Slag (pronounced slag)
(1) The substantially fused and vitrified matter
separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore; also called cinder.
(2) The scoria (the mass of rough fragments of
pyroclastic rock and cinders produced during a volcanic eruption) from a
volcano.
(3) In the post-production classification of coal for purposes
of sale, the left-over waste for the sorting process; used also of the waste
material (as opposed to by-product) from any extractive mining.
(4) In industrial processing, to convert into slag; to
reduce to slag.
(5) In the production of steel and other metals, the scum
that forms on the surface of molten metal.
(6) In commercial metallurgy, to remove slag from a steel
bath.
(7) To form slag; become a slaglike mass.
(8) In slang, an abusive woman (historic UK slang, now a
rare use).
(9) In slang, a term of contempt used usually by men of
women with a varied history but now to some degree synonymous with “unattractive
slut” (of UK origin but now in use throughout the English-speaking world and used
sometimes also of prostitutes as a direct synonym, the latter now less common).
(10) In the slang of UK & Ireland, a coward (now
regionally limited) or a contemptible person (synonymous with the modern “scumbag”
(that use still listed by many as “mostly Cockney” but now apparently rare).
(11) In Australian slang, to spit.
(12) Verbally to attack or disparage somebody or something (usually as “slag off”, “slagged them”, “slagged it off” etc); not gender-specific and used usually in some unfriendly or harshly critical manner; to malign or denigrate. Slang dictionaries note that exclusively in Ireland, “slagging off” someone (or something) can be used in the sense of “to make fun of; to take the piss; the tease, ridicule or mock” and can thius be an affectionate form, rather in the way “bastard” was re-purposed in Australian & New Zealand slang.
1545–1555: From the Middle Low German slagge & slaggen (slag, dross; refuse matter from smelting (which endures in
Modern German as Schlacke)), from the
Old Saxon slaggo, from the Proto-West
Germanic slaggō, from the Proto-Germanic
slaggô, the construct being slag(ōną)-
(to strike) + -gô (the diminutive
suffix). Although unattested, there may
have been some link with the Old High German slahan (to strike, slay) and the Middle Low German slāgen (to strike; to slay), the
connection being that the first slag from the working of metal were the splinters
struck off from the metal by being hammered.
Slāgen was from Proto-West
Germanic slagōn and the Old Saxon slegi was from the Proto-West Germanic slagi.
Slag is a noun & verb, slagability, deslag, unslag &
slaglessness are nouns, slagish, slagless, slagable, deslagged unslagged,
slaggy & slaglike are adjectives and slagged, deslagged, unslagged, slagging,
deslagging & unslagging are verbs; the noun plural is slags. As an indication of how industry use
influences the creation of forms, although something which could be described as
“reslagging” is a common, it’s regarded as a mere repetition and a consequence
rather than a process.
The derogatory slang use dates from the late eighteenth century and was originally an argot word for “a worthless person or a thug”, something thought derived from the notion of slag being “a worthless, unsightly pile” and from this developed the late twentieth century use to refer to women and this is thought to have begun life as a something close to a euphemism for “slut” although it was more an emphasis on “unattractiveness”. The most recent adaptation is that of “slagging off” (verbal (ie oral, in print, on film etc) denigration of someone or something, use documented since 1971 although at least one oral history traces it from the previous decade. In vulgar slang, slag is one of the many words used (mostly) by men to disparage women. It’s now treated as something akin to “slut” (in the sense of a “women who appears or is known to be of loose virtue) but usually with the added layer of “unattractiveness”. The lexicon of the disparaging terms men have for women probably doesn’t need to precisely to be deconstructed and as an example, in the commonly heard “old slag”, the “old” likely operates often as an intensifier rather than an indication of age; many of those labeled “old slags” are doubtless quite young on the human scale. Still, that there are “slags” and “old slags” does suggest men put some effort into product differentiation.
How slag heaps are created.
All uses of “slag”, figurative & literal, can be
traced back to the vitreous mass left as a residue by the smelting of metallic
ore, the fused material formed by combining the flux with gangue, impurities in
the metal, etc. Although there’s much
variation at the margins, typically, it consists of a mixture of silicates with
calcium, phosphorus, sulfur etc; in the industry it’s known also as cinder and
casually as dross or recrement (the once also-used "scoria" seems now exclusively the property of volcanologists). When deposited in place, the piles of slag
are known as “slag heaps” and for more than
a century, slag heaps were a common site in industrial regions and while they
still exist, usually they’re now better managed (disguised). A waste-product of steel production, slag can
be re-purposed or recycled and, containing a mixture of metal oxides &
silicon dioxide among other compounds, there is an inherent value which can be
realized if the appropriate application can be found. There are few technical problems confronting
the re-use of slag but economics often prevent this; being bulky and heavy,
slag can be expensive to transport so if a site suitable for re-use is distant,
it can simply be too expensive to proceed.
Additionally, although slag can in close to its raw form be used for
purposes such as road-base, if any reprocessing is required, the costs can be
prohibitive. The most common uses for
slag include (1) Landfill reclamation,
especially when reclaiming landfills or abandoned industrial sites, the dense
material ideal for affording support & stability for new constructions, (2)
the building of levees or other
protective embankments where a large cubic mass is required, (3) in cement production in which ground
granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) can be used as a supplementary component
material of cement, enhancing the workability, durability and strength of
concrete, (4) manufacturing including certain ceramics & glass, especially where high degrees of purity are
not demanded, (5) as a soil conditioner in agriculture
to add essential nutrients to the soil and improve its structure, (6) as a base
for road-building and (7) as an aggregate
in construction materials such as
concrete and asphalt. The attraction of
recycling slag has the obvious value in that it reduces the environmental
impact of steel production but it also conserves natural resources and reduces
the impact of the mining which would otherwise be required. However, the feasibility of recycling slag
depends on its chemical composition and the availability of an appropriate site.
The word “slag” has been heard in the UK’s House of Commons
in two of the three senses in which it’s usually deployed. It may have been used also in the third but the Hansard reporters are unlikely to have committed that to history. In 1872, Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881, UK
prime-minister Feb-Dec 1868 & 1874-1880) cast his disapproving opposition
leader’s gaze on the cabinet of William Gladstone (1809–1898; prime-minister
1868–1874, 1880–1885, Feb-July 1886 & 1892–1894) sitting on the opposite
front bench and remarked: “Behold, a
range of extinct volcanoes; not a flame flickers upon a single pallid crest.”. Sixty-odd years later, a truculent young Harold
Macmillan (1894–1986; UK prime-minister 1957-1963) picked up the theme in his
critique of a ministry although he was slagging off fellow Tories, describing
the entire government bench as “a row of
disused slag heaps”, adding that the party of Disraeli was now “dominated by second-class brewers and
company promoters.” Presumably
Macmillan thought to be described as a “slag heap” was something worse than “extinct
volcano” and one can see his point. The rebelliousness
clearly was a family trait because in 1961, when Macmillan was prime-minister,
his own son, by then also a Tory MP, delivered a waspish attack on his father’s
ministry. When asked in the house the
next day if there was “a rift in the
family or something”, Macmillan said: “No.”,
pausing before adding with his Edwardian timing: “As the House observed yesterday, the Honorable Member for Halifax has
both intelligence and independence. How
he got them is not for me to say."
Lindsay Lohan and the great "slagging off Kettering scandal".
Although lacking the poise of Macmillan, Philip Hollobone (b 1964; Tory MP for Kettering since 2005), knew honor demanded he respond to Lindsay Lohan “slagging off” his constituency. What caught the eye of the outraged MP happened during Lindsay Lohan’s helpful commentary on Twitter (now known as X) on the night of the Brexit referendum in 2016, the offending tweet appearing after it was announced Kettering (in the Midlands county of Northamptonshire) had voted 61-39% to leave the EU: “Sorry, but Kettering where are you?”
Philip Hollobone MP, official portrait (2020).Mr
Hollobone, a long-time "leaver" (a supporter of Brexit), wasn’t about to let a mean girl "remainer's" (one who opposed Brexit) slag of Kettering escape consequences and he took
his opportunity in the House of Commons, saying: “On referendum night a week
ago, the pro-Remain American actress, Lindsay Lohan, in a series of bizarre
tweets, slagged off areas of this country that voted to leave the European
Union. At one point she directed a
fierce and offensive tweet at Kettering, claiming that she had never heard of
it and implying that no one knew where it was.
Apart from the fact that it might be the most average town in the
country, everyone knows where Kettering is.”
Whether a phrase like “London, Paris, New York, Kettering” was at the
time quite as familiar to most as it must have been to Mr Hollobone isn’t clear
but he did try to help by offering advice, inviting Miss Lohan to switch on
Kettering's Christmas lights that year, saying it would “redeem her political
reputation”. Unfortunately, that proved
not possible because of a clash of appointments but thanks to the Tory Party, at
least all know the bar has been lowered: Asking where a town sits on the
map is now “slagging it off”.
Screen grab from the "apology video" Lindsay Lohan sent the residents of Kettering advising she'd not be able to switch on their Christmas lights because of her "busy schedule".
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