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cut (someone) some slack

 - 1 dictionary result
slack 1   (slāk)   
adj.   slack·er, slack·est

  1. Moving slowly; sluggish: a slack pace.

  2. Lacking in activity; not busy: a slack season for the travel business.

  3. Not tense or taut; loose: a slack rope; slack muscles. See Synonyms at loose.

  4. Lacking firmness; flaccid: a slack grip.

  5. Lacking in diligence or due care or concern; negligent: a slack worker. See Synonyms at negligent.

  6. Flowing or blowing with little speed: a slack current; slack winds.

  7. Linguistics Pronounced with the muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed; lax.

v.   slacked, slack·ing, slacks

v.   tr.

  1. To make slower or looser; slacken.

  2. To be careless or remiss in doing: slack one's duty.

  3. To slake (lime).

v.   intr.

  1. To be or become slack.

  2. To evade work; shirk.

n.  

  1. A loose part, as of a rope or sail.

  2. A lack of tension; looseness.

  3. A period of little activity; a lull.

    1. A cessation of movement in a current of air or water.

    2. An area of still water.

  5. Unused capacity: still some slack in the economy.

  6. slacks Casual trousers that are not part of a suit.

adv.  In a slack manner: a banner hanging slack.
Phrasal Verb(s):
slack offTo decrease in activity or intensity.

Idiom(s):
cut/give (someone) some slackSlang To make an allowance for (someone), as in allowing more time to finish something.

[Middle English slak, from Old English slæc; see slēg- in Indo-European roots.]
slack'ly adv., slack'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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