slug

slug,

name for a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in which the characteristic molluscan shell is reduced to a thin plate embedded in the tissues. Like the terrestrial snails of the same order, slugs have a distinct head with a mouth, tentacles bearing eyes, and a lung for breathing air. They move on a muscular foot over a trail of slime which they secrete. Certain species, such as Limax maximus, have become serious pests in gardens and truck farms, particularly in the W United States. Gliding out to feed at night, they devour both the roots and aerial portions of plants with their rasplike radula. Terrestrial slugs are classified in the phylum Mollusca, class Gastropoda, order Stylommatophora.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Slug

 

any one terrestrial mollusk of the subclass Pulmonata of the order Stylommatophora that lacks an external shell but has rudiments of a shell in the form of a calcareous plate or grains inside the mantle. The body is wormlike or cylindrical. There are approximately 100 species in the USSR, most of which belong to the families Arionidae and Limacidae. During the day, slugs hide in damp and shaded places, for example, under stones and forest litter or in hollows or cracks in soil. The animals are active at twilight and during the night when the temperature is 8°–20°C and there is adequate moisture.

Many slugs are injurious to vegetables, tobacco, and other crops. The most dangerous pests are Agriolimax reticulatus, which occurs in the western and northwestern regions of the USSR, and slugs of the genus Parmacella (for example, P. ibera), which are found in the subtropics (Caucasus and Middle Asia). Control measures include draining farmland and pastures, destroying weeds, removing crop residue from gardens and orchards, applying limacides, and surrounding valuable plantings with ditches containing slug repellents (mazut, copper sulfate, ash). Removal of the slugs by hand is also effective. Some slugs serve as intermediate hosts of helminths that infest farm animals.

I. M. LIKHAREV [23–1674–]

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

slug

[sləg]

(electromagnetism)

A heavy copper ring placed on the core of a relay to delay operation of the relay.

A movable iron core for a coil.

A movable piece of metal or dielectric material used in a wave guide for tuning or impedance-matching purposes.

(graphic arts)

A strip of metal used to space between lines of type.

(invertebrate zoology)

Any of a number of pulmonate gastropods which have a rudimentary shell and the body elevated toward the middle and front end where the mantle covers the lung region.

(mechanics)

A unit of mass in the British gravitational system of units, equal to the mass which experiences an acceleration of 1 foot per second per second when a force of 1 pound acts on it; equal to approximately 32.1740 pound mass or 14.5939 kilograms. Also known as geepound.

(metallurgy)

A small, roughly shaped piece of metal for subsequent processing, as by forging or extruding.

The piece of material produced by piercing a hole in a sheet.

(mining engineering)

To inject a borehole with cement, slurry, or various liquids containing shredded materials in an attempt to restore lost circulation by sealing off the openings in the borehole-wall rocks.

(nucleonics)

A short fuel rod inserted in a hole or channel in the active lattice of a nuclear reactor.

(ordnance)

As pertains to shaped charge ammunition, massive and relatively slow-moving remnant of the collapsed metal liner, as distinguished from the jet.

A solid cast iron projectile used in test firing.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

slug

¹

1. any of various terrestrial gastropod molluscs of the genera Limax, Arion, etc., in which the body is elongated and the shell is absent or very much reduced

2. any of various other invertebrates having a soft slimy body, esp the larvae of certain sawflies

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slug

²

1. an fps unit of mass; the mass that will acquire an acceleration of 1 foot per second per second when acted upon by a force of 1 pound. 1 slug is approximately equal to 32.17 pounds

2. Metallurgy a metal blank from which small forgings are worked

3. a draught of a drink, esp an alcoholic one

4. a magnetic core that is screwed into or out of an inductance coil to adjust the tuning of a radio frequency amplifier

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slug

Austral and NZ informal an exorbitant charge or price

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

slug

A metal bar containing the carved image of a letter or digit that is used in a printing mechanism.

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