slickem

plural slickems

1. countableuncountableHair oil.

   Turkington's bright mop of red hair had plainly never known slickem.

   1927, Copy ...1927: Stories, Plays, Poems, and Essays, page 82

   2 more examples

   Well, old-timer, you begin to look to me like a guy who's left waiting at the church. Frock coat, white carnation, slickem on your curly locks, everything on hand but a bride.

   1939, Careless Hussy, page 249

   ...his black hair plastered down on both sides with slickem, and his natty siders halfway down his cheeks in the most approved shiek style.

   2005, Michael Oriard, King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels, Movies & Magazines, the Weekly & the Daily Press, →ISBN

2. countableuncountableA very fine waste material produced by hydraulic mining which tends to contaminate waterways.

   The miners generally expect to build their own dams. These dams will restrain the coarser material, but not the finest slickem.

   1883, Engineering and Mining Journal - Volume 35, page 234

   2 more examples

   Now one of the most engrossing questions in the politics of the State arises from the filling of the rivers and the destruction of the agricultural lands by the debris from these hydraulic mines. A dam on the Feather River, near Marysville, was authorized by the Legislature, and after the expenditure of half a million dollars its success is questioned, and "slickem" continues to muddy at least the political waters.

   1879, Frederic Eichelberger Shearer, The Pacific Tourist

   While Such surfaces—known among mine Workers - as “slickem-slides”—are by no means uncommon, the Specimens here illustrated are perhaps unique in perfection and interest.

   1910, Denver Municipal Facts - Volume 2, page 14

3. countableuncountableA superlubricant packet or spray that can be used to reduce traction on surfaces or as a lubricant.

   The ice I haven't really met yet, but it looks like that could be overcome with some slickem on the airplane and a careful check with . . .

   1956, Air Facts: The Magazine of Safe Flying - Volume 19, page 47

   3 more examples

   Whitey Hermanson's Leatherneck son thought that his dad's car could get along on iron rations, or whatever Marines carry to their landing with situations in hand, forgot to put some slickem in the case for the turn-arounds, and that knocked the babbit outa the gadgets.

   1942, Typographical Journal - Volume 101, page 769

   If a manufacturer makes a gun, he knows that it may kill, and the government that buys it knows it, too. If the government buys a stun gun, or a 'slickem' to cause vehicles to skid, who is to blame if fatalities result?

   1996, Jane's Defence Contracts: A Jane's Defence Weekly Publication

   In the case of United Shield, these items were acquired through civilian sources and not through a DOD program because none existed. Other examples include a fluid called "slickem" that causes a loss of traction.

   2000 January, Paul S Patterson Jr, “Should DOD Integrate Nonlethal and Lethal Weapons Program”, in Defense Technical Information Center

4. countableuncountableA long-chain polymer that is injected into oil pipelines to reduce turbulent flow.

   Later, through addition of a chemical substance called “slickem”, the flow rate was increased, to the point where by 1980 Alaskan oil made a genuine contribution to the world's crude supplies.

   2000, Bruce Raphael, King Energy: The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Empire Gone Awry, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   “We were wondering about this slickem stuff,” the tall one said. “Oh, sure, slickem,” Dale said. “It's kind of neat stuff, actually. It's a long-chain polymer, kind of a gooey plastic. It's injected into the line at Pump One and”—she looked at Toni—”Pump Two? Anyway, it kind of gums up the oil, not much, just enough to slow the turbulent flow so it doesn't ball up inside the line, and instead uses its energy to push itself down the pipeline to Valdez..."

   1994, Dana Stabenow, A Cold-Blooded Business, →ISBN, page 50

   The initial capacity of the Alaskan pipeline was 1.7 million barrels per day. With the addition of a chemical nicknamed “slickem,” which reduced drag within the pipeline and thus improved the ease of flow, the pipeline's capacity was boosted to 2.1 million barrels per day.

   2012, Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, →ISBN

5. countableuncountableA piece of wood wrapped in abrasive cloth, used for sharpening blades.

   Seldom used by the home craftsman or carver are two sharpening devices often used by whittlers and barbers: the "slickem-sharp" and the strop.

   1974, Sunset Books, Woodcarving, →ISBN, page 25

   2 more examples

   A special introductory section describes the simple tools needed for carving and how to make them; how to prepare a "slickem-sharp" and illustrates the basic techniques of whittling.

   1959, School Activities - Volumes 31-32, page 96

   Even a new knife will need to be sharpened, since it has a chisel edge. Finish the job by stroking the blade up and down on what's known as a slickem stick, which is a piece of planed wood with abrasive cloth attached to it, or a leather strap known as a strop.

   1988, Georgene Lockwood, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crafts With Kids, →ISBN, page 112

plural slickems

1. An SLCM (sea-launched cruise missile).

   On the other hand there is also much agreement that advances in weapons technology have enormously complicated effective monitoring of arms limitation agreements. Sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs, or "slickems") are an example.

   1988, Christopher Lamb -, How to Think About Arms Control, Disarmament, and Defense

   2 more examples

   Meanwhile the original 'slickem' concept turns virtually any US warship into a strategic launch platform, but particularly nuclear-powered attack submarines whose primary role was previously to act as anti-submarine warfare platforms themselves.

   1984, Christopher Campbell, Nuclear Weapons Fact Book, page 92

   The U.S., for example, will not allow Soviet inspectors aboard its submarines to count sea-launched cruise missiles — "slickems" to the trade — and proposes taking these numbers on faith. Surely you jest, the Soviets respond. They have a point, a U.S. official concedes: "I wonder how happy we would be about leaving slickems unverified when the Soviets mount mount their own program."

   1988, U.S. News & World Report - Volume 105, page 38