let slip

1. Also, let slip or slide by ; let slide . Miss an opportunity; waste time. For example, We forgot to buy a ticket and let our big chance slip by , or He let the whole day slide by . The first term dates from the mid-1500s, the variant from the late 1500s.

2. Also, let slip out . Reveal something, usually inadvertently, as in He let it slip out that he had applied for the vacant position . [Mid-1800s]

3. let slip through one's fingers . Fail to seize an opportunity, as in We could have won the trophy but we let it slip through our fingers . [First half of 1600s]

Example Sentences

District Judge Tanya Chutkan let slip that Donald Trump could still go down for election interference without having a direct connection to the January 6 rioters.

From Salon

Stutzman cited her jokey appearance last week alongside Oprah Winfrey when Harris let slip — was it really accidental? — that she keeps a gun at home and if an intruder breaks in “they’re getting shot.”

From Los Angeles Times

Whereas Sajak occasionally let slip some cranky uncle-type comments, especially in his later years, Seacrest’s banter is still a bit on the stiff side.

From Los Angeles Times

Did Newsom let slip what he really thought about Harris’ insta-elevation to lead the Democratic ticket?

From Los Angeles Times

But he also knows when to let slip that his high-wire act is a burden, bringing underplayed pain to a wonderfully tense, defensive moment when he says to a doubter, “I’m the person you think I am.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advise
• announce
• confess
• declare
• disclose
• explain
• express
• inform
• instruct
• mention
• notify
• order
• report
• reveal
• say
• speak
• state
• summon