"slough" (etc.)

[Charles Doyle]

(I'm just passing this along:)

Date: Tue 29 May 10:37:05 EDT 2007
From: "David A. Daniel" <dad at pokerwiz.com>Subject: Slough
To: "'Charles Doyle'" <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>

Hi,

I have been a member of the ADS-L list for some time but, for whatever reason, the system will not post my messages. Thus, am sending this directly to you. I wrote to Jodi Picoult and asked her what she meant/understood by "slough" and she said: "Slouching and moving slowly and roughly all at once". I would probably have used “shuffle” or “shamble” in that context.

David Daniel
______________________________________________________________

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sun, 27 May 2007 16:51:59 -0400
>From: Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
>Subject: "slough" (etc.)
>
>A student--apropos of a discussion about "self" and "personal identity" (especially as related to bodily integrity) in literature and folklore--recently required me to read _My Sister's Keeper_ (2004), by Jodi Picoult (who, I have learned, is a leading author of chick books). The novel is about a young girl who was conceived and borne specifically to serve as an organ donor to her ailing elder sister. This sentence appears on p. 38, in a reminiscence of the girls' father about their teenaged brother: "I take the carving utensils and slice into the roast beef just as Jesse sloughs into the kitchen."
>
>Is anyone aware of a verb "slough" that can be used in that way? It might be a misprint for "slouch," except we would then expect an "-e-" to precede the final "-s." If there IS such a word "slough," how would it be pronounced? Would the verb suggest the way one might walk in a (noun) slough?  (Seems unlikely.) Or "slue" the way a car slues when one brakes on a wet pavement--twisting sideways? (Seems unlikely.)
>
>On p. 191 of the novel, Jesse is asked how he gets along with his sisters. He replies, "They survive me." Clearly he means "endure"--with which "survive" can sometimes be synonymous. But it sounds wrong here.
>
>Incidently, Piccout is, in general, a very competent stylist. And on p. 243 the term "Jersey barriers" appears; I wouldn't have understood the reference had not our list recently discussed the matter!
>
>--Charlie

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