slime

Everyday

1. Slime is a thick, wet, slippery substance, like the trail a snail leaves. tree →
2. Slime is also a stretchy toy goo that children make from glue and other things. tree →

In the lessons

In science slime is used to show a substance that is not quite a solid and not quite a liquid; animals like snails and slugs use slime to move and stay moist. Phrases: «make slime», «green slime», «a slime trail», «covered in slime».

Examples

• The snail left a trail of slime on the path. tree →
• We made slime in science class. tree →
• My slime is purple and sparkly. tree →
• The pond rocks were covered in green slime. tree →
• Slugs use slime to help them slide. tree →
• Don't leave slime on the carpet! tree →
• Fish have a thin layer of slime on their skin. tree →
• Great black bubbles rose up out of the moor-slime, and with these every trace of the two vanished. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable: some slime. Adjective: slimy. Homemade slime needs an adult's help, because some ingredients like borax can hurt skin and must not be eaten; wash hands after playing. Slime is a good example of a non-Newtonian (odd) material.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah slime means sticky tar or bitumen, used as mortar for bricks and to seal Moses' basket.

Interpretation. It is part of the Tower of Babel story, where people used brick and slime to build a tower. The Torah notes that they used it in place of stone and mortar.

Examples

• And they said one to another: 'Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. (Torah GEN.11.3, JPS 1917) tree →
• Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. (Torah GEN.14.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. (Torah EXO.2.3, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Usually uncountable: some slime. Adjective: slimy. Homemade slime needs an adult's help, because some ingredients like borax can hurt skin and must not be eaten; wash hands after playing. Slime is a good example of a non-Newtonian (odd) material.