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slippery

adjective
🔊/ˈslɪpəri/
🔊/ˈslɪpəri/
Idioms
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  1. (also informal slippy)
     difficult to hold or to stand or move on, because it is smooth, wet or polished滑的；滑得抓不住（或站不稳、难以行走）的
    • slippery like a fish滑得像条鱼似的
    • In places the path can be wet and slippery.这条小径有些路段又湿又滑。🔊🔊
    • His hand was slippery with sweat.他的手汗津津的。🔊🔊
    Extra Examples
    • The concrete gets slippery when it's wet.混凝土地面湿的时候会很滑。
    • The oil made the ground slippery and treacherous to walk on.油使地面打滑，走在上面很危险。
    • Watch out—the floor's a bit slippery.小心，地板有点儿滑。
    • rocks that were slippery with seaweed布满海草而发滑的岩石
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • with
    phrases
    • slippery when wet
    • wet and slippery
    See full entry
  2. (informal) (of a person人) that you cannot trust油滑的；滑头滑脑的；靠不住的
    • Don't believe what he says—he's a slippery customer (= person).你可别信他说的话，他是个滑头的家伙。🔊🔊
  3. (informal) (of a situation, subject, problem, etc.情况、课题、问题等) difficult to deal with and that you have to think about carefully难以应对的；棘手的
    • Freedom is a slippery concept (= because its meaning changes according to your point of view).自由是一个难以明确的概念。🔊🔊
    • International law is notoriously slippery.人所共知，国际法相当棘手。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • with
    phrases
    • slippery when wet
    • wet and slippery
    See full entry
    4. Word Originlate 15th cent.: from dialect slipper ‘slippery’, probably suggested by Luther's schlipfferig.
Idioms
the/a slippery slope
  1. a course of action that is difficult to stop once it has begun, and can lead to serious problems or disaster使人滑向深渊的斜坡；危险的境地
    • She realized he was on the slippery slope towards a life of crime.她意识到他正走向犯罪生活。