slippery

a. [ See Slipper, a. ] 1. Having the quality opposite to adhesiveness; allowing or causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances render things slippery. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not affording firm ground for confidence; as, a slippery promise. [ 1913 Webster ]

The slippery tops of human state. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Not easily held; liable or apt to slip away. [ 1913 Webster ]

The slippery god will try to loose his hold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Liable to slip; not standing firm. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Unstable; changeable; mutable; uncertain; inconstant; fickle. “The slippery state of kings.” Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Uncertain in effect. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Slippery elm. (Bot.) (a) An American tree (Ulmus fulva) with a mucilagenous and slightly aromatic inner bark which is sometimes used medicinally; also, the inner bark itself. (b) A malvaceous shrub (Fremontia Californica); -- so called on the Pacific coast. [ 1913 Webster ]