the.com/slippery
the physics of losing your grip on the world, one careless step at a time
means Hard to hold, stand on, or pin down — because something is too smooth, wet, or evasive for a firm grip.
from From Old English 'slipor,' meaning slimy or smooth, built on a Germanic root that also gives us 'slip' and 'slip away' — a family of words all about surfaces that won't cooperate. The modern '-ery' ending was tacked on later, possibly nudged into shape by 'slippery'-sounding words; the related 'slipper' (the shoe you slide your foot into) shares the same slick ancestry.
- banana myth
- Banana peels really are slick, but rarely the disaster comedy claims
- ice secret
- Ice isn't slippery itself; a thin liquid layer is
- slang life
- Means evasive, sneaky, hard to pin down
- eel champion
- Eels coat themselves in mucus to escape grips entirely
- friction foe
- Slipperiness is just friction giving up the fight
mackinac island fudge — confection so soft it requires constant stirring while cooling, made famous on this michigan island since 1887
eel skin — fish epidermis with mucus coating that reduces friction, used for traditional japanese wallets and grips
antarctic ice shelf — floating ice in weddell sea with algae layer underneath that reduces friction, causing glaciers to accelerate
banana peel myth — tested by physicist who found fresh peels coefficient of friction of 0.066, similar to ice on ice