adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable. More to explore sloppy 1727, "muddy, wet from slopping," from slop (n.1) + -y (2). By 1794 as "of a semi-liquid consistency." The meaning "loose, ill-fitting, slovenly" is record...
'One of Australia's most popular story teller/writers.' —ABC Books. 'From the ridiculous to the sublime, from the bestial to the bizarre, from the tall to the tender, Bill Marsh holds his readers in the palm of his hand and tickles them with beautifully controlled yarns of childhood…'...