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slippery slope

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noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

knock-on, dispersion, dissemination, sprawl

Nearby words

  1. slippery,
  2. slippery as an eel,
  3. slippery dick,
  4. slippery dip,
  5. slippery elm,
  6. slipping rib,
  7. slipping rib cartilage,
  8. slippy,
  9. slipsheet,
  10. slipshod

Origin of slippery slope

First recorded in 1985–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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.