slopers

Noun

sloper (plural slopers)

1. (informal) Something which angles or slopes, as distinguished from one that is vertical or horizontal.
   • If one saw only the Rheims benches, one would scarcely prefer the slopers to horizontal retorts with good stoking machinery ; as for instance the Ross stoker at the Cincinnati gas works.1897, American Gas Light Journal - Volume 66, page 861
2. A climbing hold that has a smooth surface and sloping shape, making it difficult to hold.
3. A custom-fitted basic pattern from which patterns for many different styles can be created.
4. (obsolete) An assistant or apprentice cutter.
   • The wages of slopers, so far as they have been found designated as such on the pay rolls, are given in Table 63.1914, Nahum Isaac Stone, Royal Meeker, Wages and Regularity of Employment and Standardization of Piece Rates in the Dress and Waist Industry: New York City, page 145
5. (obsolete) A member of the peerage who has fallen from wealth but maintains social contacts.
   • In this work he displayed an energy and courage that not only disgusted the slopers, but likewise astonished the police authorities.1883 December 15, Charles Dickens, “Mr. Out-You-Go”, in All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal, volume 53, page 87