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An early recorded use of slapdash comes from 17th-century British poet and dramatist John Dryden, who used it as an adverb in his play The Kind Keeper. "Down I put the notes slap-dash," he wrote. The Oxford English Dictionary defines this sense, in part, as "with, or as with, a slap and a dash," perhaps suggesting the notion of an action (such as painting) performed with quick, imprecise movements. The adjective slapdash is familiar today describing something done in a hasty, careless, or haphazard manner.
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“Slapdash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slapdash. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.
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