sluice

sluice down

1. To pour down (from or into something) in large amounts. The rain is positively sluicing down outside. I could hear the gurgle of the water sluicing noisily down the drain in the bathroom next to my room.

2. To clean or rinse something with a large flow or stream of water. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "sluice" and "down." The boss told me to go sluice down the stables and put down fresh hay. It's an old filmmakers' trick to sluice down the roads when shooting at night—they show up much better on film that way.

See also: down, sluice

sluice out

1. To pour or release (something) out (from or into something) in large amounts. A noun or pronoun can be used between "sluice" and "out." He turned the crank on the canal lock and watched the water sluice out. Engineers have been trying to sluice water out of the reservoir at an accelerated pace in anticipation of the heavy rainfall that has been predicted.

2. To clean, rinse, or flush the insides of something with a large flow or stream of water. A noun or pronoun can be used between "sluice" and "out." We'll need to sluice out these old pipes before we can use them again. Go to the old spigot and sluice out these slop buckets for me.

See also: out, sluice

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

sluice something down

to rinse something down; to flood the surface of something with water or other liquid to clean it. John sluiced the driveway down. Karen sluiced down the garage floor.

See also: down, sluice

sluice something out

to rinse something out; to flood the inside of something to clean it. Sluice the wheelbarrow out, will you? Please sluice out the wheelbarrow.

See also: out, sluice

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.