bay vs slack

bay

noun
  • A body of water (especially the sea) more-or-less three-quarters surrounded by land. 

  • An internal recess; a compartment or area surrounded on three sides. 

  • A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses. 

  • The distance between two supports in a vault or building with a pitched roof. 

  • Laurus nobilis, a tree or shrub of the family Lauraceae, having dark green leaves and berries. 

  • A kind of mahogany obtained from Campeche in Mexico. 

  • An opening in a wall, especially between two columns. 

  • A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible. 

  • Each of the spaces, port and starboard, between decks, forward of the bitts, in sailing warships. 

  • Bay leaf, the leaf of this or certain other species of tree or shrub, used as a herb. 

  • A bay platform. 

  • A bay window. 

  • The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked. 

  • A horse of this color. 

  • A bank or dam to keep back water. 

  • The climactic confrontation between hunting-dogs and their prey. 

  • A tract covered with bay trees. 

adj
  • Of a reddish-brown colour (especially of horses). 

verb
  • To howl. 

  • To pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds. 

  • To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay. 

slack

noun
  • A tidal marsh or shallow that periodically fills and drains. 

  • Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient. 

  • A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place. 

  • The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it. 

  • Small coal; coal dust. 

  • A valley, or small, shallow dell. 

adj
  • Moderately warm. 

  • Vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music. 

  • Not active or busy, successful, or violent. 

  • Excess; surplus to requirements. 

  • Lax; not tense; not firmly extended. 

  • Lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager. 

  • Lax. 

  • Moderate in speed. 

  • Weak; not holding fast. 

adv
  • Slackly. 

verb
  • To slacken. 

  • To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake. 

How often have the words bay and slack occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )