Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1729-1832
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SLAB, v.2 †1. intr. To slaver, esp. when at one's food, to eat or drink in a messy, untidy way, to slobber. Freq. form Slabber, q.v.Sc. 1729 W. Macfarlane Geneal. Coll. (S.H.S.) I. 111:
The Earl was for Diversion's Sake brought to see the Orphans slabbing at their Trough.Abd. 1832 W. Scott Poems 40:
To slab an' slucher wi' their mou's an' cheeks.
2. tr. (1) with up: to suck in noisily with one's lips, to lap up in a messy, greedy manner (Bnff. 1825 Jam.). Hence slabber, a greedy person, in gen. as well as with food (Kcd. Ags., 1970, a greedy slabber).Bnff. 1787 W. Taylor Poems 173:
Lang may ye blow the reamin ale . . . While I slab up my barefit kale.
(2) to daub or besmear with a liquid. Vbl.n. slabing, a daubing or besmearing, an untidy splashing, a wet and unpleasant mess. Deriv. slabby, adj., of weather: wet, squally; of roads or the ground: wet and muddy, waterlogged (Sc. 1887 Jam.). Cf. slabbery, id., s.v. Slabber. Also in n.Eng. dial.Per. 1757 Atholl MSS.:
The plaister[er]s makes a very greate slabing with water.
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"Slab v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/slab_v2>
