Definition of the word slop around

The phrase "slop around" has its roots in nautical terminology, where it originally referred to the movement of liquids within a container, such as a barrel. In the 18th century, sailors would use the term "slopping" to describe how wine or other liquids would move around inside a container due to the swaying motion of the ship at sea. As the phrase began to be used more widely in everyday language, it came to refer to the movement of people or objects in a loose, uncontrolled manner. This meaning is believed to have arisen in the late 1800s, around the time when bottled drinks and liquor bottles began to replace barrels as the most commonly used containers for transporting liquids. Today, "slop around" is commonly used to describe someone or something moving clumsily orcarelessly, with the implication that they are not taking care to control their movements. The phrase's origins in nautical terminology help to reinforce its connotation of looseness or instability, as it connects it to the unpredictable movements of liquids in motion.