This sounds really stupid but is 'slippy' actually a real word? I typed it in my essay and it came up on spell check but i'm sure it's a real word. I'm so confused!! haha x
Presumably the definition of "slim or slender" is where we get the expression "a slip of a girl"? I always assume it was to do with young plant cuttings, but this actually sounds a better option.
As long ago as the 1500s, 'slip' was applied to young persons of either gender, especially if they were slender. Shakespeare uses it to mean a descendant. Later, it was even used of inanimate objects, such as a room or a garden, which fitted that same 'elongated' description.