Word: slack Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag. Pronunciation: /slæk/ 1. The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it. Labels: uncountable Example: the slack of a rope or of a sail Example: take in the slack 2. A dip in a surface. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Richardson states that a low joint, a short distance from Haslam's Creek Bridge, was, in his opinion, the cause of the accident. […] [He] told Morgan, the Permanent Way Inspector, that there was a "slack" in the road on the Parramatta side of Haslam's Creek Bridge, […] I can positively state […] There was no such slack. The road was in as good running condition as I would wish to see any road. On all lines of course there are slacks, but not slacks of a serious nature; and that there was any such slack or depression in the rails as spoken of by Richardson I positively deny. Example: […] a road may be kept up to approximately the same level at all times, and a fair surface maintained by rolling in large patches occasionally, as well as opening slacks in the road when they appear and effecting petty repairs. […] a series of slacks will begin to show in the run of the wheels; or […] 3. In particular, a shallow dell or hollow; a dip in the surface of terrain, such as between hills. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Cauldstane Slap, or rather Slack, is a much frequented pass, through which the periodical droves of black cattle are transported into England. Example: ... for they had at that time observed the side of the brae, where the little green slack was situated, covered with a sheet of flame for a moment. 4. A low-lying marsh or a pool, especially a tidal or intermittent one which periodically fills and drains. Labels: countable Example: The "slacks" I have mentioned are fresh-water pools which extend just inside the outer sandhills. Being mostly dry in summer, the shore fowl love to breed there. Peewits nest on their banks, and the long grasses and sand willow[…] Example: ... in that quarter lay the great slack of the Watch Hill, the yellow slack that feeds the Blackburn, and in which horse and rider might readily disappear for ever. 5. Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient. Labels: uncountable Example: The counselor is directed to give his client "free attention," or "slack," performing a kind of vigil, a version of Carl Rogers's "unconditional positive regard." Example: We have apparently been doing this all our lives, since we were first distressed. This collection of ancient habits seems to be "energized" by the presence, or even the promise, of "slack" or free attention from any person in the situation […] 6. Attributive form of slacks (“semi-formal trousers”). Labels: attributive, countable, form-of, uncountable Example: The breeches formerly worn with those spiral leggings have been succeeded by full length, slack-type trousers which are loose at the knee and around the calf. Example: Recently though, slack manufacturers have been cuddling under the wings of the clothing industry to a greater extent than ever, for it has become good business to promote separate slacks and sport coats as a coordinated sales unit.