slide (redirected from microscope slide)

let someone slide by

Fig. to permit someone to get past a barrier or a challenge too easily. You let too many students slide by. You need to be more rigorous. Don't let even one unqualified person slide by!

See also: let

let something slip by and let something slide by 

1. Lit to permit something to move quickly by oneself. He let the ball slip by and he knew he had better get the next one. The careless cashier let the leaky milk carton slide by.

2. Fig. to forget or miss an important time or date. I'm sorry I just let your birthday slip by. I let it slide by accidentally.

3. Fig. to waste a period of time. You wasted the whole day by letting it slip by. We were having fun, and we let the time slide by.

See also: let, slip

let things slide and let something slide

Fig. to ignore the things that one is supposed to do; to fall behind in the doing of one's work. I am afraid that I let the matter slide while I was recovering from my operation. If I let things slide for even one day, I get hopelessly behind in my work.

See also: let, thing

slide something around

to push, twist, or turn something around. (The thing must be movable, but not often on wheels.) Please slide the carton around and look at the address on the other side. Can you slide the refrigerator around so I can clean the back of it?

See also: around

slide something into something and slide something in

to insert something into something effortlessly. Henry slid the end of the seat-belt buckle into its holder and started the car. slide in the buckle and make sure it's tight.

slide something out of something and slide something out

to cause something to slip or glide out of something without much effort. The hunter slid his knife out of its sheath and got ready to skin the deer. He slid out the heavy box.

See also: out

slide along

to slip or glide along. The sled slid along at a good clip down the gently sloping hill. We slid along on the icy roads and had a hard time stopping and turning.

See also: along

slide around

to slip or skid around. Many cars slide around on the roads when they are icy. The pedestrians were sliding around on the icy pavement.

See also: around

slide by

to get along with a minimum of effort. she didn't do a lot of work—she just slid by. Don't just slide by. Put in some effort.

slide down something

to slip down something, such as a pole. The fire captain slid down the pole and ran to the engine. Please don't slide down the stairs. You'll ruin the carpet.

slide down from something

to slip down on something from a higher place. Beth slid down from the top of the mound. The boys slid down from the roof of the shed and got their pants all dirty.

slide into something

to slip or glide into something, as a car going into a ditch. It was raining hard, and car after car slid into the ditch at the sharp turn near Wagner Road. Mary's car slid right into the side of a bus.

slide out of something

to slip or glide out of something without much effort. Mary slid out of the car and ran to the front door. The CD-ROM slid out of the computer.

See also: out

slide over something

to slip or glide over something. The car almost slid over the edge of the cliff. We almost slid over the edge.

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let it/things slide

to allow a situation to become slowly worse We've really let things slide over the past few months. The accounts are in a terrible state.

See also: let

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let somebody/something slide

to not do anything about someone or something She misbehaved a bit when she got here, and I let her slide because she was in a strange city. It's easy to let exercise slide when you feel bad, but that's when you need it the most.

Usage notes: often used in the form let it slide: Kids don't like practicing because of the repetition, and some coaches tend to let it slide.

See also: let