slacks

Noun (1)

slack (countable and uncountable, plural slacks)

1. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
   • the slack of a rope or of a sail
2. A dip in a surface.
   • Richardson states that a low joint, a short distance from Haslam's Creek Bridge, was, in his opinion, the cause of the accident. […] [He] told Morgan, the Permanent Way Inspector, that there was a "slack" in the road on the Parramatta side of Haslam's Creek Bridge, […] I can positively state […]...1858, New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Council, Votes & Proceedings, page 1020
3. In particular, a shallow dell or hollow; a dip in the surface of terrain, such as between hills.
   • Cauldstane Slap, or rather Slack, is a much frequented pass, through which the periodical droves of black cattle are transported into England.1815, Alexander Pennecuik, The Works of Alexander Pennecuik ...: Containing the Description of Tweeddale, and Miscellaneous Poems, page 141
4. (countable) A low-lying marsh or a pool, especially a tidal or intermittent one which periodically fills and drains.
   • The "slacks" I have mentioned are fresh-water pools which extend just inside the outer sandhills. Being mostly dry in summer, the shore fowl love to breed there. Peewits nest on their banks, and the long grasses and sand willow[…]1901, The Pall Mall Magazine, page 138

   Synonyms:

   slough

5. (uncountable, psychotherapy) Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient.
   • The counselor is directed to give his client "free attention," or "slack," performing a kind of vigil, a version of Carl Rogers's "unconditional positive regard."1979, Richard Dean Rosen, Psychobabble, page 93

Noun (2)

slack (plural slacks)

1. A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.
   • This pitfall, beginning in February and finishing in May, resulted in a drop of about 3 ft. in the platform level; during this period it was necessary to level the track three times weekly, and impose a service slack of 15 m.p.h. The subsidence appears now to have finished, and normal speed is once...1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: Pitfalls”, in Railway Magazine, page 456

See all 28 meanings of slack