▪ I. slide, n.
(slaɪd)
Also 6 Sc. slyde.
[f. slide v.]
I. 1. a. The act or fact of sliding; an instance of this; also, the manner in which a thing slides.
| 1596 C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 81 As some travel-tired passenger..Sits downe to view the sight-reviving slide, The wanton bubling-waters gentle glide. 1609 Dekker Gull's Horn Bk. Wks. (Grosart) II. 231 You may publish your suit..with the slide of your cloake from the one shoulder. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 58 My third Lieutenant broke his leg by a slide on the deck. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 78 The edge of the precipice, to which less than a quarter of a minute's slide would carry us. 1878 B. Taylor Pr. Deukalion iii. i, The bubble and slide of the rill Is heard. |
b. fig. in various applications.
| 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xvi. 23 Sen he hes maid sa mony slydis Trow ȝe he can be trew? 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Nobility (Arb.) 196 Kinges, that have able Men of theire Nobilitye, shall finde ease in ymploying them, and a better slyde in theire busines. 1625 Ibid., Fortune 381 Like Homers Verses, that haue a Slide, and Easinesse, more then the Verses of other Poets. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. iii. vii, Thence, by a graceful slide down the family-tree, her ladyship traced out the consanguinity. |
c. Music. A kind of grace (see
quots.); also
= portamento.
| 1818 Busby Gram. Mus. 152 The Slide, a grace in very frequent use. It generally consists of two notes gradually ascending or descending to the note it is intended to ornament; and to which it is attached by a curve. 1881 Grove's Dict. Music III. 534 Slide,..an ornament frequently met with in both vocal and instrumental music, although its English name has fallen into disuse. It consists of a rapid diatonic progression of three notes, either ascending or descending, of which the principal note, or note to be ornamented, is the third, and the other two are grace-notes. 1908 Grove's Dict. Mus. (ed. 2) IV. 482/1 To violinists the ‘slide’ is one of the principal vehicles of expression, at the same time a means of passing from one note to another at a distance. 1913 F. Thistleton Mod. Violin Technique xv. 74 The slide is one of the principal mediums of expression on the violin. 1938 L. Tertis Beauty of Tone in String Playing 14 The celerity with which this is done is the secret of discreet natural portamento... There must be no drawling, languishing, or lingering in the action of the slide. |
d. fig. A rapid decline; a downturn. Also in
phr. on the slide.
| 1884 Gladstone in Spectator 16 Feb. 220/1 When I saw his mind shaken and, so to speak, on the slide. 1931 Economist 14 Mar. 569/2 Unsatisfactory traffics, and the passing of the B.A. Great Western dividend, accentuated the ‘slide’ of prices. 1969 N. Cohn Pop from Beginning ix. 86 He began to flag. By early 1964, he was definitely on the slide. 1981 Times 5 May 18/1 A 20 per cent slide in profits at the half-way stage. |
e. Baseball. A plunging or sliding approach made to a base along the ground.
| 1886 H. Chadwick Art of Batting 68 A slide in time saves an out. 1934 Baseball Mag. Apr. 497/2 Chapman has a natural talent as a base stealer... He knows how..to make a perfect slide. 1944 E. Allen Major League Baseball xv. 204 There are four types of slides: the hook slide, the bent leg slide, the feet first slide and the head first slide. 1972 J. Mosedale Football iii. 32 He stretched it into a triple with a daring slide [contextually in Baseball]. |
f. Surfing. A ride across the face of a wave (see
quot. 1963); a wave suitable for this.
| 1935 D. Kahanomoku in T. Blake Hawaiian Surfboard i. 32 (caption) A fine illustration of the slide. The wave is coming on while the rider is sliding left across the face of the swell. 1946 J. A. Ball Scrapbk. of Surfriding 57 (caption) Tom Blake streaking along on a long belly slide. 1963 J. Pollard Austral. Surfrider ii. 20/1 A ‘slide’ can be either ‘left’ or ‘right’, angling down the wave to one side or the other. 1968 Surfer Mag. Jan. 47/3 Ten-foot waves that peel off in good right and left slides. |
g. Curling. A delivery in which a curler slides some distance forward in launching his stone.
| 1950 K. Watson Curling i. 42 By delivering the stone at the end of a long slide, a player could be more accurate in delivery. 1962, 1969 [see long slide s.v. long a.1 A. 18]. |
h. Jazz.
= glissando.
| 1959 ‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene 289 Technical terms either duplicate existing, but unfamiliar, ones—e.g. slide, smear, for glissando..or they describe things for which no proper academic equivalent exists. 1973 Black World Nov. 48/1 Performance practices require a ‘slur’ and/or ‘slide’ when moving from tone to tone. |
2. a. An earth-slip, a landslip, an avalanche; a place on a hill-side, etc., where this has happened.
| 1664 Maldon Borough Deeds (Bundle 151 fol. 1), [To] amend and restore all such slides, decayes, or breaches, of and in the calcway. 1829 Scott Anne of G. ii, He..was led..to believe that this rock marked the farthest extent of the slip or slide of earth. 1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. xxxi, It proved to be not so much a slide as the breaking off and falling of a vast line of cliff. 1900 Jrnl. Sch. Geog. (U.S.) Apr. 157 Immediately following this tremendous slide came a crowd of people rushing in every direction. |
b. A sliding mass or stretch
of water.
| 1869 Blackmore Lorna D. vii, I stood at the foot of a long pale slide of water. |
3. Mining.
a. A fracture in a lode resulting in the dislocation or displacement of a portion of it; a vein of clay, etc., marking such dislocation.
| 1778 W. Pryce Min. Cornub. 82 That fracture which we call a slide or heave. Ibid. 83 The slide or heave of the Lode manifests the greater subsidence of the Strata. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 316 Clay veins; of which there are two sets, the more ancient, called Cross-Fluckans; and the more modern, called Slides. 1865 J. T. F. Turner Slate Quarries 23 Walls of hardah..are dreaded, because they are generally accompanied by slides, which dip precipitously from east to west. 1890 Melbourne Argus 16 June 6/1 Every main reef is cut by a slide dipping from west to east. |
b. Matter dislodged by an earth-slip.
| 1841 Whittier To a Friend iv, Loose rock and frozen slide Hung on the mountain-side. 1874 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 296 The shaft passes 45 feet through ‘slide’, and then 155 feet on the vein. |
c. Geol. A fault formed at and associated with a fold.
| 1910 E. B. Bailey in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LXVI. 593 ‘Fold-fault’ itself is too cumbrous for constant repetition, and accordingly ‘slide’ has been introduced to take its place. 1934 ― in Ibid. XC. 467 ‘Fold-fault’ is an old word for a fault formed in close causal connexion with folding... I employed the word ‘slip’ in this sense, but on Lapworth's suggestion exchanged it for ‘slide’. Now that reversed and unreversed limbs are often distinguishable through the help of current-bedding, the word ‘slide’ is less necessary, since it can often conveniently be replaced by ‘thrust’ or ‘lag’. The following are helpful though incomplete definitions:—A thrust is a slide replacing an inverted limb, actual or ideal. A lag is a slide replacing a normal limb. 1969 Bennison & Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles iii. 55 An important structural break, the Iltay Boundary Slide, separates two contrasted sedimentary successions both in Scotland and northern Ireland. |
4. a. A kind of sledge. (
Cf. slid n.)
| 1685–90 Coad Wonderful Provid. (1849) 10 Reply was made that I was not able to go or ride; at which he ordered them to bring me on a slide. 1764 Museum Rust. II. 362 We frequently procure a slide, to be drawn by one horse, made of two poles about ten feet long. 1861 Smiles Lives Engineers I. 193 The slide or sledge is seen in the fields. 1896 Pilgrim Missionary (Boston) Sept. 10, I..borrowed a mule and a slide, and hauled to the house some planks and pickets. |
b. A runner on which a gun is mounted.
| 1830 Marryat King's Own xxx, Their guns..were fixed on slides,..to enable them to be fired over the bows. 1833 ― P. Simple (1863) 248 They all carried guns mounted upon slides, which ran fore and aft between the men. |
II. 5. A sliding part of some mechanism; a device which slides or may be slid;
N.Z., a serving hatch (see j);
Mus., on wind instruments; also a slide guitar or the playing of it (see k).
In various technical uses:
cf. slider n. 4. Ash (1775) gives the general definition, ‘a part of an instrument or machine to be pulled in and out’. A few out of the many special applications are here illustrated.
| a. c 1608 Sarum Churchw. Acc. (Swayne, 1896) 158 For the fiffth bell..a Rope Slide and other Implementes. |
| b. c 1800 Busby Dict. Mus. s.v. Trumpet, By the aid of a newly invented slide many other notes which the common trumpet cannot sound are now produced. 1872 H. C. Banister Text-bk. Music (1899) 228 The Trombone is a brass instrument with slides shortening or lengthening its tube. |
| c. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 46 Air should likewise be pretty freely admitted..by means of slides or other contrivances. 1855 Lardner Mus. Sci. & Art V. 25 The methods of opening and closing the passages by means of lids slipping over them called slides. 1857 Dickens Dorrit i. xxii, These instructions Mr. Chivery..called through a little slide in the outer door. |
| d. 1852 Seidel Organ 57 The slides are ledges of good dry oak, about two or two and a half inches wide, and one third of an inch thick. |
| e. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Slide,..part of a forcing-pump. |
| f. 1869 Rankine Machine & Hard-tools Pl. H 10, This lathe has..a self-acting slide..for boring out..short lengths. 1893 Spon Mechanic's Own Book (ed. 4) 536, a is a slide which fits the lathe-bed very accurately, but will yet slide freely upon it. |
| g. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 490 The ‘slide’, or lock, receding from the spindles during the twisting of the threads, and returning to the spindle again during the winding on of the yarn. |
| h. 1879 Thomson & Tait Nat. Phil. I. i. 194 Attached to the framework let there be, close to the circumference of each cylinder, a slide or guide-rod to guide a moveable point, moved by the hand of an operator. |
| i. 1884 Britten Watch & Clockm. 92 In full plate lever watches the slide is jewelled and supports the bottom pivot of the balance staff. |
| j. 1949 J. R. Cole It was so Late 92, I was standing by the slide in the lounge one night. 1955 Numbers I. iv. 14 Charlie ordered for them both and Kate dragged back to the slide. |
| k. 1968 Down Beat 31 Oct. 18/1 He had quite a lot of advantages on his guitar for that time. Played slide a lot. 1976 A. C. Baines Brass Instruments iv. 94 (heading) Renaissance slides. 1976 Rolling Stone 22 Apr. 16/5 After some initially slavish imitations of Muddy and Elmore, slide became better integrated into rock. 1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' till you hear from Me viii. 129 Walter Green—trombonist... As a slide-player he is average. |
6. A kind of tongueless buckle or ring used as a fastener, clasp, or brooch; a small perforated object sliding on a cord, etc. Now
spec. a clasp for fastening in the hair.
| 1779 Ann. Reg. 203 A gold slide, set with diamonds. 1824 Jane Taylor Contrib. of Q.Q. (1828) II. 149 If a slide broke in her frock,..instead of re-placing..she would exclaim—‘there's that tiresome slide gone’. 1897 Army & Navy Stores List 271 Tortoiseshell slides for the hair, 1/0. 1932 L. Golding Magnolia Street iii. ix. 593 That slide which has just slid out of her hair on to the parquet floor. 1952 M. Laski Village ii. 33 Her soft brown hair caught back with a slide. 1981 J. B. Hilton Playground of Death ii. 10 There wasn't a grip, clip or slide on the market that would keep my mam's hair up. |
7. a. A slip of glass or other material on which an object is mounted or placed to facilitate its examination by a microscope.
| 1837 Goring & Pritchard Microgr. 14 That part of the old compound microscopes which used to carry the slide of object-glasses. 1895 G. E. Davis Pract. Micros. (ed. 3) 375 Objects are generally mounted upon glass slides, or ‘slips’, as they are sometimes called. |
b. A picture prepared for use in a magic lantern or stereoscope (now chiefly
Hist.); a photographic transparency for use in a slide projector.
| 1819 M. Edgeworth Let. 17 Apr. (1971) 199 You know him and his magic lantern of good things. Some new figures on the slides. 1846 Dickens Cricket on Hearth i, He had even lost money..by getting up goblin slides for magic lanterns. 1858 Edinb. Rev. July 207 His history..passes before us like a series of slides in a magic lantern. 1890 Atkinson Ganot's Physics 598 A stereoscope..which will give us, with the ordinary stereoscopic slides, a reversed picture. 1940 P. E. Boucher Fundamentals of Photogr. (1941) xiii. 200 Valuable slides..which are to be subjected to considerable use should be mounted in glass. 1978 M. J. Langford Step by Step Guide to Photogr. 176 Before presentation, your slides must be inserted in holders ready for projection. |
c. Photogr. A flat case or receptacle within which plates are placed for the purpose of being inserted in a camera. Freq.
dark slide.
| 1856 Orr's Circ. Sci., Pract. Chem. 184 It is best to let the water dry off previously to the plate being placed in the slide. 1876 Abney Instruct. Photogr. 166 The sensitized plate in the dark slide. 1878 ― Treat. Photogr. 216 The slide is divided into two parts, hinged so as to fold one against the other. |
8. Rowing. A sliding seat.
| 1875 Stonehenge Brit. Rur. Sports (ed. 12) 643/1 A well-known amateur who..had never used the slide. 1894 Lehmann in Daily News 6 Feb. 3/5 In 1871 a crew of professionals used a seat that slid on the thwarts, and beat a crew that was generally held to be superior, and from that moment slides, as we now know them, came into general use. |
III. 9. A smooth surface,
esp. of ice, for sliding on, or formed by being slid on; a slippery place.
| 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii, Slide, a frozen place slid upon. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxix, Mr. Pickwick..took another run and went slowly and gravely down the slide. 1856 Thackeray Lett. Wks. 1901 X. p. xxvii, A poor old gentleman slipped down and broke his thigh on a slide. 1899 B. Capes Lady of Darkness xi. 91 A perfect little slide of grease that had formed on the boards below. |
10. a. An inclined plane for the transit of heavy goods,
esp. timber. Chiefly
Amer.| 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. xxviii. (ed. 3) 282 The mines of Bolanos..are supplied with timber from the adjacent mountains by a slide similar to that of Alpnach. 1878 Lumberman's Gaz. 16 Mar., The logs are then placed in the trough of the slide and very easily drawn by horses to their destination. 1886 B. Harte Snowbound 127 A slide was a rude incline for the transit of heavy goods that could not be carried down a trail. |
b. Amer. A sloping channel constructed to facilitate the passage of logs down stream; a chute.
| 1858 in Simmonds Dict. Trade. 1880 Lumberman's Gaz. 7 Jan. 28 The government constructs ‘slides’ for the passage of timber around shoals or rapids where there are no canals. 1884 S. E. Dawson Hdbk. Canada 20 The streams for floating timber to market have been opened up by slides, booms, and dams. |
c. The bottom of a gold-washing cradle.
| 1855 W. Howitt Land, Labour & Gold I. 206 We take the fine gravel out of the slide of the cradle. 1864 J. Rogers New Rush II. 27 The heavier gold remaining on the slide. |
d. A structure with a smooth sloping surface used as a toy or piece of playground equipment down which children slide, or as an entertainment at a fairground.
Cf. chute n.1 3 c.
| 1890 Century Mag. Advertising Suppl. Dec. 70 Wood's parlor toboggan slide. The most satisfactory toy yet invented for children. 1924 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Nov. 126/1 This kiddies' slide is more fun than the old cellar door! 1954 R. Dahl Someone like You 210 All week the swings and the see-saws and the high slide with steps going up to it stood deserted. 1975 I. Starsmore English Fairs iv. 92 (caption) The Portable Slide. Height 29 ft... The three 100 ft. lanes guide ‘passengers’ down the slide. 1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People (1980) xxi. 257 There was a children's slide in the garden. |
11. a. A device of the nature of a bed, rail, groove, etc., on or in which a thing may slide.
| 1846 Holtzapffel Turning II. 897 The work to be continually moved to and fro upon the slide or railway, a distance equal to its own length. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 48 Slides, upright rails, of wood or metal, fixed in a shaft, for the purpose of steadying the cages, which have corresponding grooves attached to them. 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools Pl. F ii, The hammer⁓head is of cast iron, and works in slides, which are firmly rivetted into the frames. |
b. U.S. slang. (See
quot. 1932.)
| 1932 Even. Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/5 Slide, a trouser's [sic] pocket. 1967 ‘I. Slim’ Pimp: Story of my Life (1969) iii. 68 How would you like a half a ‘G’ in your ‘slide’? |
12. The track of an otter.
| 1842 J. E. DeKay Zool. N.Y. i. 40 The steel trap is placed..at the bottom of one of their slides. 1894 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. II. 95 These otters are usually caught in steel traps, which are set beneath the water where one of the ‘slides’ or tracks of the animals leads to the margin. |
Add:
[III.] [11.] c. U.S. A kind of open-backed shoe or slipper. Usu. in
pl.| [1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 209 Kicks, shoes. Also called slides.] 1975 Footwear News 21 July 6 The slide is emerging as a top fashion theme. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 8 Apr. b7/4 (Advt.), Our sexy ‘Ursula’ slides are your ticket to a sensational summer! Natural, khaki, white, rust or wine leather vamps on poly bottoms. |
▸
Firearms. A sliding mechanism on a firearm. Now
spec.: a metal casing either enclosing the barrel and upper part of a pistol, or located behind the barrel, and incorporating or moving with the breech block.
| 1816 Sporting Mag. 48 191/2 The slide [in a gun] still works freely, no rust having been found on the grooves. 1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Nov. 7/2 By opening a valve the slide..becomes lineable with the barrel of the gun. 1897 Brit. Patent 9871 13 When the breech-bolt is moved to the rear, either by hand or by the powder gases, the breech is opened,..so that, on the release of the breech-bolt, it returns the slide and the breech-bolt to their forward position and thereby closes the breech. 1919 J. B. L. Noel Automatic Pistol 13 When unloading an automatic pistol, after removing the magazine always pull the slide or breech back to eject the cartridge which remains in the chamber. 1978 A. North & I. Hogg Guns & Gunsmiths II. x. 190 The mass of the breech block needs to be substantially greater than the mass of the bullet, and this was done by making the breech block a part of the much greater component known as the ‘slide’, a metal casing which completely enclosed the barrel and the upper part of the pistol. 2006 Australian (Nexis) 1 May 15 In the case of the Browning semi-automatic pistol.., the magazine should be extracted from the butt of the pistol and the slide pulled back to eject the round in the breech. |
▪ II. slide obs. variant of
slid a.
▪ III. slide, v. (
slaɪd)
Pa. tense
slid.
Pa. pple. slid (
slided,
slidden). Forms: (see below).
[OE. sl{iacu}dan, = NFris. slîđe (slîre), sklid, older LG. slîden (slijden), MHG. slîten: for related forms see slidder v. and slead n.] A. Inflexional forms.
In
OE. the conjugation is more fully represented in the compound
ásl{iacu}dan (
-slád,
-slidon,
-sliden). In early
ME. the short pret. stem appears in the
subj. slĭde in the
S. Eng. Leg. I. 212/427.
1. a. inf. (and
pres., etc.) 1
sl{iacu}dan, 3
sliden, 4
slyden, 5
slidyn; 3–
slide (4
slid), 4–7
slyd(e, 5–6
sclyde.
| a 950 Gunthlac v. (1909) 123 Of þære lyfte slidan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 252 Ȝif eni uoð on uorte sliden. c 1250 Owl & Night. 1390 Flesches lustes hi makeþ slide. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8150 Þ at makes þy werk slyden o slep. 13.. Cursor M. 894 Þou sal slid apon þi brest. c 1400 Destr. Troy 789 He shulde slyde forth sleghly. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 7 Sclyde doune & comforth me. 1538 Bale Brefe Comedy in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 206 Slouthfulnesse shall slyde. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 94 Let not this slide out of your memory. 1617 Sir W. Mure Misc. xxi. 99 Heir silver brooks doe slyd. |
b. 3rd sing. pres. ind. (1
-slit), 3–4
slit,
slyt, 5
slitte.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 252 He slit & falleð sone. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxxix. 110 Hit is muche wonder that he nadoun slyt. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. 129 It slit awey so faste. |
2. pa. tense. (
α) (1
-slád);
north. and
Sc. 4–5
slad, 5, 8–
slade; 4–5
slayd (5
slayde), 4–
slaid, 9
slaed, etc.
| 13.. Cursor M. 23222 (Edinb.), Þoh a firin fel..þar into slad. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 701 The schippys our the wawys slayd. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5456 Þa waters sone away slade. 1533 Bellenden Livy (S.T.S.) I. 120 Ane serpent slaid..out of ane pillare. 1591 Jas. I Poet. Exerc., Chorus Venetvs, Our enemies feet they slaid. 1721 Ramsay Lucky Spence xiv, I slade away wi' little din. 1785 Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxvi, The wife slade cannie to her bed. |
(
β) 4–5
slood (
slod), 4–7
slode; 9
dial. slod.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1182 In slomeryng he slode. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 237 He slood wiþ his oon foot. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xviii. 365 His swerd slode adoune. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxx. 403 He slode and fell downe. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 257 We slode step by step. |
(
γ) 5–6
slydde, 6–7
slidde, 6–
slid.
| c 1450 Myrr. our Ladye 198 All thynges that slydde vnto them. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iv. 32 Whiles..they softly slid. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iv. iv, I slidde downe..into the streete. 1676–7 Marvell Corr. cclxxxiii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 515 This slid over. |
(
δ) 6
slyded, 5–
slided.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xiv. 345 The swerde slided vpon the helme. c 1580 J. Hooker Life Sir P. Carew in Archæol. XXVIII. 121 His foote slyded or slipped. 1681 Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick 187 Others slided along with a good Air. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 269 A number of parts..which slided. 1826 Hood Last Man 20 Then down the rope..I slided. |
3. pa. pple. (
α) 3
islide, 4
islyde, 5 (
y)slide.
| c 1250 Owl & Night. 686 Hit nis of horte islide. 13.. in E.E.P. (1862) 132 Hou sone þat hit is forþ islyde. a 1420 Bible Prov. xxiv. 10 Thou that hast slide [v.r. yslide]. |
(
β) (1
-sliden), 4–5, 7
sliden (4
-un, 5
-on), 4–5
slyden (5
-yn); 4
Sc. sclyddyn, 5
Sc. slyddin, 6
slydden, 6–
slidden (9
dial. sledden).
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 126 Sum ar slyddin our the wall. 1382 Wyclif Lam. iii. 53 Slyden is in to a grene my lyf. 1392 in Fraser The Lennox (1874) II. 48 Throw errour sclyddyn. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lx, Sliden & viciat by þe first man. 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love 9 The truth whence ye haue slydden. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 14 Now changed and sliden backe. a 1697 Aubrey Surrey IV. 148 A great Part..is slidden down into the Grounds below. 1881 E. Coxon Basil Plant I. 64 So easily had he slidden back into his old habits. |
(
γ) 6
slyded,
-yd, 7–
slided.
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xxii. 37 Myne ankles haue not slyded. 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies xxxv. §7. 301 Other spirits which..would haue slided downe more leisurely. 1776 Semple Building in Water 36 This Block must be slided over to c. 1824 Landor Imag. Conv., Chesterf. & Chatham, We have slided into Cicero's language. |
(
δ) 7–
slid.
| a 1700 Evelyn Diary (Chandos Classics) 188 He had slid and fall'n. a 1751 Bolingbroke Ess. i. vii. Wks. 1754 III. 489 They have not only slid imperceptibly. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xiv. 95 Before I had slid a dozen yards. |
B. Signification.
I. intr. 1. a. To pass from one place or point to another with a smooth and continuous movement,
esp. through the air or water or along a surface.
| a 950 Guthlac v. (1909) 123 Ða comon semninga tweᵹen deoflu to him of þære lyfte slidan. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 701 The schippys our the wawys slayd. 1382 Wyclif 2 Sam. xxii. 11 He..slood vpon the pennys of the wynd. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12690 [Þai] Letyn sailes doune slide sleghli & faire. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 302 Thus slided through our toun The subtil tree. a 1599 Spenser F.Q. vii. vii. 43 Two fishes..Which through the flood before did softly slyde And swim away. 1629 Quarles Arg. & Parthenia iii. 2 April's gentle showers are slidden downe, To close the wind-chapt earth. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 302 He took me rais'd,..over Fields and Waters, as in Aire Smooth sliding without step. 1712 Addison Spectator No. 369 ¶9 The Gods..slide o'er the Surface of the Earth by an uniform Swimming of the whole Body. 1789 J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 214 The vestige of the coal is sure to slide down the slope of the ground. 1824 Landor Imag. Conv., Gen. Kleber & French Officers Wks. 1853 I. 43/1 The officer slided with extended arms from his resting-place. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 401 The metal could be made to slide upon itself without puckering. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. xii. 364 Whitish-green spots..over which the pencil usually slid as if the spots were greasy. |
b. To move in this manner while standing more or less erect upon a surface,
esp. that of ice.
Formerly used of skating, now distinguished from it.
| c 1340 Nominale (Skeat) 164 M[an] sliduth vp-on hyse. 1530 Palsgr. 721/1, I have sene one in Hollande slyde as faste upon the yse as a bote dothe in the water whan it is rowed. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xxi. 58 b, [He] mounteth vpon your backe, and so with his feet slydeth vp and downe vpon you. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 34 The Virgins in Holland,..hand in hand with young men, slide upon the yce farre from their Fathers house. 1681 Dryden Span. Friar iii. ii, As Boys [fear] to venture on the unknown Ice, That crackles underneath 'em while they slide. 1715 Desaguliers Fires Impr. 38 Those that Slide, Scate, or use any other violent Exercise in frosty Weather. 1776 Johnson in Boswell (Oxf. ed.) I. 41, I answered I had been sliding in Christ-Church meadow. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvii. IV. 4 Many thousands came sliding or skating along the frozen canals. 1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 93/1 ‘Do you slide?’ ‘I never have slidden much.’ |
c. To slip
off something.
| 1623 Bingham Xenophon 68 The Souldiers..vpon whom the Snow fell, and slid not off, became miserably distressed. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 300 A..white precipitate subsides to the bottom, and slides off the glass. |
d. Baseball. To perform a slide (sense 1 e).
| 1891 Harper's Weekly 23 May 391/4 His base running, in spite of his care about sliding, is of the old-time quality that has already won two championships for Yale. 1904 J. J. McGraw Science of Baseball 67 He shouldn't slide unless his pants are properly padded. 1932 Baseball Mag. Oct. 501/2, George Watkins, quick to grasp Dazzy's slight slip, turned on a full burst of speed and slid across home plate with the only run of the game. 1977 Rolling Stone 30 June 76/2 Do you always think about baseball players when you're making love?.. I couldn't figure out why you kept yelling, ‘Slide!’ |
e. Surfing. To ride across the face of a wave.
| 1931 Country Life in Amer. Jan. 57 If the wave proves exceptionally steep, keep to the stern of the board and then, after you ‘catch’ the wave, head the board at an angle to it. This will enable you to ‘slide’ with the wave. 1959 J. Bloomfield Know-How in Surf iii. 27 The gradually breaking crest enables the body to slide down its front at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. |
f. Curling. To move forwards while delivering the stone.
| 1936 F. B. Talbot Mr Besom starts Curling xiii. 34 Many good players slide out of the hack as they deliver the stone. 1950 K. Watson Curling i. 1 Whether you slide or do not slide, that follow-through is essentially the smooth delivery of the stone. |
2. Of streams, etc.: To glide, flow. Now
rare.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 266 A wounde upon his side Sche made, that therout mai slyde The blod withinne. a 1425 Cursor M. 11984 (Trin.), Ihesu soone in þat tide lett þe watir rynne & slide. 1513 Douglas æneid v. xiii. 71 The flude Tibir throw Lawrent feildis slidis. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. xlvi. ii, A river streaming joy, With purling murmur safelie slides. 1633 P. Fletcher Pisc. Eclogs i. v, Where Thames and Isis heire By lowly æton slides. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xiii. 32 To suck out the wheyish Blood which slides along that way. 1738 Common Sense II. 176 It has neither rushed down the Rock, nor slided thro' the Plain. 1746 W. Mason On the Cam Poems 1830 II. ii. 49 Without a rill the even tide Slided silently away. 1819 J. H. Wiffen Aonian Hours 90 Ever from his lid a tear would slide. 1833 Tennyson Eleänore 109 As waves that up a quiet cove Rolling slide. |
3. Of reptiles, etc.: To glide, crawl. Now
rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 894 Þou worm,..þou sal slid apon þi brest. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxix. (Cosmo & D.) 261 As þe serpent had entre in at his mouth,..one þe sammyne wise it slad oute. a 1400 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 222 Neddre,..vppe þi breste þou schalt slyden. 1530 Palsgr. 721/1 It is a wondrouse thyng to se an adder or a snake slyde so faste as they do and have no fete. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. xiii. 44 These slippery snakes doe slide away. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1658) 601 He espyed the Snake to slide up into the bed-straw. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 39 These thieves slide cunningly along upon their bellies like Snakes. 1856 [see sliding ppl. a. 3]. |
4. a. To move, go, proceed unperceived, quietly, or stealthily; to steal, creep, slink, or slip
away,
into or
out of a place, etc.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xx. 39 Keep this man; the which if were slyden aweye, thi lijf shal be for the lijf of hym. a 1400–50 Alexander 4456 Quen ȝe ere slide hyne. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1333 Slely he slayd throuch strenthis off Scotland. 1530 Palsgr. 721/2 Who wolde ever have thought it, that he shulde have slydden out at this narow hole. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 54 So slyding softly forth, she turnd as to her ease. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 33 Then, noble spirit, slide, in strange disguise, Unto some gratious Prince. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 594 The slipp'ry God will..attempt to slide away. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 365 You observe how he slid away..as soon as I open'd my Door. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 126 Slouching my hat, I slid out of doors. 1829 Lytton Devereux ii. iii, Steele slid into a seat near my own. 1889 D. C. Murray Dang. Catspaw 7 An officer of the court slid to the door of the judge's apartments. |
| fig. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxviii. (Adrian) 212 Hou þu had grace criste for to kene,..and þu fra hym þis [= thus] slad! 1594 Kyd Cornelia iii. i, He slides More swiftly from mee then the Ocean glydes. |
b. colloq. To make off.
Orig. U.S.| 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 415 To slide, to go, be gone, be off. 1873 B. Harte Fiddletown, etc. 85 She led William where he was covered by seventeen Modocs, and—slid! 1904 [see busy n.2]. 1932 E. Wallace When Gangs came to London xxvii. 269 There's only one word that any sensible man can read in this situation, and that word is—slide! |
II. 5. a. To pass away, pass by, so as to disappear, be forgotten or neglected, etc. Now
rare.
| c 1250 Owl & Night. 686 For Alured seyde of olde quide & yet hit nis of horte islide. 13.. in E.E.P. (1862) 132 Knowe þis worldly honoure Hou sone þat hit is forþ islyde. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 769 Bothe Troylus and Troye toun Shal knotteles thorugh out here herte slyde. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4032 Frostes were faren,..The slippond slete slidon of the ground. 1503 S. Hawes Examp. Virt. xiv. ccxcviii, That his redolent buddes shall not slyde But euer encrease. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1663) 60 Thus this slander slided away with the time. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 391 Presently the black hairs will fall and slide away, and in some short time there will come white. 1824 Lamb Elia ii, Capt. Jackson, Alack, how good men, and the good turns they do us, slide out of memory. |
b. With
let (or
allow). In later use
freq., to let (something) take its own course.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 26 In his lust present was al his thoght,..Wel ny alle othere cures leet he slyde. a 1400 Minor Poems from Vernon MS. I. 492 [Let him] put his wylle in gode þewes, And alle wikked let slyde. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. i. 935 Ȝe wyl not lete þis mater slyde, parde. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 107 With a calm carelessness, letting each thing slide. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Ind. i. 6 Therefore..let the world slide. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Chargé, To take no thought, passe the time merrily, let the world slide. a 1859 in Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 241 If California was going to cost the Union so much, it would be better to let California slide. 1885 Manch. Exam. 3 June 5/1 The question at issue was not allowed to slide. 1897 Field 6 Feb. 166/1 The supine way we English have of letting things slide. |
c. Of time: To pass, slip
away, go
by, imperceptibly or without being profitably employed.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 351 So sholdestow endure, and laten slyde The tyme. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 3 Thus have I lete time slyde For Slowthe. 1592 J. Davies Immort. Soul xxx. x, Since our Life so fast away doth slide. c 1600 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 824 The season With slowthing slyds away. 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 147 Time slides away like the running streame. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. xii. 44, I need not..tell you how agreeably time slides away with me. 1734 Fielding Old Man taught Wisdom Wks. 1784 III. 119 How happily must my old age slide away. 1860 Hawthorne Marble Faun (1879) II. vii. 76 Let the warm day slide by. 1897 Watts-Dunton Aylwin i. iv, In this manner about six weeks slid away. |
6. † a. To fall
asleep, etc.
Obs.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8150 By-neþe þe erþe..Is a water rennyng dep, Þat makes þy werk slyden o slep. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 59, I slode vpon a slepyng slaȝte. c 1400 Destr. Troy Prol. 6 Off aunters [that] ben olde..And slydyn vppon slepe by slomeryng of Age. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 68 Apon a sleip he slaid full sodandly. 1513 Douglas æneid vii. Prol. 111 On slummyr I slaid full sad. |
b. To pass easily or gradually
into some condition, practice, etc.
† Also in early use with
to.
In some contexts there is connexion with sense 9.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. iv. (1495) 31 Aungels neuer slyde to vice nother to synne. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xxv. 38 He þat eschuiþ not smale defautes, litel & litel shal slide in to gretter. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. i. ix, That ye to fraylte shall not slyde. 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love 79 b, When they shall here any of the Familie slide into any of these affirmations. 1754 Young Centaur ii. Wks. 1757 IV. 137 Thus, looking out for some shadow of excuse, we naturally slide into groundless doubts. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wm. (1767) I. vi. 230 She will.., when her province is enlarged, slide into the duties of it with readiness. 1802 Mrs. J. West Infidel Father II. 128 Even Lord Glanville, while he made his bow, so far slided into equivoque [etc.]. 1847 Helps Friends in C. I. iii. 36 When an honourable man..slides into some dishonourable action. 1871 Carlyle in Mrs. Carlyle's Lett. I. 144, I had slid into something of correspondence with Lockhart. |
c. To pass by easy or gradual change or transformation into some other form or character.
| a 1500 Sir Cawline xxii. in Child Ball. II. 59/1 The timber these two children bore Soe soone in sunder slode. 1731 Pope Ep. Burlington 66 Parts answ'ring parts shall slide into a whole. 1763 J. Brown Poet. & Music vii. 143 The Narrative..did easily slide into dramatic Representation. 1847 Helps Friends in C. I. vi. 96 The great danger..of representative government, is lest it should slide down from representative government to delegate government. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) VIII. lxiv. 99 Rhetorical amplifications slid swiftly into direct mis-statements. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxiv. 503 It was an easy step for the patron to slide into the beneficiary. |
7. a. To move, pass, make way, etc., in an easy or unobtrusive manner.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. xii. (1868) 106 The deuyne substaunce..ne slydeþ nat in to outerest foreine þinges. c 1386 ― Can. Yeom. Prol. 129 That science is so fer vs beforn, We mowen nat..It ouer-take, it slit awey so faste. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. lii. 149 Mony folk slod to helle slider. c 1450 Myrr. Our Ladye 198 Righte so the holy goste vouched safe to slyde in to the hartes of the prophetes. 1577 F. de Lisle's Legend. C ij b, Seeking..to slyde in among the princes, and beare the like port as they. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vii. 255 The Fall Of Eden's old Prince; whose luxurious pride Made on his seed his sin for ever slide. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 14 The which places of the Sunne are now changed and sliden backe in the Iulian Kalender. 1697 Collier Ess. (1702) ii. 183 A good Conscience..makes him slide into the Grave by a more gentle and insensible Motion. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. i. 2 So desirous..of sliding through life to the end of it unnoted. 1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vind. Rights Wom. 8, I shall try to avoid that flowery diction which has slided from essays into novels. 1820 Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 136 The poet's verse slides into the current of our blood. 1858 Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. iii. 25 All lecturers..have ruts and grooves in their minds, into which their conversation is perpetually sliding. |
b. Of speech or music, or with reference to these;
spec. (see
quot. 1875).
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 3 Euery Orater should earnestly labour to file his tongue, that his woordes maie slide with ease. 1864 Browning Abt Vogler xii, I feel for the common chord again Sliding by semitones. 1875 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v., To slide is to pass from one note to another without any cessation of sound, or distinction between the intervals. |
c. Of the eye or sight: To pass quickly from one object to another.
| 1756 Burke Subl. & B. iii. xv, The deceitful maze, through which the unsteady eye slides giddily. 1784 Cowper Task i. 511 The weary sight..slides off, Fastidious, seeking less familiar scenes. |
III. 8. a. To slip; to lose one's foothold.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 252 Þer on geð him one in one sliddrie weie, he slit & falleð sone. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 212 Heo was so slider, þat man ne miȝte þare-oppe gon bote he slide and felle a-doun. 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 596 For hapnyt ony to slyde or fall, He suld be soyne to-fruschit all. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 18 Hys hors slode and thenne geffroy overthrewe to the erthe. 1530 Palsgr. 721/2 He slydde and bothe his fete folded underneth him. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 213 To the entent that the horses should not slide on the Pavement. a 1700 Evelyn Diary (Chandos Classics) 187 Capt. Wray's horse..slid downe a frightfull precipice. 1763–5 Churchill The Times Poems 1767 II. 19 So sure, they walk on ice, and never slide. 1819 Shelley Cenci iii. i. 12, I see a woman..motionless, whilst I Slide giddily as the world reels. |
| fig. 1388 Wyclif Lam. iii. 53 My lijf slood in to a lake. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 241 He makth a treigne, Into the which if that he slyde, Him were betre go besyde. 1624 Massinger Renegado v. vii, Tho' the descent Were steep as hell, I know I cannot slide. 1668 Bp. Hopkins Serm. (1685) 45 We are apt to slide off from the smoother part of our lives, as flies from glass. 1795 Burke Regic. Peace iv. Wks. 1907 VI. 399 It is not possible that the downhill should not be slid into. |
b. Of the foot: To slip. Also
fig.| 1340 Ayenb. 149 Huanne þe on uot slyt, þe oþer him helpþ. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxxii. 35, Y shal ȝeeld to hem in tyme, that the foot of hem slyde. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 147 b/1 Hys foot slode so that he fyl in to the Ryuer. 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xxii. 37 Thou hast enlarged my goinge vnder me, and myne ankles haue not slyded. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 45 His nigh forwearied feeble feet did slide, And downe he fell. 1831 Scott Cast. Dang. xx, His foot sliding in the blood of the young victim. |
c. In general use: To slip. Also with
advs. and preps.
| 1388 Wyclif Deut. xix. 5 The yrun slidith fro the helue,..and sleeth his freend. c 1400 Anturs Arth. 617 The swerde sleppis on slante, and one the mayle slydys. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xvi. 58 The swerd slode doune by the hauberk behynde his back. 1610 P. Barrough Physick ii. xii. (1639) 90 Their temples be slidden downe, their eyes be hollow. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xiii. 228 Its point will not describe a Circle on the greatest Extuberances of the Globe, but will slide off it. 1748 Johnson Vis. Theodore Wks. 1796 II. 399 The declivities grew more precipitous, and the sand slided from beneath my feet. 1834 W. Godwin Lives Necromancers 340 Just as he thought he had caught him by the hand, the miserable wretch slided from between his fingers. 1859 Tennyson Merlin & V. 737 The snake of gold slid from her hair. |
| fig. 1820 Scott Monast. xxii, Muttering these last words, which slid from him, as it were unawares. |
9. fig. To lapse morally; to commit some fault; to err or go wrong.
| a 1000 Salomon 378 Ðonne he ᵹeong færeð, hafað wilde mod,..slideð ᵹeneahhe [etc.]. c 1250 Owl & Night. 1390 Nis wunder nou þah he abide, Vor fleysses lustes hi makeþ slide. 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xix. 16 Ther is that slideth in his tunge, but not of inwit. 1436 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 182 When grace shynethe sone are wee slydynge. c 1540 Coverdale tr. Calvin's Treat. Sacrament C ij, The rule, whyche yf we folowe, we shall neyther slyde nor erre. a 1591 H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 266 The strong and just God, that consumed Nineveh slidden back. 1606 Carpenter Solomon's Solace vi. 23 No man so wise but he may by an occasion slide. 1738 Wesley Ps. v. 5 Lead me in all thy righteous Ways, Nor suffer me to slide. 1779 Cowper Olney Hymns xli, I find myself a learner yet, Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide. 1868 J. Edmeston in Sacred Poetry 143 The Saviour suffers when his children slide. |
10. Sc. (See
quot.)
| a 1814 Ramsay Scotl. & Scotsmen 18th c. (1888) II. 68 It was imagined they would slide—i.e., ‘lose beef and tallow’—by the change of food. |
IV. trans. 11. To cause to move with a smooth, gliding motion; to push over a level surface.
| c 1537 J. London in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. III. 132 Then must they putt in to the trowgh a peckke of oots, and when they wer oons slydyd vndre the Awter [etc.]. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. xvi. 93 Then slide your Sight-Vane a little higher towards V. 1683 Moxon Printing x. iv. 43 The Tennants of the Till being slid in through the Cutting-in aforesaid. Ibid. xv. i, They may be slid forwards so far. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §225 note, We slid the stones to their respective places. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 80 The cheeks must be of such a height, that the cutter-frames can be slidden along upon them. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 211 The right hand being slided towards the head in the act of lifting the hammer. 1877 W. R. Cooper Egypt. Obelisks viii. (1878) 35 The obelisk was slid off from the deck of the galley, on to a low cart. |
| fig. 1779 Sheridan Critic i. i, Haven't we the signors and signoras calling here, sliding their smooth semibreves? 1815 Scott Guy M. xxxvii, Sliding his whisper from between his lips, which were as little unclosed as possible. 1844 Kinglake Eothen viii. (1878) 109 Madly sliding his splendid army, like a weaver's shuttle, from his right hand to his left. |
12. With
in or
into: To introduce quietly or dexterously; to slip (something)
into one's hand, etc.
| 1627 Donne Serm. v. (1640) 51 Slide wee in this note by the way. 1677 Miége i. s.v. Glisser, To slide his hand into ones pocket. 1713 Steele Englishm. No. 8. 50 He was..to slide the Letter into her Hand, but let no Body see. a 1748 Watts (J.), Little tricks of sophistry by sliding in, or leaving out, such words as entirely change the question, should be abandoned by all fair disputants. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xviii, Sliding into the butler's hand the remuneration, which..was always given by a departing guest. 1841 Dickens Barn. Rudge xlviii, Gashford slid his cold insidious palm into his master's grasp. 1871 R. H. Hutton Ess. (1877) I. 44 He slides in immediately a very favourite maxim of the religious know-nothing school. |
13. To move over, traverse, descend, etc., in a sliding manner.
| 1621 Speght in Farr Sel. Poet. Jas. I, 200 Like a ship that..slides the sea. 1635 Quarles Embl. iv. iii, The idle vessell slides the watry lay. 1770 Foote Lame Lover i, Frederick Foretop and I were carelessly sliding the Ranelagh round. 1773 ― Bankrupt i. I flatter'd myself with [the prospect of] gently sliding the down-hill of life. |
14. With
away: To spend in sliding.
| 1827 Clare Sheph. Cal. 3 Or seeking bright glib ice to play And slide the wintry hours away. |