> More complex than that. Slut signidied a scullery maid, so slut's wool
> would be what a bad housekeeper didn't sweep up.
>
> Mark
Well sometimes, though I'm not sure this was ever the predominant meaning,
and "slut" usually had (at the best) a negative connotation. Here's a list
of various synonyms found in John Florio's _A World of Words_ in 1598:
a pisse-kitchin, alwaies cowring by the fire: an idle flurt, a
driggle-draggle, a durtie slut: one that will beray hirselfe.
a durtie draggletaile, a filthie slut, a dunghill queane. Also dung.
a scarffe. Also any filth, trash, rabble, matter, or stuffe. Also a
flurt, a slut, a baggage, a trull, a minxe, a gill, a gickesie, a queane.
a pussell, a pugge, a paltry wench, a driggle-draggle, a slut, a whore,
a flurt, a strumpet, a gixie, a minxe.
a slut, a flurt, a piskitching, a filth, a gixie, a gill, a minxe. Also
the chiefest skold in a parish, an idle proud huswife.
to play the idle flurt, trull, slut or whore, to braule, chide or
skold.
a slut, a driggle-draggle, a piskitching, a flurting drudge.
a filthie, sluttish slut.
a fishing rod. Also a flurt, a slut, a driggledraggle.
Retro-Rodent
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