▪ I. slate, n.1
(sleɪt)
Also (chiefly north. and Sc.) 4– sclate (5 sclathe), sklate (9 sklet); 5–9 sclait (6 sclayt), 5 sklaytt, 6 sklaitt, 6–9 sklait.
[ad. OF. esclate fem., in the same sense as esclat masc., whence slat n.1 After c 1630 the forms with scl-, skl- are exclusively northern and Scottish.
The earliest example of the form occurs in sense 3, but the development of the senses must have been the same as in slat n.1]
1. a. A thin, usually rectangular, piece of certain varieties of stone which split readily into laminæ (see 4), used especially for the purpose of covering the roofs of buildings.
Also freq. called a roofing-slate, and with distinguishing terms, as blue, green, grey, white slate(s). For the older Sc. use of the word see skaillie.
| α 1455 Anc. Cal. Rec. Dublin (1889) 284 Sclatys, bordes, gottorys, schall ly upon the key be the spase of xx. dayes. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 228 As a sclate fell of a hous and slewe a man. c 1540 Boorde The Boke for to Lerne B ij, Many tyles or sklates. 1584 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 678 Becaus thair is sklaittis, lyme, sand and tymmer to be transportit..to his said palice. 1832 Carrick in Whistle-Binkie (1890) I. 213 Some o' them gaed ower the sklates As weel's your dainty dow. |
| β 1530 Palsgr. 706/1, I sclate a house with stone slates. 1570 Levins Manip. 39/12 A Slate, tyle, tegula, later. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa iii. 202 The roofe is couered with certaine blacke stones or slates. 1662 Gerbier Principles 36 The Roof..should be covered either with Lead or blew Slates. 1745 Season. Advice Protestants 17 The Houses, that were formerly in good Repair, and cover'd with Slates, decay. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Obs. Surg. (1771) 65 A Slate fell upon her Head from the Top of an House. 1811 Farey Derbyshire I. 428 At Sheffield these white and grey Slates are exclusively used. 1841 James Brigand xix, The house was built of cold grey stone, with a roof of slates. 1889 H. C. Seddon Builder's Work (ed. 2) 231 Ordinary roofing slates are sold by the number... Some of the largest sized slates are..sold by the ton, and hence are called ton slates or weight slates. |
b. A slab of slate,
† or other stony substance; a laminated rock.
| 1601 Holland Pliny xvii. viii. I. 506 It [the Columbine marl] will resolve and cleave into most thin slates or flakes. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 27 The Irish Ocean, a sea so shallow, and so full of rocks and slates [etc.]. 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 500 He [the slater] supplies sawn slates for shelving in larders and dairies. |
c. In
phr. to have a slate loose or off, to be weak in intellect. (
Cf. tile n.)
| 1854 J. E. Millais Let. 25 May in M. Lutyens Millais & Ruskins (1967) 216 Ruskin..is certainly mad or has a slate loose. [1857 W. Collins Dead Secret iii. i, The college tutor..facetiously likened his head to a roof, and said there was a slate loosened in it.] 1860 Slang Dict. 218 He has a slate loose. 1862 Athenæum 27 Sept. 397 On too good terms with himself to think that..there is a ‘loose slate’, in his intellectual covering. 1867 R. Broughton Cometh up as Flower xxxv, You must have a slate off this morning, Nell! |
d. A flat piece or plate of some other material used for the same purpose as a roofing-slate.
| 1887 Archit. Soc. Dict. VII. 87 ‘Glass slates’ in roofing to lofts are sometimes used to admit light. Ibid. 89 Slating with very strong zinc slates. 1893 Spon Mechanic's Own Book (ed. 4) 617 Shingles, or wooden slates, are made from hard wood. |
2. a. A tablet of slate, usually framed in wood, used for writing on.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §44 Consider thy rote furst,..& entere hit in-to thy slate. Ibid. §45 Take alle the signes,..& wryte hem in þy slate. 1571 Digges Pantom. i. xxviii, Ye must search Angles of position agayne, and marke them in the table or slate. 1635–56 Cowley Davideis i. Wks. 1710 I. 315 Letters..painfully engrav'd in thin wrought Plates, Some cut in Wood, some lightlier trac'd on Slates. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 112 A Board plastered over, which with Cotton they wipe out, when full, as we do from Slates or Table-Books. 1752 Foote Taste i, I can't remember her name, but 'tis upon the slate. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. II. i. iii. 39 We proceed in the same manner a person would who should undertake to draw any plan assigned him upon a slate. 1826 Art Brewing (ed. 2) 53 We will now work a brewing according to the example in the instructions, on a slate. 1874 Jevons Princ. Sci. (1900) 96, I have used a slate of this kind, which I call a Logical Slate, for more than twelve years. |
| transf. 1897 Army & Navy Stores List 750 Opal Slates in Leather Frame. Ibid. 757 Porcelain Menu Slate. |
b. fig. A record of any kind concerning or against a person;
esp. in
phr. a clean slate. Also in
phrs. to wipe (off) the slate,
to wipe the slate clean: to obliterate or cancel a record,
usu. of a debt, misdemeanour, etc.; hence
loosely, to make a fresh start.
| 1868 E. Yates Rocks Ahead ii. ii, He had passed the wet sponge over the slate containing any records of his early life. 1888 Pall Mall G. 27 Sept. 9/1, I can conceive nothing more desirable in the interests of these embarrassed tenants than that they should have a clean slate. 1899 [see active a. 4]. 1921 G. B. Shaw Back to Methuselah p. lxix, We are helpless before a slate scrawled with figures of National Debts..the sensible thing to do is to wipe the slate and let the wrangling States distribute what they can spare. 1937 A. Huxley Ends & Means iv. 27 Where violence is pushed to its limits and the victims are totally exterminated, the slate is wiped clean and the perpetrators of violence are free to begin afresh on their own account. 1960 Times 2 Mar. 14/1 Tactically, Wolves must bank on all-out attack to wipe the slate clean. 1973 Times 28 Apr. 11/4 What I try to do each year is to wipe the slate clean. ‘Now what can I do this year?’ |
c. Orig. and chiefly
N. Amer. A list of candidates proposed for election or appointment to an official (
esp. political) post; also
transf., the group of candidates so nominated; a group of candidates (
occas. also of electors) with a set of shared political views.
| 1842 N.Y. Tribune 24 Jan. 3/1 The Regency are obliged to put them on the slate to be rid of them, and then rub names out at leisure. 1877 Ibid., 1 Mar. (Farmer), The facts about the latest Cabinet slate..are interesting as showing..the course of President Hayes in choosing his advisers. 1884 American VIII. 232 In dictated nominations, in the making of ‘slates’ for obedient party acceptance. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. iii. lxiii. II. 457 Some leading man..sketches out an allotment of places; and when this allotment has been worked out fully, it results in a Slate, i.e. a complete draft list of candidates to be proposed for the various offices. 1913 R. M. LaFollette Autobiogr. 12 Well, the fraternities made their slate and put it through. 1931 W. G. McAdoo Crowded Years xii. 182 The Governor had Brandeis on the slate as Secretary of Commerce. 1952 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 May 2/2 There were..nine contests between slates of delegates pledged to Taft and slates pledged to Eisenhower. 1963 Economist 2 Nov. 18/1 Electors were originally independent agents, not bound to any party. However, ‘slates’ of electors soon appeared, usually, though not always, pledged..to one or other of the parties. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Feb. 3/2 The Eglinton Federal Liberal Association last night..selected a complete slate of delegates pledged to vote for Finance Minister Mitchell Sharp at the national Liberal leadership convention. 1970 New Yorker 15 Aug. 78/3 Only three slates, or thirty candidates, can be elected. 1972 R. Thomas Porkchoppers (1974) xxvi. 230 Cubbin voted without hesitation for himself and his slate. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 12 June 2/2 Uncommitted slates led the voting in the Democratic Presidential primary. 1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 June 19/3 Eliav..who abandoned Labor in 1975, led a socialist and dovish slate (‘Sheli’) in this election. 1979 Observer 27 May 9/2 It was possible to see lists—Labour back⁓benchers are great ones for lists—giving the ‘slates’ of the Tribune and Manifesto Groups for the Shadow Cabinet elections. |
d. A written record of a debt made when purchase of goods is allowed on credit. Also
fig.,
esp. in
phr. on the slate, on account. (See also
quot. 1909.)
| 1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. 188/1 On the slate (Lower Peoples'), written up against you—from the credit⁓slate kept in chandlers' shops. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 369 Lose your customers that way. Pubs do. Fellows run up a bill on the slate and then slinking around the back streets into somewhere else. 1954 Sun (Baltimore) 30 Oct. 1/5 [London] Many food stores are putting the bills ‘on the slate’ until the men go back to work. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 114 The Site Committee..made history by going on the slate and ticking up a few rounds of drinks. 1973 J. Marks Mick Jagger (1974) 39 He let them run a slate because they seemed like good sorts. 1980 Observer 7 Dec. 3/3 He knew of pharmacists who had been asked to put the bill ‘on the slate’ by families needing four or five prescriptions. |
3. Roofing-slates collectively, or the material from which these are made.
| α a 1340 Hampole Psalter civ. 23 Þai..did treson [to the Israelites] forto less þaim in werke of mortere and sclate. 1392 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 116 In sal. Simonis Sklater cooperantis et ponentis lapides de sklate. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. v. (1811) 113 He buylded a royall mynstre of lyme and stoone, and couered it with platis of syluer in stede of sclate or leade. 1571 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) I. 309 Ten lode of sclait. |
| β 1530 Palsgr. 720/2, I slate a house, I cover it with slate. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 194 Many also [are covered] with slate or other stone. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. Ind. i. xl. 94 A greate citie, consisting of houses made of Earth, and couered ouer with broade stone or slate. c 1630 Risdon Surv. Devon (1810) 8 Of late days quarries of slate are found out, wherewith they cover houses. 1667 Primatt City & C. Builder 72 A Penthouse..covered with Tyles, Lead or Slate. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Slating, Roofs cover'd with Slate, must be first Boarded over. 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 181/2 Houses of respectable appearance, roofed with slate. |
4. a. An argillaceous rock of sedimentary origin, the different varieties of which have the common property of splitting readily into thin plates.
Many varieties are distinguished,
esp. in
Geol., by special terms, as
clay,
hornblende,
mica,
talc slate.
| 1653 Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. (1663) 254 The extream trouble his people were at in planting their ladders against the walls by reason of their bad scituation which was all of Slate. 1676 Phil. Trans. XI. 764 There is also a sort of Mineral we call a Slate, which is partly Coal, partly Alum-stone, partly Marcasite, which being laid up in heaps and burnt, are used for hardening the Coal-ways. 1738 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The same impressions are also frequently found on other substances, as on the black slate that lies over veins of coals. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 19 This [slaty alum] is the stone called Black Slate, celebrated among the vulgar for its medicinal properties. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 24 The ore is first calcined with a low heat, so as to destroy the bituminous matter of the slate. 1852 Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 4) 266 The slate of Stonesfield..is a slightly oolitic shelly limestone. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 254 The quartz is divided by a horse of slate into two parts. |
† b. Irish slate, alum-slate, formerly used medicinally in the form of powder.
Obs.| a 1704 T. Brown Wks. (1720) III. 99 You must give him Irish Slate quantum sufficit. 1741 Compl. Family-Piece i. i. 22 Take of Irish Slate, Sperma Ceti, of each half a Dram. |
c. With
a and
pl. A kind or variety of slaty rock.
| 1704 Dict. Rust. (1726) s.v., Some Directions..whereby the..lasting Goodness of any Slate may be Experimented. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Besides the Blue Slate, we have in England a Greyish Slate, call'd also Horsham Stone. 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 171/2 Undulations on slates and sandstones of every geological age. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. App. 430 The cleavage of slates is therefore not a question of stratification. 1903 Marr Agric. Geol. 234 Mudstones which, owing to the subsequent impress of cleavage, usually occur as slates. |
5. A bluish-grey colour like that of slate.
| 1813 Jane Austen Let. 16 Sept. (1952) 327 There was but 2 y{supd} and a q{supr} of the dark slate in the Shop, but the Man promised to match it. 1882 Sir W. Crookes Dyeing & Tissue-Printing 144 Light Slate. Ibid. 145 Slate on Cotton Wool. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 12 Nov. 1/3 Far to the south, where the slate of the sea and the grey of the sky wove together. |
6. attrib. and
Comb. a. Attrib. in the senses ‘made or consisting of slate’, ‘having the character of slate’, as
slate-band,
slate-bed,
slate-belt,
slate-book, etc.,
slate-clay,
slate-coal,
slate-marl,
slate-spar (see
quots.).
| 1810 S. Smith Agricultural Survey of Galloway 20 note, The proper schistus,..called by English miners shiver, and in Galloway *slate-band. Ibid. 21 Strata of a soft shivering argillaceous stone, which..is called in the country slate-band. |
| 1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornw. vi. 184 The *slate-beds in the valley between Milton and Maristow. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade s.v., A billiard-table with a slate-bed. |
| 1882 U.S. Rep. Prec. Met. 458 On the eastern or *slate belt great activity is manifested. Most of the mines are situated near the contact of the slate and the granite. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Slate-book, two or more slabs of framed slate bound together for writing on. |
| 1804 R. Jameson Min. I. 312 *Slate clay, shale. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 962 The strata of this section contain numerous varieties of..slate-clay. |
| 1805 R. Jameson Min. II. 72 *Slate-Coal... Colour intermediate between velvet-black and dark greyish-black. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 225 Slate Coal, a hard, dull variety of coal, not unlike Cannel. |
| 1803 A. Hunter Georgical Ess. I. 233 A drachm of a friable *slate-marl afforded a residuum of eighteen grains of yellow sand. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 238 Where this sort of marle has a thin laminated structure.., it is frequently denominated slate marle. |
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 344 The aggregate of quartz and mica..is, when it is slaty, called *slate mica, or shistose mica, or slaty mica. |
| 1793 W. H. Marshall W. Eng. (1796) II. 344 The *slate-rock waters of this District are superior to those of any others. 1813 Coleridge Remorse ii. i, There where the smooth high wall of slate-rock glitters. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. App. 432 Fossil shells are found in these slate-rocks. |
| 1578–9 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 99 [They] enterit in the said hous,..and thaireftir tuke doun the *sklait ruife. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2200/1 The pitch of a slate roof should not be less than 1 in h[e]ight to 4 of length. |
| 1821 Scott Kenilw. xx, A devil's ally, that can change *slate-shivers into Spanish dollars. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Slate slab, a sheet or plate of slate. |
| 1804 R. Jameson Min. I. 508 *Slate Spar... Its colour is milk, greenish and reddish white. 1858 J. Nicol Elem. Mineral. 203 Slate spar, thin, lamellar,..with a shining white pearly lustre and greasy feel. |
| 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 65 The character and features of this *slate-stratum. |
| 1855 J. R. Leifchild Cornwall 81 The *slate-system [of rocks] has obtained its full share of such attention. |
| 1531 Lett. & Papers Hen. VIII (1880) V. 183 Payment to John Cornelis of Handwarp, for..making of *slate tyle. 1778 England's Gaz. (ed. 2) s.v. Padstow, The trade in slate-tiles. |
| 1867 Musgrave Nooks & Corners Old France II. 6 A lofty domicile..exhibiting laths, timbering and *slatework. |
b. Instrumental, as
slate-floored,
slate-formed,
slate-hung,
slate-pointed,
slate-roofed,
slate-spired,
slate-strewn;
slate-thatcher.
| 1648 Hexham ii, Een Schalie-decker, a Slate-thatcher, or Coverer. 1789 J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 235 The thin slate-formed argillaceous strata of the coal metals. 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden I. 238 Leckö Slott with her grand slate-spired towers. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right xxv. (1899) 116, I had crossed more than one crest of the slate-strewn ranges. 1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel iv. 292 The shining gray slate-pointed roofs of Quebec. 1948 J. Betjeman Sel. Poems 116 The slate-hung, goodly-builded house. 1960 Times 26 Mar. 9/5 Indeed, everything here recalls France—the squares and cobbled streets, the whitewashed walls and dormered slate-pointed houses. 1978 J. L. Hensley Killing in Gold (1979) xi. 151 The slate-floored entrance hall. 1981 V. Glendinning Edith Sitwell xi. 151 A whitewashed slate-roofed village. |
c. Objective, as
slate-cutter,
slate-maker,
slate-picker, etc.;
slate-cutting,
slate-dressing, etc.
| (a) 1780 Westm. Mag. Suppl. 730/1 Slate-mak[er]. 1833–4 J. Phillips Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VI. 703/1 The slate-workers of Stonesfield. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2200/2 Slate-cutter, a machine for cutting the edges of roofing or other slates. |
| (b) 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 329 The stone slag, or copper cinder, resulting from the slate-smelting. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2200/2 Slate-beveling, -cutting, -making, -trimming, Machine. 1894 Daily News 13 June 5/2 Collecting data as to the methods of slate-dressing. |
d. With names of colours, as
slate-blue,
slate-brown,
slate-grey. Also
attrib., of a slate colour.
| (a) 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 152 Leek green, or slate blue. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 619 For several other shades as..slate-gray. 1871 Kingsley At Last vii, A slate-blue heron rose lazily off a dead bough. 1883 Cent. Mag. Sept. 729 Latticed porticoes, and slate-brown paint. 1937 Discovery Dec. 384/2 Its black or slate-grey body. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 6 Nov. 21 (Advt.), Generously cut in quality wool gabardine—Mid-Fawn, Slate Grey or Lovat. |
| (b) 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 233 Tail..entirely black, or with only a slight slate tipping. 1889 Saunders Brit. Birds 646 The adult in summer has a slate or greyish-black hood. |
7. Misc. and special combs., as
slate-like adj.,
slate-merchant,
slate-mine,
slate-pit,
slate-quarry, etc.;
slate-axe (see
quots.);
slate-board,
-boarding (see
quot. 1833);
slate club, a sharing-out club, whose accounts are nominally kept on a slate;
slate-frame (see
quot.);
slate-galiot, a vessel carrying slates;
slate house Sc., a house with a slated roof;
† slate-incense, ? (
cf. note to
slat n.1);
slate-knife, a knife used for splitting slates;
slate-land (see
quot.);
slate-nail,
-peg,
-pin, a nail, peg, or pin used to fix a slate on a roof;
slate-saw (see
quot.);
slate-writer, a person who practises slate-writing;
slate-writing, in spiritualism: writing performed on a slate, attributed to the agency of a medium, but without physical contact of the medium and the writing instrument.
| 1828–32 Webster, *Slate-ax, a mattock..used in slating. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Slate-axe, a mattock for shaping slates for roofing, and making holes in them to fasten them to the roof. |
| 1842 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 242/2 The *slate-boards are supported by five purlins 4 ft. apart. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. Gloss., *Slate-boarding, boards placed on the roof, on which to nail the slates. |
| 1888 Daily News 27 Dec. 7/5 He would pay her in the evening, as he was in a *slate club. 1891 J. F. Wilkinson Mutual Thrift 60 Taking London, we have a large number of old dividing clubs located in the East End, and known as ‘Birmingham societies’ or ‘Slate clubs’. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Slate-frame, the narrow wood border for a writing-slate or slate-book. |
| 1887 Dowden Shelley I. v. 235 When at length they set sail in a *slate-galiot, a storm whirled them quite up to the north of Ireland. |
| 1554 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 198 De domo tegulata, vulgo ane *sklait hous. 1815 in Pennecuik's Wks. 243 note, A wild and solitary site for a slate house, yet proper for a hunting seat. |
| 1470–1 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 217 In incenso vocato *Sclate-incense empto ad deserviendum in choro festis duplicibus principalibus, nil hoc anno. 1484–5 Ibid. 222. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 622 The instruments used in splitting and cleaning slates are, *slate-knives, axes, bars, and wedges. |
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xiv. 196 (Dublin ed.), Poor *Slate Land [note, lying upon Slate or Stone]. |
| 1898 Pop. Sci. Monthly 523 Impressions..have been left upon *slate-like rocks. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Slate-merchant, an importer or wholesale dealer in slates. |
| 1648 Hexham ii, Een Schalie-myne,..a *Slate-mine. |
| 1880 A. M{supc}Kay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4) 300 He now, with the forefinger of his left hand, got hold of a *slate-nail. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2201/1 *Slate-peg, a kind of nail used in securing slates on a roof. |
| 1579 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 312 Lathe,..*slatepyne, and nayles. 1736 Drake Eboracum i. ii. 64 At the end of each tile is a hole that would receive a common slate pin. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Ardoisiere, a *slate-pit, *slate quarrey. 1829 Scott Bl. Dwarf Introd., He was the son of a labourer in the slate-quarries of Stobo. 1846 Tennyson Golden Year 75, I heard them blast The steep slate-quarry. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2201/2 *Slate-saw, a machine for trimming the edges of slate-slabs to shape. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Slate-works, a yard, etc. where slate is sawn or shaped. |
| 1902 F. Podmore Mod. Spiritualism II. iv. ii. 221 Professional *slate-writers. 1949 G. B. Shaw Buoyant Billions 7 They have a cohort of Slate Writers and Writing Mediums. |
| 1885 Century Mag. July 382/2 She can do the trance business, and knocks, and *slate-writing, and all that sort of thing. 1898 Sci. Amer. 8 Oct. 229/2 There has probably been nothing that has made more converts to spiritualism than the much talked of ‘Slate Writing Test’. 1930 H. Carrington Story of Psychic Science vi. 147 The majority of messages..have been upon slates—hence the former popularity of ‘slate-writing’ mediums. 1977 B. Inglis Natural & Supernatural xxviii. 277 Slade was one of the practitioners of the new technique: slate-writing. |
| 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. i. 6, I..visited *slate-yards and quarries. |
▸
Film (
orig. U.S.). A board on which identifying details such as scene or take numbers, film title, and director's name are recorded, and which is held in front of the camera at the beginning and end of each take; a clapperboard. Hence: any one of the individual spells of shooting which, as opposed to scenes, are numbered sequentially during filming. Also in extended use (chiefly
Sound Recording): recorded introductory material supplying identifying details on a recording or film.
| 1924 Los Angeles Times 27 July iii. 19/4 So far as Mr. Cummings is concerned, the continuity need only be written so that the cameraman can keep track of the scenes on his slate. 1959 W. S. Sharps Dict. Cinematogr. & Sound Recording 129/1 When the picture and sound recorders are running in synchronism, the slate is shown in front of the camera and the clapper arm is banged down. 1976 Oxf. Compan. Film 640/1 The first shot taken is ‘slate one, take one’... Thus every shot has two numbers: the slate number, indicating its place in the shooting schedule, and the scene number, indicating the place in the script. 1982 T. Barr Acting for Camera iv. xxvi. 190 The assistant holds the slate where the camera can photograph it. 1999 D. Morgan Monty Python Speaks! 89 We got to slate one take seventeen, and I think they made it ‘slate two take one’ so it wouldn't look so embarrassing. 2002 T. Holman Sound for Film & Television (ed. 2) v. 112/1 The recording machine records a slate from an open microphone, then re-records the playback directly from the second machine. |
▪ II. † slate, n.2 Cant.
Obs. (See
quots.)
| a. 1567 Harman Caveat (1869) 61 Some of these goe with slates at their backes, which is a sheete to lye in a nightes. Ibid. 76 Their mothers carries them at their backes in their slates, whiche is their shetes. [Hence in later works; in the Dict. Cant. Crew (a 1700) given as slat.] 1622 Fletcher Beggar's Bush iii. iii, To Mill from the Ruffmans, commision and slates. |
| b. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Slate, a half Crown. |
▪ III. slate, n.3 (
sleɪt)
[f. slate v.3] A severe criticism; a slating.
| 1887 Lang Books & Bookmen 19 ‘Slate’ is a professional term for a severe criticism. 1889 Hannay Marryat 157 Carlyle's savage ‘slate’ of him [Marryat] is unjust. |
▪ IV. slate, n.4 Sc. rare.
[Of obscure origin.] A slovenly, dirty person.
| 1715 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. vi, Had aff [= hold off], quoth she, ye filthy slate. 1806 John Hogg Poems 74 (Jam.), The blether-lipped drunken slate! |
▪ V. slate, v.1 (
sleɪt)
Also 6
sclate,
slaytt, 7
Sc. skleat.
[f. slate n.1] 1. trans. To cover or roof with slates.
| 1530 Palsgr. 706/1 It is better to sclate a house with stone than to tyle it. 1554 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 470 Covenauntted wyth Odam to slaytt the new Buylding. 1605 Ibid. 491 Thomas Yates to slate y⊇ Hall. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 108 Houses..built..warme and defensiue..as if they were tiled and slated. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 471 Walls were not repaired nor the roofe skleated till three yeares after. 1708 S. Sewall Diary 23 Aug., I pleaded that Mr. Dudley had been at great Charge to Slate his House. 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §947 The gables are to be slated over. 1883 Law Times Rep. XLIX. 138/2 The defendant..had on several occasions employed S. to slate houses for him. |
| absol. 1727 Swift Vanbrugh's House Wks. 1755 III. ii. 64 A lyrick ode wou'd slate; a catch Wou'd tile; an epigram wou'd thatch. 1941 Cross & Plough Ladyday 9/2 To shelter him, man had to fell timber,..to burn bricks and tiles, to thatch and to slate. |
2. a. To put down (a name, etc.) on a writing-slate; to set down, book,
for something; also
const. to with
inf. Also, to plan, propose, or schedule (an event). Chiefly
U.S.| 1883 Daily News 18 Sept. 6/2 He had been ‘slated’ for a month—that is, his name was entered upon a slate in the porter's lodge, which indicated that he was dangerously ill. 1896 Harper's Mag. XCIII. 25/1 So the Professor was unconsciously slated for the office of hero. 1904 F. Lynde Grafters xxvii. 343 Griggs was on for the night run eastward with the express; and ‘Dutch’ Tischer had found himself slated to take the fast mail west. 1936 Wodehouse Laughing Gas ix. 94 You ought to be thanking me on your knees for warning you. Yes, sir, unless you pull up mighty quick, you're slated to get yours. 1944 College Topics (Univ. of Virginia) 30 Mar. 3 No one has been slated for the 220, but Wenger may run in that event. 1960 Times 14 Sept. 12/6, I was intrigued to see this heading in a Charleston paper ‘Church Tour slated’... It turned out to be nothing more than the announcement of an annual plantation tour..to raise funds for the local Protestant Episcopal Church. 1966 [see locomotive n. 4]. 1971 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 July w1/2 The Treasury is offering new 7%, 10-year bonds... Other cash-raising moves are also slated. 1973 Oxf. Mag. 4 May 10/1 When Americans mean to do something they slate it, rather than timetable or table it. When they do table it, they don't mean to do it. 1979 Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times 27 May 3a/3 Gov. Bruce King and..Navajo Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald are slated to attend the ceremony. |
b. spec. to propose or nominate a candidate for political office; to form a slate (
slate n.1 2 c) of candidates.
U.S.| 1804 J. Pearson Let. 26 Nov. in J. Steele Papers (1924) I. 441 The Federalists have not, nor do they intend slating a candidate. 1912 T. Dreiser Financier xxvii. 297 Stener, although he had served two terms, was slated for re-election. 1961 T. H. White Making of President 1960 iv. 100 On one huge ballot the Charlestonian was offered fifty-three individual choices of candidates if he wished to ponder his selections. Such a mystifying ballot requires simplification..supplied by ‘slating’. The local bosses, the union chiefs, the statewide candidates, the education-board candidates, even the veterans organizations, all make cross-alliances to settle on, then print, a ‘slate’ of approved candidates among the multitude of names. |
3. To scrape (a skin or hide) with a slater to remove loosened hairs.
| 1885 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather xxxii. 527 Upon removal from the bate the skins are ‘slated’, which is the removal of the fine hair remaining upon the skins after the unhairing operation. |
▸
Film and
Sound Recording (
orig. U.S.).
a. intr. To provide identifying information on a film or recording,
esp. by using a slate. Freq. in
imper. Cf. slate n.1 Additions.
| 1953 D. Livingston Film & Director vii. 107 When slating, the slate boy calls out the scene and take numbers and then claps together the two pieces of wood. 1972 J. Quick & T. Labau Handbk. Film Production xvi. 178 The director then calls, ‘Camera!’ and when the camera has been brought up to speed the cameraman calls ‘Speed.’ The director then calls, ‘Slate.’ 1987 G. Kindem Moving Image x. 253/1 In the absence of a clapboard, a person can call out ‘slate!’ followed by a sharp handclap. 2000 M. Saint Nicholas Actor's Guide (rev. ed.) xii. 129 If the camera is rolling, you will ‘slate’ by saying your name in a very warm and friendly manner, and then you'll go straight into your reading. |
b. trans. To identify (a scene, take, etc.) by means of a slate.
| 1983 E. Ward & A. Silver Film Director's Team iii. 94 A camera assistant slates the scene with clapperboard indicating scene number and take number. 1991 Amer. Cinematogr. Sept. 37/3 (caption) Assistant cameraman..is about to slate the scene with the automatic slating device on the matte box. 2003 T. Souvignier Loops & Grooves ix. 81 If you have good notes from the recording session, and slated each take, it should be easy to find the right sections. |
▪ VI. slate, v.2 slang and
colloq. (
sleɪt)
[app. f. slate n.1 Sense 2 appears to have originated in Ireland.] 1. trans. (See
quot. 1865.) ?
Obs.| 1825 C. Westmacott English Spy II. 158 Another point of amusement is flying a tile or slating a man as the phrases of the Stock Exchange describe it. 1865 Slang Dict. 234 Slate, to knock the hat over one's eyes, to bonnet. |
2. To beat or thrash severely.
| 1825 Knapp & Baldw. Newgate Cal. IV. 149/1 Slate him, the Dublin word for an unmerciful beating. 1857 Kingsley Two Y. Ago III. 159 Putting his head in cautiously for fear of drunken Irishmen, who might be seized with the national impulse to ‘slate’ him. |
b. Mil. To punish (an enemy) severely.
| 1854 Champion in Kinglake Crimea (1877) V. 375 ‘Slate 'em, slate 'em, my boys!’ was his exulting..adjuration. 1885 Wilson From Korti to Khartum (1886) 163 Now we shall get ‘slated’, I thought..; a few good shots might have picked off every one on deck. 1902 ‘Linesman’ Words Eyewitness 107 Their smaller guns..kept it up far into the night, slating the reverse slopes of the Krantz with wonderful accuracy. |
| transf. 1883 Harper's Mag. Apr. 688/1 A billiard table in an overcrowded hotel, even with a railway rug around one, is apt to ‘slate’ the sleeper before morning. |
3. To assail with reproof or abuse; to rate or reprimand; to scold severely.
| 1840 Blackw. Mag. XLVIII. 210, I weep over the realm's decay, and have some notion of slating—excuse me for borrowing a word from the vocabulary of the new ministerial and courtly party of Ribandism—Lord Palmerston. 1860 Slang Dict. 218 Slate, to pelt with abuse. 1866 J. E. Brogden Prov. Lincs., Slate, to scold. 1881 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton My Love II. 306 Val slated me hard enough. So we may cry quits over that. |
b. To criticize (a book or author) severely; to castigate, cut up.
| 1848 A. Watts in Life (1884) II. 258 And, when they'd been by critics slated, Had always the review to show 'em. 1870 ‘Ouida’ Puck xvi, That wretched Mouse, when he wants to slate a very good novel. 1890 Saintsbury Ess. Eng. Lit. p. xxv, You slated this [book], and it has gone through twenty editions. |
▪ VII. slate, v.3 north. and
Sc. (
sleɪt)
Also 4–5
slayt, 6–7
Sc. slait.
[ad. ON. *sleita, corresponding to OE. slǽtan: see sleat v.1] 1. trans. To incite or set on (a dog). Also
const. on,
at,
against (a person, etc.).
| 13.. Metrical Hom. (Vernon MS.) in Herrig Archiv LVII. 266 Þei sayh beestes..and þei hem bayted Wiþ houndes þat þei on hem slayted. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodora) 657 Þat feynd..slaytyt þaim full fellonly, & bad þai suld þat hure wery. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. i. xxii, Diane..him in forme hes of ane hart translatit. I saw (allace) his houndis at him slatit. a 1568 Balnevis in Bannatyne MS. 393 Thairfoir had bound thocht scho be found, Or dreid thy doggis be slaittit. 1787 Grose Prov. Gloss. s.v., To slate the dog at any one. 1796 in Pegge Derbicisms (E.D.S.) 63. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss., Slate, to set on, to incite. 1876 Mid-Yorksh. Gloss. 126 I'll slate my dog against thine. |
2. To bait, assail, or drive, with dogs. Also
fig. Hence
ˈslating vbl. n.| 13.. K. Alis. 200 (Laud MS.), Þer was..Of lyons chace, of bere baityng, A-bay of bore, of bole slatyng. 1684 Yorkshire Dial. (ed. 2) 43, I did Slate him back than with our Dog. Ibid. 106 To slate a Beast, is to hound a Dog at him. 1755 Guthrie's Trial 143 (Jam.), It is much to be lamented, that people professing his name, should be so slaited and enslaved by transgression as many are. |