Sline

First Appearance and Context

A quoted entry from The Dictionary (4th edition) defines “Sline” with multiple senses and historical notes. In the same period, avout use the plural “slines” in casual speech while walking beyond the walls among local neighborhoods, indicating current, everyday usage extramuros.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Language and register: In Fluccish of the late Praxic Age and early Reconstitution, “Sline” arose as a truncation of “baseline.”
• Adjectival sense: Originally a noun that also functions adjectivally meaning “common” or “widely shared.”
• Noun sense (preferred): A person living extramuros with no special education or skills and little expectation of acquiring them.
• Deprecated sense: A derogatory label for a stupid or uncouth person (especially one proud of such traits). The Dictionary notes this sense is deprecated in favor of the neutral, social descriptor above.

Relationships

• Reference authority: The Dictionary records the term’s senses and recommends usage, tagging them by period and register.
• Social context: Contrasts with the mathic world; usage refers to people and life extramuros.
• Contemporary observations: After time spent extramuros, some avout report liking many slines they meet in bars and public spaces, while also encountering basic misconceptions (for example, belief that the sun goes around Arbre). Such encounters reinforce both the term’s neutral social sense and its occasional pejorative shading when used carelessly.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Word formation: Truncation of “baseline,” with usage as both noun and adjective in Fluccish.
• Connotation: Contemporary use ranges from neutral/clinical (social descriptor) to pejorative; the pejorative sense is discouraged in reference usage.
• Usage in speech: In dialog among avout, “slines” is sometimes invoked in thought experiments about what people worry about, highlighting a general “filtering” of wildly implausible scenarios; speakers also note that even when the term is used neutrally, pejorative overtones can surface in spontaneous talk.
• Stability note: Avout describing the world beyond the walls sometimes characterize the “sline” subculture as stable, in contrast to other extramuros groups; the term itself remains common in casual speech.

Current Status/Location

Actively used in the surrounding communities outside the walls and understood within the maths when speaking Fluccish. Standard references continue to prefer the neutral social sense and discourage the insulting meaning.