slapdash

English

Etymology

slap +‎ dash. First attested in the late 17th century, meaning "careless".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈslæpdæʃ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -æʃ

Adjective

slapdash (comparative more slapdash, superlative most slapdash)

1. Produced or carried out hastily; haphazard; careless.
   • 1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 114:

     They had seen Poland, and that was the sort of slovenly, slapdash place they were used to, but once across the German frontier they found everything—crops, roads, buildings—uncannily different.

   • 2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian:

     When you're in the front entrance, get a feel for what's going on. Tours are never timed to coincide with breaks but if there are any children milling about, see what they're up to. If they're on a dutiful errand, for example delivering registers, the school probably encourages a responsible attitude. If they're play-fighting in the corridor without consequence, it tells a less impressive story and could mean a slapdash approach to discipline.

   • 2023 May 2, Josh Taylor, Alex Hern, “‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns over dangers of misinformation”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Valérie Pisano, the chief executive of Mila – the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute – said the slapdash approach to safety in AI systems would not be tolerated in any other field.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:careless

Descendants

• → Norwegian Bokmål: slabbedask
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: slabbedask

Translations

Adverb

slapdash (comparative more slapdash, superlative most slapdash)

1. In a hasty or careless manner.
2. Directly, right there; slap-bang.

   Van Eyck signed his portrait of the Arnolfinis slapdash in the center of the painting.

3. With a slap; all at once; slap.
   • 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Jacob Tonson , and John Barber , →OCLC:

     And yet, slap dash, is all again
     In every sinew, nerve, and vein;
     Runs here and there, like Hamlet's ghost

Synonyms

• (in a hasty manner): carelessly, haphazardly, hastily
• (directly): directly

Translations

Verb

slapdash (third-person singular simple present slapdashes, present participle slapdashing, simple past and past participle slapdashed)

1. (colloquial) To apply, or apply something to, in a hasty, careless, or rough manner; to roughcast.

   to slapdash mortar or paint on a wall

   to slapdash a wall