merciless boss or employer who makes thepeople under him work extremely hard for little compensation. •/Mr.Catwallender is such a slave driver that nobody cares to work for himanymore./

[sledding] See: HARD SLEDDING or ROUGH SLEDDING or TOUGH SLEDDING.

[sleep] See: BEAUTY SLEEP, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, SLEEP A WINK.

[sleep around]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} Tobe free with one’s sexual favors; to behave promiscuously. •/Sue Catwallenderis a nice girl but she sleeps around an awful lot with all sorts of guys./

[sleep a wink]{v. phr.} To get a moment’s sleep; enjoy a bit of sleep. — Used in negative and conditional statements and in questions. •/I didn’tsleep a wink all night./

[sleep like a log]{v. phr.} To sleep very deeply and soundly.•/Although I am usually a light sleeper, I was so exhausted from thesixteen-hour transpacific flight that, once we got home, I slept like a log fortwelve hours./

[sleep off]{v. phr.} To sleep until the effect of too much alcohol ordrugs passes. •/George had too many beers last night and he is now sleepingoff the effects./

[sleep on]{v.} To postpone a decision about. •/We asked Judy if shewould join our club and she answered that she would sleep on it./ •/We willhave to sleep on your invitation until we know whether we will be free Mondaynight./

[sleep out]{v.} 1. To sleep outdoors. •/The Scouts plan to sleep outnext Saturday./ 2. To go home at night instead of sleeping at the place whereyou work. •/Mrs. Jones' maid sleeps in, but her cook sleeps out./

[sleep with]{v. phr.} To have a sexual affair with someone; have sex;copulate. •/It has been rumored in the office that the boss sleeps with allthe girls he hires./

[sleeve] See: CARD UP ONE’S SLEEVE, LAUGH UP ONE’S SLEEVE or LAUGH IN ONE’SSLEEVE, ROLL UP ONE’S SLEEVES, UP ONE’S SLEEVE or IN ONE’S SLEEVE, WEAR ONE’SHEART ON ONE’S SLEEVE also PIN ONE’S HEART ON ONE’S SLEEVE.

[sling hash]{v.}, {slang} To serve food, especially in a cheap,small diner, a drive-in, or short-order restaurant. •/Jake got a job slinginghash at the new drive-in restaurant./ •/Jody earned money for college byslinging hash in a restaurant during the summer./ Compare: SHORT-ORDER COOK.

[slinging match]{n. phr.} A loud, angry quarrel. •/The debatedeteriorated into a most unseemly slinging match./

[slip] See: GIVE THE SLIP, SALES CHECK or SALES SLIP.

[slip a cog] or [slip a gear] {v. phr.}, {slang} To make amistake. •/I must have been slipping a cog when I said that I would run formayor./ •/Jim hates to sleep outdoors. He’s slipping his gears if he’spromised to take the boys camping./ Compare: SLIP UP.

[slip away]{v. phr.} To leave unnoticed. •/The party was such a borethat we decided to quietly slip away./

[slip off]{v. phr.} 1. To slide off something. •/The childrenclimbed up the hill but when it was time to come down, they didn’t walk, butslipped off the smooth, old ledges./ 2. See: SLIP AWAY.

[slip of the lip] See: SLIP OF THE TONGUE.

[slip of the pen]{n. phr.} The mistake of writing something differentfrom what you should or what you planned. •/That was a slip of the pen. Imeant to write September, not November./ •/I wish you would forget it. Thatwas a slip of the pen./

[slip of the tongue] also [slip of the lip] {n. phr.} The mistakeof saying something you had not wanted or planned to say; an error of speech.•/No one would have known our plans if Kay hadn’t made a slip of thetongue./ •/She didn’t mean to tell our secret; it was a slip of the lip./

[slip one’s mind]{v. phr.} To forget something. •/I meant to mailthose letters but it entirely slipped my mind./

[slip over] See: PUT OVER(2).

[slip through one’s fingers]{v. phr.} To escape without someone’sknowing how. •/Policemen surrounded the building, but the thief managed toslip through their fingers./ •/Mike earns a good wage, but he doesn’t savea penny. Money just slips through his fingers./

[slipup]{n.} A mistake. •/"I’m sorry, sir. That was an unfortunateslipup," the barber said when he scratched the client’s face./

[slip up]{v. phr.} To make a mistake. •/Someone at the bank slippedup. There are only 48 pennies in this 50c roll of coins./ •/If he hadn’tslipped up on the last questions, his score on the test would have beenperfect./

[slow burn]{n.}, {informal} A slowly increasing feeling of anger.•/The boys kept teasing John, and watched him do a slow burn./•/Barbara’s slow burn ended only when Mary explained the misunderstanding./

[slowdown]{n.} A period of lesser activity, usually in the economicsphere. •/We all hope the current slowdown in the economy will soon beover./

[slow down]{v. phr.} To go more slowly than usual. •/The road wasslippery, so Mr. Jones slowed down the car./ •/Pat once could run a mile infive minutes, but now that he’s older he’s slowing down./ Compare: LET UP(2).STEP DOWN. Contrast: SPEED UP.

[slow on the draw]{adj. phr.} Not very smart; having difficultyfiguring things out. •/Poor Eric doesn’t get very good grades in physics;when it comes to problem-solving, he is rather slow on the draw./

[slow on the uptake] See: SLOW ON THE DRAW.

[slow tune] See: STANDARD TIME.

[slow up]{v.} 1. To go more slowly. •/The truck slowed up as itapproached the toll gate./ •/Construction on the road slows up traffic./2. To become less busy. •/Business slows up at the stores after Christmas./

[slug it out]{v. phr.} To have a strong verbal or physical battle withsomeone; to contest something most vigorously. •/The two contenders for thelightweight boxing championship were slugging it out in the ring./ •/Thetwo candidates for Congress were slugging it out on radio and on television./

[sly] See: ON THE SLY.

[smack-dab] also {southern} [smack-to-dab] {adv.},{informal} Exactly; squarely. •/The ball landed smack-dab at our feet./•/The plane landed smack-to-dab in the middle of the hay field./

[smack one’s lips]{v. phr.} To reveal an appetite for; show enjoymentof. •/Eleanor smacked her lips over the dessert of strawberries and whippedcream./

[small] See: BIG FROG IN A SMALL POND.

[small frog in a big pond] See: LITTLE FROG IN A BIG POND.

[small fry]{n.} 1. Young children. •/In the park, a sandbox isprovided for the small fry./ 2. Something or someone of little importance.•/Large dairies ignore the competition from the small fry who make only a fewhundred pounds of cheese a year./