gutter vs slack

gutter

noun
  • A drainage channel. 

  • A prepared channel in a surface, especially at the side of a road adjacent to a curb, intended for the drainage of water. 

  • A duct or channel beneath the eaves of a building to carry rain water; eavestrough. 

  • A groove down the sides of a bowling lane. 

  • A ditch along the side of a road. 

  • Any narrow channel or groove, such as one formed by erosion in the vent of a gun from repeated firing. 

  • A space between printed columns of text. 

  • An unprinted space between rows of stamps. 

  • A large groove (commonly behind animals) in a barn used for the collection and removal of animal excrement. 

  • One of a number of pieces of wood or metal, grooved in the centre, used to separate the pages of type in a form. 

  • The notional locus of things, acts, or events which are distasteful, ill bred or morally questionable. 

  • A low, vulgar state. 

  • The spaces between comic book panels. 

  • One who or that which guts. 

verb
  • To flow or stream; to form gutters. 

  • To flicker as if about to be extinguished. 

  • To melt away by having the molten wax run down along the side of the candle. 

  • To cut or form into small longitudinal hollows; to channel. 

  • To send (a bowling ball) into the gutter, not hitting any pins. 

  • To supply with a gutter or gutters. 

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. 

adv
  • Slackly. 

verb
  • To slacken. 

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

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. 

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