Sliver vs slither

[squashyhat]

There's a current thread about a neighbour deciding they are entitled to a 'slither' of someone's garden. Surely it's 'sliver', like slivered almonds i.e. a thin strip. Slither is how a snake moves.

Yes, you are correct.

I’m a little pedantic and was horrified to discover I was making this mistake. It was something I know when I stopped and considered it, but somewhere along the line slither had slithered in where sliver belonged.

It’s so rarely used, I suppose, that we aren’t reminded by seeing it.

Annoying and wrong.

BIL says sliver because he can't/won't pronounce "th".

My DH persists in using slither and it annoys the crap out of me. No, you are not eating a slither of cheese.

Snakes slither , you don’t want your cake to be moving I wouldn’t have thought!

One of my least favourites! My children know I hate it so much they tease me by asking if I want a slither of things. They used to be eating all sorts of slithers when bake off was on 😡

Misuse of ‘slither’ annoys me disproportionately, when it comes from well-educated adults with no additional needs or speech problems.

The internet tells me that:
‘while both ‘v’ and ‘th’ sounds are fricatives, the "v" sound is harder for the tongue and lips to coordinate because it relies on precise horizontal movements - placing your top teeth on your bottom lip while vibrating your voice. The "th" is often simpler to form by letting the tongue rest naturally.’

So I wonder if it’s just articulatory ease (laziness) that has gone *unchallenged.

*for the avoidance of doubt, clearly I don’t go round correcting people, I just vent to strangers on Pedants’ Corner 😊

I'm glad it's not just me! In fact I found this old Mumsnet thread from a couple of years ago complaining about the very same thing.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/pedants_corner/4897026-slither

This has been driving me mad for years.

I once stopped reading a book because one of the main characters, who seemed to eat an inordinate amount of cake, always cut their cake in 'slithers' rather than slices.

After several chapters of cake 'slithers' I just couldn't take it any more.

Maybe it was a slithery cake. 26 Awesome Snake Cakes to Sing Your Fangs Into - Let's Eat Cake

I agree. If people can pronounce river or liver then they shouldn't have a problem pronouncing sliver.

If th is easier to say than v, why do many children, and some adults, say v for th? e.g. Heather said as Hevver, or feather said as fevver?

I found this:

10 of the hardest English words to pronounce

1. Worcestershire. Worcestershire sauce, a famous English condiment from the county of Worcestershire, has been a staple in kitchens since the early 19th century. ...
2. Anemone. ...
3. Colonel. ...
4. Onomatopoeia. ...
5. Squirrel. ...
6. Pneumonia. ...
7. Floccinaucinihilipilification. ...
8. Mischievous.

Colonel said as Care-nell in a rhotic accent puzzles me.

I've learnt a new word as it's said as /ˌflɒk.sɪˌnɔː.sɪˌnɪh.ɪl.ɪˌpɪl.ɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/.