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Coachpotato Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

creep / slink

'I managed to ....... up behind the burgler before he noticed me.

a) creep b) slink c) strut d) wriggle

This is one of the questions I had in an English exam. I knew that C) and D) were incorrect, so my answer was A) (mainly 'cause I had no idea of what slink meant).

Now I've got some doubts, though. I've looked slink up and it looks quite similar to creep. Could you tell me what the difference is?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

yes, they are synonymous to some extent: slink to go or move stealthily or furtively (as in fear, shame, sneaking) : creep or steal along or away : retire ignominiously <slink behind an enemy> <slunk into a corner> search Yahoo with: "creep up behind" "slink up behind" (the quotation marks are important) and you'll see that "creep up behind" is much more frequent, thus I think it's the correct one in this contex, but ...

— Marius Hancu

  • yes, they are synonymous to some extent: slink to go or move stealthily or furtively (as in fear, shame, sneaking) : creep or steal along or away : retire ignominiously <slink behind an enemy> <slunk into a corner> search Yahoo with: "creep up behind" "slink up behind" (the quotation marks are important) and you'll see that "creep up behind" is much more frequent, thus I think it's the correct one in this contex, but ...
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3 Answers
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yes, they are synonymous to some extent:

slink
to go or move stealthily or furtively (as in fear,
shame, sneaking) : creep or steal along or away : retire ignominiously
<slink behind an enemy> <slunk into a corner>

search Yahoo with:
"creep up behind"
"slink up behind"
(the
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Slink is creepier somehow, someone who is definitely up to no good. So I think creep is the best answer.

I love the idea of wiggle though!
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Thanks for your answers Marius and Nona
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