hackle vs slash

hackle

verb
  • To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning. 

  • To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel. 

noun
  • By extension (because the hackles of a rooster are lifted when it is angry), the hair on the nape of the neck in dogs and other animals; also used figuratively for humans. 

  • Any flimsy substance unspun, such as raw silk. 

  • A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet. 

  • A type of jagged crack extending inwards from the broken surface of a fractured material. 

  • A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather. 

  • An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp. 

  • A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair. 

  • One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster. 

slash

verb
  • To create slashes in a garment. 

  • To strike swiftly and laterally with a hockey stick, usually across another player's arms or legs. 

  • To criticize cuttingly. 

  • To swing wildly at the ball. 

  • To clear land, (particularly forestry) with violent action such as logging or brushfires or (agriculture, uncommon) through grazing. 

  • To produce a similar wound with a savage strike of a whip. 

  • To write slash fiction. 

  • To piss, to urinate. 

  • To work in wet conditions. 

  • To reduce sharply. 

  • To move quickly and violently. 

  • To strike violently and randomly 

  • To crack a whip with a slashing motion. 

  • To cut with a swift broad stroke of an edged weapon. 

noun
  • A hard swift lateral strike with a hockey or lacrosse stick, usually across another player's arms or legs. 

  • A swampy area; a swamp. 

  • A clearing in a forest, (particularly) those made by logging, fire, or other violent action. 

  • Slash fiction. 

  • A cut or laceration, often deep, made by an edged weapon or whip. 

  • A deep taper-pointed incision in a plant. 

  • A piss: an act of urination. 

  • Female genitalia. 

  • A wild swinging strike of the bat. 

  • A swift, broad, cutting stroke made by an edged weapon or whip. 

  • A sharp reduction. 

  • A slit in an outer garment exposing a lining or inner garment, usually of a contrasting color or design; any intentional long vertical cut in a garment. 

  • The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩, sometimes (often proscribed) inclusive of any mark produced by a similar slashing movement of the pen, as the backslash ⟨\⟩. 

  • Any similar wide striking motion. 

  • A large quantity of watery food such as broth. 

  • The loose woody debris remaining from a slash, (particularly forestry) the trimmings left while preparing felled trees for removal. 

conj
  • Used to connect two or more identities in a list. 

  • Used to list alternatives. 

adv
  • Used to note the sound or action of a slash. 

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