pick/take up the slack
idiom
: to provide or do something that is missing or not getting done
The manager has to take up the slack when employees don't do their jobs correctly.
When he didn't get the pay raise he was expecting, he had to take another job to pick up the slack for more money.
Examples of pick/take up the slack in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If their fly ball volume wanes, there are other parts of their games that can pick up the slack.
—
Tony Blengino, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
Maybe their running game will take up the slack if their passing game isn’t clicking.
—Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 30 Oct. 2024
But the stations do fetch fewer service calls in the wet winter months, according to fire department data, and they are also located relatively close by to a station on Skyline Boulevard, which will pick up the slack for the stations until summer.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2025
Craig and Paige pick up the slack (so that Craig can show off his backyard once again) and invite everyone who is going to be at Taylor’s party.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pick/take up the slack 
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Tony Blengino, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
Maybe their running game will take up the slack if their passing game isn’t clicking.
—Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 30 Oct. 2024
But the stations do fetch fewer service calls in the wet winter months, according to fire department data, and they are also located relatively close by to a station on Skyline Boulevard, which will pick up the slack for the stations until summer.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2025
Craig and Paige pick up the slack (so that Craig can show off his backyard once again) and invite everyone who is going to be at Taylor’s party.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pick/take up the slack
Cite this Entry
“Pick/take up the slack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%2Ftake%20up%20the%20slack. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
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