slough off

slough off

1. Literally, to shed, peel, or scrape off an outer layer of something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "slough" and "off." It can be pretty gross to watch a snake slough off its skin, leaving behind a weird, hollow version of itself.
2. To dismiss, ignore, or minimize the importance of someone or something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "slough" and "off." He kept heckling me during the show, but I sloughed him off and kept performing. The senator just sloughed off the journalist's comments, describing them later as "baseless" and "incendiary."
3. To procrastinate or avoid doing work. In this usage, the phrase is sometimes followed by a noun indicating the thing being avoided. If you keep sloughing off, we'll be forced to give you a formal warning. I decided to slough off my essay for the weekend and hang out with my friends instead.
4. To delegate or assign one's own work or duties to someone else. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "slough" and "off," and the phrase is typically followed by "to/onto (someone)." More and more administrative duties are being sloughed off onto teachers, without being reflected in their pay. He's been sloughing smaller projects off to his assistants.
5. To escape or depart for some location quietly or in secret. In this usage, the phrase is sometimes followed by "to/into (some place)." I felt really uncomfortable in the group of strangers, so I sloughed off when everyone was distracted. We decided to skip the meeting and sloughed off to the movies instead.
See also: off, slough
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

slough something off

 
1. Lit. to brush or rub something off. The snake sloughed its old skin off. It sloughed off its skin.
2. Fig. to ignore or disregard a negative remark or incident. I could see that the remark had hurt her feelings, but she just pretended to slough it off. Liz sloughed off the remark.
See also: off, slough
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

slough off

v.
1. To shed or peel off some outer layer, especially by rubbing or scraping: We need to slough the paint off the pipes before we install them. The snake sloughed off its skin against a rock.
2. To shed or peel off, as an outer layer: My skin is sloughing off because of the dryness.
3. To avoid some work or to work lazily: Your grades are bad because you've been sloughing off your homework a lot recently. After lunch, he sloughed off and played video games.
4. To leave unnoticed; slip away: The kids sloughed off into the woods.
See also: off, slough
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

slough off

verb
See sluff off
See also: off, slough
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • blow off
  • blow someone/something off
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • check off
  • bite off
  • blow off the map
  • brass off
  • brass someone off
  • brassed off
  • call off
References in periodicals archive
Some compounds use carbon filler, which has a reputation among some people in the industry as "dirty." They say it can slough off and contaminate electronic components.
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Never one to slough off publicity, Marston even appeared in a 1938 Gillette razor blade advertisement that used a lie detector test to discover men's "true" feelings about various shaving aids.
William Marston's secret identity: The strange private life of wonder woman's creator. (Cultures & Reviews)
This is a perfect opportunity for you get them into your shops--let's slough off the doldrums of flagging winter sales and go into the second quarter of the year by embracing creative sales techniques.
Capitalize on Spring Fever to Boost Sales
Your skin, for example, relies on adult stem cells in the epidermis (outermost skin layer) to replace the millions of cells that die and slough off each day.
Dead Brains Get Smart
Anyone who has ever worked in my shop will verify that I tend to slough off the nasty chores on someone else whenever I can.
Cheaper Than A Butler
We will slough off our tomb apparel for the garment of immortality.
Call me by name
The sinister distortion of language is, of course, quite deliberate - an Orwellian manipulation of words by carriers to attempt to slough off responsibilities, ones that have been deeply built into cultural experiences of travel and our understanding of it since Charon started to row his boat across the Styx.
Travelling hopefully
Although there are boards who will simply go through the motions and slough off any serious discussion, as well as plenty of CEOs who would like the subject downplayed at the board level until they are ready to discuss it, this would give the serious director a platform to work from.
Management-succession lockjaw
Because the dressing doesn't adhere to healthy tissue, it begins to slough off as the wound begins to heal.
Skin care products: why staff know-how is mandatory
The skin may become scaley and slough off in tiny flakes in many areas where the rash has been.
Strep throat can bring scarlet fever
As cells on the surface of the lining of the colon die and slough off, ulcers (tiny open sores) form, causing pus, mucus, and bleeding.
Ulcerative colitis
As a result there is no political mechanism so far to slough off the old, the outworn, the no-longer-productive in government." What country is he referring to?
Innovation and entrepreneurship: practice and principles
And the first rule for the concentration of executive effort is to slough off the past that has ceased to be productive.
Abandonment - There is nothing as difficult and as expensive, but also nothing as futile, as trying to keep a corpse from stinking
Best of all, if Sharon eventually wins her battle of the bulge in a big way, she can help inspire other very overweight people to free up to their own potentially risky health issues, and similarly slough off all of those excess pounds that are literally and figuratively dragging them down.
Stars fight their way back to performing trim
face of my desire : to slough off not mere extremity--but every
What Is Wanted