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

There are some intriguing prospects approaching the rotation, but they shouldn't be counted on to pick up the slack alone in future years. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 July 2025

All over the country, local news has gone dark as newspapers fold and contract and digital news sites struggle to pick up the slack. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 July 2025

Without in-home help, and sometimes even with it, family caregivers − frequently mothers − often pick up the slack, switching jobs or leaving their careers behind to care for their kids with special needs. —Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 19 July 2025

That’s why California policymakers are increasingly counting on battery storage, which emits no carbon dioxide, to pick up the slack. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2025