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slippery slope

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noun
  1. a dangerous and irreversible course: the slippery slope from narcotics to prison.

Origin of slippery slope

First recorded in 1985–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for slippery slope

knock-on, dispersion, dissemination, sprawl

Examples from the Web for slippery slope

Contemporary Examples of slippery slope

Idioms and Phrases with slippery slope

slippery slope

A dangerous course, one that leads easily to catastrophe, as in He's on a slippery slope, compromising his values to please both the bosses and the union. This metaphoric expression alludes to traversing a slick hillside, in constant danger of falling. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.