# Slipper > The slipper is a canvas plimsoll used flat on the buttocks, not a house slipper. Broad and forgiving, it is the gentlest genuinely serious implement there is. - Canonical URL: https://consensualspanking.co.uk/glossary/slipper/ - Section: A–Z - Updated: November 2026 (2026-11-01) - Audience: consenting adults over 18 only. Everything on this site concerns consenting adults over 18. Not a bedroom slipper. A plimsoll: canvas upper, flat rubber sole, and about the plainest shoe you can buy. It is the most forgiving serious implement in the drawer and the one I hand people first. --- ## In short - The slipper is a plimsoll used flat, not a soft house slipper. - The wide flat sole spreads force, so it stings broadly rather than biting into a line. - It is the safest step up from the hand and the hardest implement to do damage with. - It marks as a wide red flush that fades within hours, rarely as bruising. Everything on this page concerns consenting adults over 18. ## What it means A plimsoll. Flat rubber sole, canvas upper, size nine or ten if you want any weight to it. Held by the toe and brought down flat against the fullest part of the buttocks. In British spanking the word means exactly this object, and the misunderstanding with a fluffy thing you wear indoors is a permanent source of comedy. What makes it different from everything else is surface area. A slipper puts its force across most of one cheek at once. Pressure is force divided by area, so the same swing that would be dangerous from a cane is entirely manageable from a plimsoll, and you get plenty of sensation without ever concentrating it into a line. ## In practice Start with the hand. After that, this is my standard recommendation for a first implement, and I have never regretted giving it. Someone whose entire experience is a hand can move to a slipper with almost no new risk, and it teaches both people what an implement changes without any of the consequences of getting a cane wrong. Practical notes. Hold it by the toe, not the heel, so the sole lands flat. Land the whole sole rather than the edge, since the edge concentrates everything into a rim and defeats the point of using it. Aim at the fullest part of the seat, well away from the tailbone and the hip. Keep your wrist loose and let the shoe do the work. It is loud, which people do not expect and which does a lot of the psychological work. It is also fast to recover from, so you can give more of it than you could of anything else, and a long slippering has a rhythm that is genuinely hard to get from a heavier implement. ## What people get wrong Dismissing it as a beginner toy. A determined slippering with a heavy shoe on a warmed backside is not gentle, and I have known people tap out under one who take a cane without much fuss. What it does not do is bite, which is a different quality of pain rather than a lesser amount. Using the edge, or a shoe with a moulded sole or a stiff rand. A modern trainer has ridges and a rigid heel and is a much less friendly object. Plain flat canvas plimsoll, the cheaper the better. And skipping the [warm-up](https://consensualspanking.co.uk/glossary/warm-up/) because the implement is mild. Cold skin does not care how forgiving your shoe is. ## Read next - [Implements and what each one does](https://consensualspanking.co.uk/guide/implements/) - [Wooden spoon](https://consensualspanking.co.uk/glossary/wooden-spoon/) - [Where it is safe to strike](https://consensualspanking.co.uk/guide/where-it-is-safe-to-strike/) - [Your first time](https://consensualspanking.co.uk/guide/first-time/) ## Common questions ### What is the slipper in British spanking? A soft-soled canvas plimsoll used flat against the buttocks, not a bedroom slipper. Between adults it is the broadest, most forgiving serious implement there is, because the flat rubber sole spreads impact over a wide area. ### Why is the slipper a good first implement after the hand? It stings broadly rather than sharply, builds up over a session rather than biting, and the sting fades faster than almost anything else. A firm slippering leaves a wide red flush and rarely anything more. That combination of real impact and low risk is why it is the implement I recommend first to people who have never used anything but a hand.