slog

Etymology

Probably a variation of slug (“to hit very hard”) or slough. Possibly related to slag, seen in the North Germanic languages, in association with the third verb and second noun definition.

noun

1. (countable, uncountable, chiefly Britain, Australia and Canada) A long, tedious walk or march.
2. (countable, uncountable, chiefly Britain, Australia and Canada, by extension) A hard, persistent effort, session of work, or period.
   It is as if Mr. Faulks had bled his own prose white, draining it of emotion in order to capture the endless enervating slog of war. 1996-02-11, Michael Gorra, “Tunnel Vision”, in The New York Times
   England's experimental line-up will have realised early on that this would be a long, hard slog against the multi-talented Brazilians with great strength in their starting line-up and on the bench. 14 November 2017, Phil McNulty, “England 0 – 0 Brazil”, in BBC Sport
   There, despite the long slog of the pandemic and all the distracting dramas at headquarters, the schools themselves have mostly kept it together. 2022-02-12, Danny Westneat, “The reason voters see past the terrible headlines with Seattle schools”, in The Seattle Times
3. (countable, cricket) An aggressive shot played with little skill.

verb

1. (intransitive) To walk slowly or doggedly, encountering resistance.
   The leading engine was one of the Class Y6 2-8-8-2 compound articulateds, … The stack noise of one of these great brutes slogging up a grade was quite unforgettable. 1961 July, J. Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 419
   2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text A miraculous desert rain. We slog, dripping, into As Safi, Jordan. We drive the sodden mules through wet streets. To the town’s only landmark. To the “Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth.”
2. (intransitive, by extension) To work slowly and deliberately at a tedious task.
3. To strike something with a heavy blow, especially a ball with a bat.