Word Confusion: Slack versus Slake

Posted January 9, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
11 July 2023

I ran across this word confusion slack vs slake in a pair of books I was reading in an erotic series, and it really broke the mood. When I read let the woman slack his need or the queen allowed his need to be slacked by one of his guards, well, not taut or held tightly in position or a spell of inactivity or laziness is so not what I had thought they were doing . . .

I really like this series. It’s well-written with tension and drama in a twist, and the series is tainted by this one stupid word. One that someone missed, misused?

Now, if the queen had allowed his need to be slaked . . . Well, I could either assume, ahem, that someone gave him some bottled water to drink or they were doin’ the nasty, and he’d achieved blast-off, ahem, so to speak. But slack, I dunno, sounds limp to me.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Slack	Slake
Cambridge Slackers by Steffen A. Frost is under the GFDL license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Tightrope walking requires a slack rope.	Thirsty Man by Olichel is in the public domain, via Pixabay. — He is slaking his thirst.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective ¹; Adverb ¹; Noun ¹, ²; Plural Noun ¹; Verb ¹, intransitive & transitive Plural noun: slacks Gerund: slacking Third person present verb: slacks Past tense or past participle: slacked Present participle: slacking	Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: slakes Past tense or past participle: slaked Present participle: slaking
Definitions:
Adjective: Not taut or held tightly in position ¹ Loose [Of business] Characterized by a lack of work or activity Quiet Slow or sluggish Having or showing laziness or negligence [Of a tide] Neither ebbing nor flowing Adverb: Loosely ¹ Noun: The part of a rope or line that is not held taut ¹ The loose or unused part [Informal] A spell of inactivity or laziness Coal dust or small pieces of coal ² Plural Noun: Casual trousers Verb, intransitive: Loosen something, especially a rope ¹ [slack off] Decrease in quantity or intensity [Informal] Work slowly or lazily [slack up] Slow down Verb, transitive: Loosen something, especially a rope ¹ Reduce the intensity or speed of something Slake lime	Verb, intransitive: [Of lime] To become slaked [Archaic] To become less active, intense, vigorous Verb, transitive: Quench or satisfy one’s thirst [Figurative] Satisfy desires [Poetic] To cool or refresh [Archaic] To make less active, vigorous, or intense Combine quicklime with water to produce calcium hydroxide [Obsolete] To make loose or less tense Slacken
Examples:
Adjective: I looked out at a slack rope. Her mouth went slack. Business was rather slack. They were working at a slack pace. Slack accounting procedures can send any business into a downward spiral. Soon the water will become slack, and the tide will turn. Adverb: Their heads were hanging slack in attitudes of despair. One of the banners was hanging slack. She was slack in answering letters. Noun: I picked up the rod and wound in the slack. He slept deeply, refreshed by a little slack in the daily routine. You’d better take in the slack. Plural Noun: He wore slacks and a windbreaker. Casual mode for Davie was putting on a pair of slacks. It’s not so formal, put on some slacks and a nice sweater. Just let me get my slacks on, and I’ll be down. Verb, intransitive: The flow of blood slacked off. She reprimanded her girls if they were slacking. The animal doesn’t slack up until he reaches the trees. Verb, transitive: The horse slacked his pace. The derelict soldier slacked his duties. He slacks his attention.	Verb, intransitive: He has become quite slake. His thirst was slaked. Lime may slake spontaneously in moist air. Verb, transitive: We’ll need to slake that. Slake your thirst with some lemonade. Restaurants worked to slake the Italian obsession with food. Let the woman slake his need.
Derivatives:
Adverb: slackily, slackly Noun: slacker, slackness	Adjective: slakable, slakeable, slakeless, unslakable, unslakeable, unslaked Noun: slaker, slaking
Phrasal Verb
slack off
History of the Word:
Old English slæc, meaning inclined to be lazy, unhurried, is of Germanic origin and related to the Latin laxus, meaning loose. Late Middle English and probably from the Low German or Dutch.	Old English slacian, meaning become less eager can also be written as slacken, from the adjective slæc or slack. Compare it with the Dutch slaken, meaning diminish, relax.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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