slick
Smooth to the touch, or clever in a way that might be a little too smooth.
Updated September 24, 2026
slick pronunciation
/SLIK/
Meaning
In rural Southern talk, slick covers two everyday senses. One is literal: wet pavement, oily truck steps, a floor mopped till it shines. The other is about people. Call somebody slick and you might mean they handled a job clean, or you might mean they talk too smooth for their own good. Tone tells you which.
How folks use it
- “That bridge gets slick after a hard rain.”
- “Don't trust him. He's slicker than owl grease.”
Origin and etymology
Slick goes back to Old English for slippery or smooth. American English kept both the surface sense and the clever sense. Redneck talk leans hard on both: bad roads and smooth operators. Related sayings like slick as a whistle show up thick in Southern and Appalachian speech for anything done clean and easy.
Frequently asked questions
Is calling someone slick a compliment?
Sometimes. It can mean they are sharp. It can also mean they are tricky. Listen for the smile.