Slop Names Spilled Liquid and Also Sailors' Clothing
Slop is watery waste. A separate slop is the ready-made clothing issued to sailors.
Slop is spilled or watery liquid, and *to slop* is to spill clumsily. A quite different *slop* means loose ready-made clothing: the Royal Navy issued *slops* to sailors from a *slop chest*, and because these garments were cheap and standard-sized, *slop-work* became the term for cheap mass-produced tailoring — the ancestor of ready-to-wear clothing. That word is Old English *oferslop*, a loose outer garment; the liquid sense is separate and probably Scandinavian.
- Watery waste. *Pig slop.*
- To spill. *Slopping tea.*
- Sailors' clothing. *Naval slops.*
- Sloppy — careless. *Sloppy work.*
- Old English — *oferslop*. *The clothing.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | slop | Slop. |
| Verb | slop | Slopping. |
| Adjective | sloppy | Sloppy. |
| Compound | slop chest | The slop chest. |
| Old English | oferslop | An outer garment. |
- Slop from the bucket.Liquid.
- Sailors drew slops.Navy.
- Slop-work meant cheap tailoring.Trade.
The slop chest
- A ship's store of clothing and necessities
- Sailors bought from it against their wages
- Standard sizes made the garments cheap to produce
- Slop-work came to mean cheap ready-made tailoring
- It anticipated modern ready-to-wear clothing
The clothing is Old English *oferslop*, a loose outer garment. The liquid sense is separate, probably Scandinavian.
What were naval slops?
Ready-made clothing issued to sailors from a ship's slop chest, bought against their wages.
Are the two slops related?
No. The clothing comes from Old English oferslop; the spilled liquid is a separate word.