a slip of the tongue

a Determinative

— A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type. Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".

a Noun

— A is the first letter of the alphabet. The letter "a" comes before "b". — In some schools, an A is a very high grade. Ron got an A on his earth science test.

slip Verb

— When something slides, or moves a small distance while touching what it's on, we say it slips. The hat slipped down until it covered her eyes. — When someone or something moves without wanting to move, we say it slips. My foot slipped when I stepped on some ice, and I almost fell. — When someone moves quickly and quietly so that other people won't see them move, we say the person slips. I slipped into the kitchen to start washing dishes while people were talking.

slip Noun

— A slip is a small mistake. — A slip is a small piece of paper.

of Preposition

— Made using. It is a house of cards.

the Determiner

— Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist. Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book." — Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special. Are you the John Smith that I went to school with? — Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned The poor are always with us. — Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs. You are the best.

tongue Noun

— The part of the body that tastes food. It is pink or red and is inside the mouth. — A language. He spoke in his native tongue.