slut's wool

English

Slut's wool

Etymology

slut (“a slovenly, untidy person (archaic)”) + -'s + wool.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /slʌts wʊl/

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

slut's wool (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, slang) Accumulated dust, fluff, hair, etc., that tends to occur indoors in areas not regularly dusted, such as under heavy furniture.
   • 1996, Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN:

     There have been a great many things to be seen to, in order to make everything cosy, since Mr. Walsh had developed bachelor's habits after the death of his first wife, and some things had become none too savoury. I had a large array of cobwebs and hanks of slut's wool to sweep out from under the beds, and also a fair deal of scrubbing and scouring to do.

Synonyms

• dust bunny
• house moss