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Glite Dictionary
to slip back to old ways

to slip back to old ways

5.7
Gradually return to old habits, often bad ones
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : volver a viejas costumbres
  • After successfully adopting a healthier lifestyle, he was cautious not to slip back to old ways of eating junk food.

Examples

  • Despite her progress, the pressure at work sometimes made her slip back to old ways of procrastination.

  • Therapists encourage patients not to slip back to old ways after treatment.

  • After a stressful week, it's easy to slip back to old ways and neglect new routines.

  • She worked hard to change, but occasionally she would slip back to old ways.

  • Don't slip back to old ways!

  • He is trying not to slip back to old ways.

  • The coach warned his players that they must not slip back to old ways if they want to keep winning games.

Synonyms

to fall back
vsto slip back to old ways
13 4.2

To begin an old bad habit again after trying to change

is a gradual return not tied specifically to a failed change attempt
to lapse
vsto slip back to old ways
8 5.2

To return to a previous bad habit

is a gradual return into more clearly undesirable habits
to backslide
vsto slip back to old ways
2 7.5

To start doing old bad habits again after making progress

is a gradual return that does not need prior improvement
to fall into old habits
vsto slip back to old ways
  • Informal
1 3.6

Start acting the same as before after trying to change

is a gradual return rather than an immediate restart of past behavior

Antonyms

to improve
∞ 1.0

To make something better

to stay on track
9 3.2

To focus on a goal without getting distracted

How Much

relapse
33 6.5
to revert
67 4.2
to slip back to old ways
  • Informal
5.7
to fall into old habits
  • Informal
1 3.6
to lapse
8 5.2

Surface Forms

slip back to old ways infinitive
slipped back to old ways past
slipped back to old ways past participle
slipping back to old ways present participle
slips back to old ways third person singular

Morphology

slip + back + to + old + way

The meaning 'to gradually return to one's previous habits' is directly composed from 'slip' (a gradual movement or decline) + 'back' (return) and the phrase 'old ways' (former habits), so a B1 learner who knows these words can infer the intended sense. This construction follows a common, transparent pattern of verb + particle + noun phrase denoting reversion, which is cross-linguistically frequent and therefore predictable to learners.

Etymology

Slip back to old ways may come from the simple picture of someone climbing a hill to learn a new habit, then their foot slips and they fall back onto the old path or routine. That's why it means 'to gradually return to previous, often unwanted, habits'.