slipperyslip‧per‧y /ˈslɪpəri/ ●●○ adjective 
In places, the path can be wet and slippery. Harry’s palms were slippery with sweat.2informal someone who is slippery cannot be trusted: Martin is a slippery customer (=someone you should not trust) so be careful what you say to him.3not having one clear meaning and able to be understood in different ways: the slippery notion of ‘standards’4(be on) a/the slippery slope British English informal used to talk about a process or habit that is difficult to stop and which will develop into something extremely badslippery to/towards He is on the slippery slope to a life of crime.—slipperiness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINslippery
Origin:
1500-1600 slipper ‘slippery’ (11-19 centuries), from Old English sliporEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a slippery economic problem
- a slippery salesperson
- Be careful - the floor is very slippery.
- Dean lost control of his car on a slippery road.
- In places, the towpath is slippery with mud.
- These boots give a good grip, even on slippery rocks.
- A slippery liquid with curing powers is said to flow from near her tomb.
- Barnett swung away from the bar, his hand finding the slippery handle of the knife.
- I've put the finger on seven members of the ring since lunch, but the big guy is slippery.
- Notice how meaning becomes more and more slippery as we move from one layer to the next.
- They looked like nurse and patient, managing the slippery steps.
- Well, the whole leaf, shaped like a cup with slippery edges, is like a stomach.
- You do not even need anything as obvious as a party to start you on this slippery slope.
Longman Language Activatora surface that makes you slide
also slippy British spoken a slippery surface is so smooth or wet that it is difficult to stand or move safely on it: · Be careful - the floor is very slippery.· The pavements are a bit slippy so we have to walk carefully.· These boots give a good grip, even on slippery rocks.slippery with: · In places, the towpath is slippery with mud.
American a surface that is slick is smooth and slippery: · They couldn't climb up the slick lime walls of the pit.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Martin is a slippery customer (=someone you should not trust) so be careful what you say to him.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Martin is a slippery customer (=someone you should not trust) so be careful what you say to him.· The sign read: ‘Beware: slippery surface.’
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· He would have carried them between finger and thumb, except that they were too slippery.· If you over oil the skin it will be too slippery to enable you to build up the necessary friction. 1.· Blood constantly soaked the scaffold, making it almost too slippery for the executioners to stand up.· Repeat these long, firm strokes several times until the whole of the back is well oiled, but not too slippery.
NOUN· Far left: The Butterfish is literally a slippery customer and very hard to catch.· Martin's a slippery customer, a very nasty slippery customer.
· Let's just hope he doesn't go down the slippery slope of drugs and booze again.· All parties involved in the budget fiasco stand on a slippery slope.· A third approach is to pray in aid the so-called slippery slope.· But Catholics had started down a slippery slope.· More importantly, once we start nibbling naughty things our willpower slides down a very slippery slope.· The season has already started on a slippery slope.· Too often we are faced with clamouring up the slippery slopes to the law more than sliding down them.· We are on a slippery slope right now.
· Some brands tie better than others, having a more slippery surface.· Do not wear smooth leather or rubber soles when walking on wet or slippery surfaces.· Even when cornering on a slippery surface.· There are sharp corners, rough edges and slippery surfaces to watch out for.· After Assen he said that West showed a lot of maturity on a wet, slippery surface.
WORD FAMILYnounslipslipperslippageslipperinessadjectiveslipperyverbslip
1something that is slippery is difficult to hold, walk on etc because it is wet or greasy: In places, the path can be wet and slippery. Harry’s palms were slippery with sweat.2informal someone who is slippery cannot be trusted: Martin is a slippery customer (=someone you should not trust) so be careful what you say to him.3not having one clear meaning and able to be understood in different ways: the slippery notion of ‘standards’4(be on) a/the slippery slope British English informal used to talk about a process or habit that is difficult to stop and which will develop into something extremely badslippery to/towards He is on the slippery slope to a life of crime.—slipperiness noun [uncountable]