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slushes

 - 3 dictionary results

slush

[sluhsh]
–noun
1. partly melted snow.
2. liquid mud; watery mire.
3. waste, as fat, grease, or other refuse, from the galley of a ship.
4. a mixture of grease and other materials for lubricating.
5. silly, sentimental, or weakly emotional talk or writing: romantic slush.
6. slush pile.
–verb (used with object)
7. to splash with slush.
8. to grease, polish, or cover with slush.
9. to fill or cover with mortar or cement.
10. to wash with a large quantity of water, as by dashing it on.

Origin:
1635–45; appar. c. Norw slusk slops, Sw slask mud, slops
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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slush   (slŭsh)   
n.  
  1. Partially melted snow or ice.

  2. Soft mud; slop; mire.

  3. Nautical Grease or fat discarded from a ship's galley.

  4. A greasy compound used as a lubricant for machinery.

  5. Maudlin speech or writing; sentimental drivel.

  6. A drink made of flavored syrup poured over crushed ice.

  7. Informal Unsolicited manuscripts submitted to a publisher.

v.   slushed, slush·ing, slush·es

v.   tr.
  1. To daub (machinery) with slush.

  2. To fill (joints in masonry) with mortar.

  3. Nautical To wash down (a deck) by splashing with water.

  4. To splash or soak with slush or mud.

v.   intr.
  1. To walk or proceed through slush.

  2. To make a splashing or slushy sound.


[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian slask, sloppy weather.]
slush'y adj., slush'i·ly adv., slush'i·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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Word Origin & History

slush 
1641, perhaps from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. and Sw. slask "slushy ground;" obs. Dan. slus "sleet"), all probably imitative of the sound of sloshing. Slush fund is first attested 1839, from an earlier sense of slush "refuse fat" (1756); the money from the sale of a ship's slush was distributed among the officers, which was the original sense of the phrase. The extended meaning "money collected for bribes and to buy influence" is first recorded 1874, no doubt with suggestions of "greasing" palms.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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