slew

«slew» in Mova's school dictionary: a large number or amount of them (informal) — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (slew, slews, slewed, slewing); noun (a slew of, slews); also the past form of «slay» (slay, slays, slew, slain)

meaning for a pupil

1) A slew of things is a large number or amount of them (informal). tree →

2) To slew is to turn or slide sideways suddenly and out of control, like a car on ice. tree →

3) Slew is the old past form of «slay»: the knight slew the dragon means he killed it (old-fashioned, stories). tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday talk and news «a slew of» means «lots of»: a slew of emails, a slew of new games. In stories about cars, boats or bikes «slewed» shows a sudden skid that tells the reader something dangerous is happening. In fairy tales and the Bible-style stories «slew» is the past of «slay» (David slew Goliath). Phrases: a slew of, slew round, slewed across the road.

examples

• The teacher got a slew of questions after the fire drill. tree →
• There is a whole slew of new books in the library. tree →
• The car slewed across the icy road and stopped in the ditch. tree →
• My bike slewed sideways on the wet leaves. tree →
• The boat slewed round in the strong wind. tree →
• In the story, the brave prince slew the dragon. tree →
• Christians read that young David slew the giant Goliath with a stone. tree →
• After the storm we had a slew of broken branches in the garden. tree →
• Warriors with long knives rushed forth and slew the camp-eater. tree →

note

«A slew of» is informal and is followed by a plural noun (a slew of problems). «Slew» (killed) is only in old stories; today we say «killed». Do not confuse with «slough» or «slue» (an American spelling of the turning sense). In maths problems «a slew of» means «many» but gives no exact number.

In the corpora

• And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
• And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of the LORD; and He slew him also.
• So Aaron drew near unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself.
• And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male.
• And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «slew» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.