To point out that it’s sliver, not slither

[Priminister]

Sliver is a small slice of something.

Slither is what a snake does.

’I had a sliver of cake’, not ‘I had a slither of cake’.

’It’s a sliver of land’, not ‘It’s a slither of land’.

I think there's a time and a place to point these things out.

In your kid's homework, absolutely, an aside to a friend getting you to proofread their writing, yeah.

In a light-hearted thread, maybe.

In a thread where someone is venting and/or looking for support because their marriage is on the rocks/their kid's depressed/their mum's seriously ill etc, no they don't need you to do your best Clippy impression.

YABU, I have never noticed this but will probably be hearing it all the time now!

Methinks you doth protest too much.
I haven't told anyone what thread it was. I've told you that starting a thread about it was a twatty thing to do.

verb

1. move smoothly over a surface with a twisting or oscillating motion.
2. "I spied a baby adder slithering away"

noun

1. 1.
2. a slithering movement.
3. "a snake-like slither across the grass"
4. 2.
5. INFORMAL•BRITISH
6. a sliver.
7. "a slither of bacon"

Ozanj · Yesterday 19:59

That is definitely not a common subsitution. Only a fool would use slither instead of sliver

Well, that's the world's fool shortage crisis solved, then! I've seen it in all sorts of news sites, of late!

username47985 · Yesterday 21:05

I've got a friend who says 'can you borrow me a tenner' rather than can you lend me.

Count your blessings she doesn't say "borrow us" !

You are 'loosing' me with that gibberish. I suppose 'noone' cares or 'cares less'.

I've heard it used (for a tiny bit, of cake say) and didn't think it was wrong, posted the definition above, and it appears it is OK, 'informal British'.

Also in my Oxford dictionary of English, so definitely correct.

Muphry's Law is usually obeyed!

The dictionary definition is just saying that many people use the word ‘slither’ that way. It doesn’t make it correct!

Sorry OP but you're wrong! It's definitely slither not sliver.

Eg "I was nervous when I saw the snake slither."

No-one in their right mind says either sliver or slither when it comes to cake.

Eg "I'd like a generous slice with lots of icing please."

And slaver and slather!

Pacifically instead of specifically. I think people just don't read these days and the literacy work in schools is somehow not exposing children to a wide vocabulary.

And RP isn't so dominant in broadcasting/acting as it once was so people hear mispronunciations of the fink/think variety and imitate them.

I will definitely ask for a sliver of cake. After I have had a generous piece.
"I'll juts have another silver" 😂

It doesn't though.

Is Priminister referencing BBC interviewer Nick Robinson's habit of addressing the Prime Minister as what I always think of as 'Pry Minister'?

Yes! It always sounded like ‘Pri Minister’ to me when he said it and it amused me.

I get that alot but for all intensive purposes, it really is a doggy dog world. 🐶