Fremontia Californica

Slippery Slip"per*y, a. [See {Slipper}, a.] 1. Having the quality opposite to adhesiveness; allowing or causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances render things slippery. [1913 Webster]

2. Not affording firm ground for confidence; as, a slippery promise. [1913 Webster]

The slippery tops of human state. --Cowley. [1913 Webster]

3. Not easily held; liable or apt to slip away. [1913 Webster]

The slippery god will try to loose his hold. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

4. Liable to slip; not standing firm. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. Unstable; changeable; mutable; uncertain; inconstant; fickle. ``The slippery state of kings.'' --Denham. [1913 Webster]

6. Uncertain in effect. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]

7. Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{Slippery elm}. (Bot.) (a) An American tree ({Ulmus fulva}) with a mucilagenous and slightly aromatic inner bark which is sometimes used medicinally; also, the inner bark itself. (b) A malvaceous shrub ({Fremontia Californica}); -- so called on the Pacific coast. [1913 Webster]