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
And yet Hollywood continues to ignore us, leaving independent filmmakers and producers to pick up the slack.
—
Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024
That, Rust said, is when Crosby will pick up the slack and heat up.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
Police departments and sheriff’s offices have been unable to pick up the slack.
—Tony Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman, 18 Dec. 2024
Like others, Murphy also perhaps tried to do too much to pick up the slack for a slumping offense.
—David O'Brien, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pick/take up the slack 
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Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024
That, Rust said, is when Crosby will pick up the slack and heat up.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
Police departments and sheriff’s offices have been unable to pick up the slack.
—Tony Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman, 18 Dec. 2024
Like others, Murphy also perhaps tried to do too much to pick up the slack for a slumping offense.
—David O'Brien, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024
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 8 Jan. 2025.
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