slather

English

Etymology

Unknown; attested from early 19th century, in the sense "to slip, slide".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈslæðə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æðə(ɹ)

Verb

slather (third-person singular simple present slathers, present participle slathering, simple past and past participle slathered) (transitive)

1. To spread something thickly on something else; to coat well.

   I slathered jam on my toast.

2. (often followed by with) To apply generously upon.

   I slathered my toast with jam.

3. To squander.

Translations

to spread something thickly on something else; to coat well

• Bulgarian: намазвам дебело (namazvam debelo)
• French: appliquer quelque chose épais
• German: auftragen (de), einschmieren (de)
• Italian: spalmare (it)
• Russian: намазывать (ru) (namazyvatʹ), размазывать (ru) (razmazyvatʹ)

to apply generously upon

• Bulgarian: слагам обилно (slagam obilno)
• French: appliquer une généreuse quantité
• Russian: намазывать (ru) (namazyvatʹ)

Noun

slather (plural slathers)

1. (cooking) A thick sauce or spread that is to be slathered (spread thickly) onto food.
2. Drool (especially if abundant).
   • 1983, Edda: A Collection of Essays (Robert James Glendinning), page 177:

     [The river] Ván in SnE I 21 is mentioned as coming from the slather of the bound Fenris Wolf.

3. (usually in the plural) A generous or abundant quantity.
   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.

   • 1919, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 24, in Rainbow Valley:

     In her eyes the manse people were quite fabulously rich, and no doubt those girls had slathers of shoes and stockings.

Derived terms

• open slather

Anagrams

• lathers, relaths, halster, Sharlet, halters, thalers, Hartels, Hartles, Thalers, Stahler, harslet, Lathers