As an uncountable noun, toil is hard and exhausting work or, by extension, the result of such work. As a countable noun, it is a period of intensive work or a task requiring hard work. The verb to toil means ‘to engage in continuous hard work,’ but it can also mean ‘to move or travel with great effort or difficulty.’ Unrelatedly and usually in the plural form, toils are a net or series of nets in which a wild animal is trapped, and so,…
A blob is a lump of thick, liquid substance or any other small lump, drop, or splotch. An object with no distinct shape or definition is also a blob, especially if it’s a large one. Informally and always quite pejoratively, we use blob to talk about people. A person who’s boring and uninteresting can be a blob, and so can…
To cram means ‘to fill something by force with more than it can easily hold’ or ‘to force or stuff something.’ When we are talking about people going into a limited space, it means ‘to crowd.’ Informally, if you study for an exam at the very last minute trying to memorize facts, then you’re cramming. Cram is not used often as a noun, but when it is, informally, a cram is…
To slant means ‘to turn away from a straight line,’ especially a horizontal line. Figuratively, it means ‘to distort information by presenting it from a particular viewpoint’ or ‘to present something in such a way as to interest a particular group.’ As a noun, a slant is a slope, an oblique direction or angle, or, figuratively, a mental leaning or distortion or a point of view or opinion. Informally, in US English, a slant can be…
