To bait; set a dog loose at.To haul over the coals; take to task harshly or rudely; berate; abuse; scold; hold up to ridicule; criticize severely: as, the work was slated in the reviews.n. A thin, flat stone or piece of stone; a thin plate or flake. See slat, 1.n. Especially A piece or plate of the stone hence called slate. (See def. 3.)n. A rock the most striking characteristic of which is its fissile structure, or capability of being easily split or cleft into thin plates of nearly uniform thickness and smooth surfaces.n. A preliminary list of candidates prepared by party managers for acceptance by a nominating caucus or convention: so called as being written down, as it were on a slate, and altered or erased like a school-boy's writing.n. (which see, under chalk).Of the color of slate; slate-colored; of a dark, slightly bluish-gray color of medium luminosity.To cover with slate or plates of stone: as, to slate a roof.To enter as on a slate; suggest or propose as a candidate by entering the name on the slate or ticket: as, A. B. is already slated for the mayoralty. See I., 4.In tanning, to cleanse from hairs, etc., with a slater. See slater, 3.