science

Sloppy seconds

Sloppy seconds is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sloppy seconds rather than just read about it. In short: Sloppy seconds (or slops in Australian slang) is a slang phrase for when a man has sexual intercourse with a (female or male) partner shortly after that person has had intercourse with someone else, and is therefore wet or "sloppy". The phrase "buttered bun" is sometimes used to refer to said orifice.

Key takeaways

Sloppy seconds belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sloppy seconds to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sloppy seconds from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sloppy seconds (or slops in Australian slang) is a slang phrase for when a man has sexual intercourse with a (female or male) partner shortly after that person has had intercourse with someone else, and is therefore wet or "sloppy". The phrase "buttered bun" is sometimes used to refer to said orifice. The practice is also referred to as a "wet deck". The term has since been stretched as a derogatory metaphor to demean someone having a relationship with a person who had previously been dating another individual within the peer group, analogous to the way female virginity has historically been correlated with purity. In December 2008, the NHL suspended Sean Avery after he made a "sloppy seconds" comment about other players dating his ex-girlfriends. In November 2022, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas was criticised after using the term in a press conference. He apologised, and said he was not aware that it was a sexual term.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sloppy seconds

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sloppy seconds claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sloppy seconds before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sloppy seconds ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sloppy seconds

In research: Sloppy seconds appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sloppy seconds in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sloppy seconds is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Sexual acts, Sexuality stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sloppy seconds outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sloppy seconds in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sloppy seconds means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sloppy seconds out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sloppy seconds in simple terms?

Why does Sloppy seconds matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sloppy seconds?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sloppy seconds.