Slush is the messy mixture of melting snow and water that forms when snow starts to thaw. After a snowstorm, as temperatures rise, the clean white snow on sidewalks and streets turns into gray, slushy puddles that splash when you walk through them. Your boots get soaked, and you track wet footprints everywhere.

The word captures that in-between state when winter hasn't quite let go yet. Slush isn't solid like ice or liquid like water: it's that frustrating halfway point that's somehow worse than either. You can't sled on it, you can't build with it, and you definitely can't avoid getting wet if you have to walk through it.

Slush also describes any similar half-frozen mixture. A slushie or slush drink at a convenience store is flavored ice that's been mixed into a cold, sweet, semi-liquid treat. The consistency is similar: not quite frozen, not quite melted, but somewhere pleasantly in between. Unlike street slush, though, this kind is actually refreshing on a hot day.