Words: slog [MW]
Main Entry: slog
Pronunciation: 'sl�g
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): slogged; slog-ging
Etymology: origin unknown
transitive senses
1 : to hit hard : BEAT
2 : to plod (one's way) perseveringly especially against difficulty
intransitive senses
1 : to plod heavily : TRAMP <slogged through the snow>
2 : to work hard and steadily
but see also: slough
Main Entry: slough
Pronunciation: 'slo, 'slau; in the US (exc New England) 'slo is usual for sense 1 with those to whom the sense is familiar; British usually 'slau for both senses
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English slogh, from Old English slOh; akin to Middle High German slouche ditch
1 a : a place of deep mud or mire
2 : a state of moral degradation or spiritual dejection
posted by Twerpette @ 9:52 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Well, I'll be dogged! I thought slough would be pronounced with the ph sound at the end, like "trough" or "tough" or "enough". English is such a jumbled language!
I presented one of four definitions which are divided into pairs by the pronunciations sloo and sluff. In short, slough-pronounced-sloo refers to a sluice or channel, while slough-pronounced-sluff refers to a shedding (as in a snake of its skin). Perhaps the confusion comes from "the slough of Despond" which many people pronounce sluff but Merriam-Webster just told me is pronounced sloo:
Main Entry: slough of de·spond
Pronunciation: "slau-&v-di-'spänd, "slü-
Etymology: from the Slough of Despond, deep bog into which Christian falls on the way from the City of Destruction and from which Help saves him in the allegory Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan
: a state of extreme depression
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