slippery slope

plural slippery slopes

1. figurativelyA chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be halted; especially one in which the final outcome is undesirable or precarious.

   She's gotten herself on a slippery slope to being dismissed.

   4 more examples

   I think basing your actions off an assumption like that is a slippery slope that is going to get you in trouble.

   But our conference would find itself on a slippery slope if we started to dig over the past and look for material for recriminations and mutual accusations.

   1959, United States Department of State, quoting Mr. Gromyko, “Seventh Session, May 19, 1959”, in International Organization and Conference Series

   The path of closures and withdrawals is a slippery slope that can by itself create in the mind of the public—and particularly traders—the impression of a fading and diminishing concern.

   1964 November, P. F. Winding, “Re-shaping the LMR's North Western Line - 2”, in Modern Railways, page 346

   “What we’re looking at is the classic slippery slope,” he said. “If the murals can be destroyed, then no work of art that anyone finds offensive is going to be safe. And that’s an awful lot of art.”

   2019 May 20, Walter Thompson, “A school's mural removal: should kids be shielded from brutal US history?”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: slippy slope, thin edge of the wedge, thin end of the wedge

2. broadlyA logical fallacy in which a party asserts that a particular result will probably follow from a given decision or circumstance, without necessarily providing any rational argument for the likelihood of the assumed consequence.
3. broadlyA logical fallacy in which a party asserts that a particular outcome has resulted from a given decision or circumstance by referencing other events that are inconsequentially interconnected.