slippery slope
A chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be haltedA chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be halted; especially one in which the final outcome is undesirable or precarious.
» It's a slippery slope.
Das ist ein rutschiger Abhang. — brauchinet
Это скользкая дорожка. — nina99nv
Это скользкий путь. — marafon
Це слизька доріжка. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Examples
5 sentencesIt's a slippery slope.
Це слизька доріжка. — deniko
ruЭто скользкая дорожка. — nina99nv
deDas ist ein rutschiger Abhang. — brauchinet
The centipede skidded down the slippery slope.
Contractions seems to be a slippery slope towards illiteracy.
Meaning
2 senses(figuratively)A chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be halted; especially one in which the final outcome is undesirable or precarious.
I think basing your actions off an assumption like that is a slippery slope that is going to get you in trouble.
She's gotten herself on a slippery slope to being dismissed.
Dammbruchargument
ско́льзкий путьskólʹzkij putʹ, ско́льзкая доро́жкаskólʹzkaja doróžka
(broadly)A logical fallacy in which a party asserts that a particular result will probably follow from a given decision or circumstance, without necessarily providing any rational argument for the likelihood of the assumed consequence.
Forms
plural: slippery slopes| Singular | slippery slope |
|---|---|
| Plural | slippery slopes |
regular
Synonyms
3 synonymsWord family
5 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.