slippery slope
Save This Word!
noun
a dangerous and irreversible course: the slippery slope from narcotics to prison.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of slippery slope
First recorded in 1985–90
Words nearby slippery slope
slippery, slippery as an eel, slippery dick, slippery dip, slippery elm, slippery slope, slipping rib, slipping rib cartilage, slippy, slip-rail, slip ring
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences 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.