Sliter

[Will709432]

I came across this in a book I'm reading: vinden sliter med sig den lösa sanden.

I looked up sliter but the dictionaries only show sliter with med, to battle with something, or without it. I can't make sense of this sentence. vinden sliter med sig den lösa sanden looks like the wind tears with itself the loose sand, which of course is nonsense.

Can anyone help clear this up? Thanks

[Crahdol]

You probably won't find sliter in the dictionary since it is conjugated from att slita.
On it own it means either to wear something down. Han sliter ut ett par skor i månaden - "He wears out a pair of shoes a month."
Or it means to tear or violently tug at something. Hon slet pappret itu - "She ripped the paper apart"

In the context of vinden sliter, "tearing" or "ripping" could work as a translation. It basically means the wind is very strong, maybe even strong enough to cause damage.

[Will709432]

You probably won't find sliter in the dictionary since it is conjugated from att slita.
On it own it means either to wear something down. Han sliter ut ett par skor i månaden - "He wears out a pair of shoes a month."
Or it means to tear or violently tug at something. Hon slet pappret itu - "She ripped the paper apart"

In the context of vinden sliter, "tearing" or "ripping" could work as a translation. It basically means the wind is very strong, maybe even strong enough to cause damage.

Thanks, it's the med sig part that's confusing me though since I can't get why it's needed in the wind sentence but not in others

[Crahdol]

Thanks, it's the med sig part that's confusing me though since I can't get why it's needed in the wind sentence but not in others

Ah sorry, I focused to much on slita that I forgot to read the whole sentence.
Med sig is literally "with itself", and I agree that sounds weird. What it means is to bring something along.
Han hade med sig en väska - "He brought a bag"

So in this case, what's being described is a strong/violent wind is picking up sand and carrying it along. It is a trycky sentence to translate on its own. It needs context.
att ta med sig = "to bring"
att slita med sig = "to bring (but in a more violent and sudden manner)"

I might have translated it as "the wind swept away the loose sand", while at the same time insinuating that the wind is particularly harsh.

Oh, and and by the way: att slita can also mean to work hard/to toil but that's not the definition we're using here.