slack off

Related to slack off: roughshod, up to par

slack off

1. To release or ease the tension or pressure (on something). I'll need to slack off a bit so that I can adjust the rigging. Make sure you don't slack off on those harnesses before we've come to a complete stop.
2. To reduce or decrease over time. Most of the businesses on the island close up for the year once the summer business starts to slack off toward the end of August. The winds began slacking off as the hurricane shifted course out to sea.
3. To be or become lazy; to procrastinate or avoid work or one's duty. If you keep slacking off, we'll be forced to give you a formal warning. I should have been working on my essay, but I decided to slack off for the weekend with my friends.
See also: off, slack
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

slack off

 
1. to taper off; to reduce gradually. Business tends to slack off during the winter months. The storms begin to slack off in April.
2. [for someone] to become lazy or inefficient. Near the end of the school year, Sally began to slack off, and her grades showed it. John got fired for slacking off during the busy season.
See also: off, slack
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

slack off

Decrease in activity or intensity, as in If business ever slacks off we can go on vacation, or When the project fell behind schedule again, she thought we were slacking off. [Second half of 1800s]
See also: off, slack
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

slack off

v.
1. To decrease in activity or intensity: Tourism on Cape Cod usually slacks off around September.
2. To evade work; shirk: High school seniors tend to slack off once they get accepted to college.
See also: off, slack
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • (I've) got to take off
  • be well off for (something)
  • be well off for something
  • be off for (something)
  • be off for sth
  • (Now) where was I?
  • be off with you
  • bite off
  • break off
  • base off (of) (something else)
References in periodicals archive
TONY PULIS is sure his Middlesbrough players will not slack off now they are in the play-off zone.
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And if he continues to slack off and you think it has the potential to be a massive problem for you, then you have to think about whether he's the right guy for you.
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Just because you won the game, that doesn't mean you can slack off.'
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"We wanted to keep her focused throughout the entire work because she tends to slack off when she gets by another horse.
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If everyone [the teachers and classmates] lets you slack off, it's more hazardous to yourself." And as Chellamar Bernard, a 17-year-old senior, points out, "Ms.
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Osteoporosis can develop when bone-building cells slack off or bone-eating cells become overactive, Lewis explains.
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And making sure the Two Hs didn't slack off spurred him to face his own fight head on.
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But Twell refused to slack off. She revealed: "I had about five proper days off but I kept training hard and pretty intensely."
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Last year, when buying foals, we had to slack off on pedigrees and go for the individual and it worked very well for us this year.
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No one can afford to slack off. This kind of rigorous preparation makes it possible for them to expertly perform even the most difficult of Balanchine's ballets.
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Drinkwater says these individuals often resume menstruating if they put on a few pounds or slack off on exercise.
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JONNY BUNYAN has warned Glasgow Rocks they must not slack off if they want to reach the BBL top four.
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I know I have to prove myself every week and I can't slack off."
Reynolds is living in fear of axe
"I tried to be a bit more serious, the way I was in Paris, because you can't win one Slam and slack off. Maybe I eased up but I'm back."
Tennis Wimbledon 2002: Stan much too big about Serena