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slough

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slough of despond

A state of severe depression. The phrase originated in John Bunyan's 17th-century novel A Pilgrim's Progress. I started going to therapy once I felt myself slipping into the slough of despond.

See also: of, slough

slough something off

 

1. Lit. to brush or rub something off. The snake sloughed its old skin off. It sloughed off its skin.

2. Fig. to ignore or disregard a negative remark or incident. I could see that the remark had hurt her feelings, but she just pretended to slough it off. Liz sloughed off the remark.

See also: off, slough

slough off something

also slough something off

to ignore something or behave as if it was unimportant Politicians sloughed off public anger over the hospital cutbacks until several newspapers ran articles about it. He wrecked the car and then tried to slough it off like it was nothing.

See also: off, slough

slough off

v.

1. To shed or peel off some outer layer, especially by rubbing or scraping: We need to slough the paint off the pipes before we install them. The snake sloughed off its skin against a rock.

2. To shed or peel off, as an outer layer: My skin is sloughing off because of the dryness.

3. To avoid some work or to work lazily: Your grades are bad because you've been sloughing off your homework a lot recently. After lunch, he sloughed off and played video games.

4. To leave unnoticed; slip away: The kids sloughed off into the woods.

See also: off, slough

slewed

and slewy and slued and sloughed (up) (slud and ˈslui and slud...)

mod. alcohol intoxicated. Wallace is too slewed to drive.

See also: slew

sloughed up

verb

See slewed

See also: slough, up

sloughed

verb

See slewed

See also: slough

sluff (off)

and slough (off)

in. to waste time; to goof off. Watch him. He will sluff off if you don’t keep after him.

See also: off, sluff

slough off

verb

See sluff off

See also: off, slough

slough

verb

See sluff off