pick/take up the slack

phrase

: 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

Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg was held to five points on 1-for-4 shooting, but 7-3 center Aday Mara (17 points) and point guard Elliot Cadeau (15 points, seven assists) helped pick up the slack. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026

Regardless, biometrics can fail for reasons outside of your control, and old-fashioned passwords will always be there to pick up the slack. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026

Often, even having an equal partner in the picture isn’t enough to pick up the slack. — ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 7 Mar. 2026

But too often, single employees without dependents are expected to pick up the slack by working on holidays, traveling more for their jobs and taking vacations at less desirable times. — Peter McGraw, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026