Dictionary: SKF – SKIM

• SKI
n. 1. a large foot or shoe …1935 Amer. dial.
n. 2. a taxi …1950s Aust. sl., possibly weak rhyming sl.
n. 3. cocaine …1980s US drug culture sl.
vb. 1. in soccer: to kick the ball unnecessarily high in the air …1945 US sl.
vb. 2. to skip a stone …1967 Amer. dial.

• SKIBBET
n. a small box; a small compartment in a chest, etc. …1398 obs. exc. Eng. dial.

• SKIBBY
n. 1. a left-handed person …B1900 Sc.
n. 2. an Oriental concubine or mistress; an Oriental prostitute; thus, when addressing a Japanese speaker, any prostitute …1910s US sl.
n. 3. a Japanese, a Chinese, or any Oriental …1920s US sl., derogatory

• SKI BUM
n. a person who frequents ski resorts habitually, often doing casual jobs, for the sake of skiing …1963 Amer. sl.

• SKI-BUNK
n. a rejection; an act of dismissal …1900s US sl.

• SKI BUNNY
n. 1. a female who is learning to ski …1963 US sl.
n. 2. a woman who frequents ski resorts to solicit rather than to ski …1953 US sl.

• SKICE
vb. 1. to move quickly and briskly; to skip or frisk about; to run …1591 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
vb. 2. to slice, to cut …1600 obs. rare

• SKICK
vb. to make a raid on; to plunder …a1300 obs. rare

• SKICKING
n. the act of raiding …a1300 obs. rare

• SKID
adj. unattractive, dirty, dishevelled …1990s sl.
n. 1. a retarding influence or agency …1841
n. 2. a fireman’s ladder …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
n. 3. a light fall of snow or rain …1977 Amer. dial.
n. 4. heroin, esp. when heavily adulterated …1977 US sl.
n. 5. a street derelict who may be a villain …1980s Amer. police usage
n. 6. one who likes to go out at night; an ill-dressed, dirty, dishevelled person …1990s sl.
vb. 1. to run or go quickly, to scud …1815 obs.
vb. 2. to push or drag a person along …1881
vb. 3. to leave, to go …1910s sl.
vb. 4. to blunder, to make a mistake, to decline …1920s US sl.
vb. 5. to get rid of …1950s US criminals’ sl.
vb. 6. to skip a stone …1965 Amer. dial.
vb. 7. in snowboarding: to slide down a slope sideways …1993 US sl.

• SKIDADDLE
n. a hasty or unceremonious departure …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
vb. to rush off, to scamper, to escape …M19 sl., orig. US

• SKID ARTIST
n. an expert getaway driver …1996 Brit. criminals’ sl.

• SKID BOULEVARD
n. a jocular term for a living area for poor people…1963 Can sl.

• SKIDDADLE
vb. to leave in a hurry …1861 US sl., orig. US Civil War 

• SKIDDIES
n. 1. underpants …1995 UK sl.
n. 2. faecal marks in underwear …1999 UK sl.

• SKIDDLE
n. a frying pan, a skillet …1900 Amer. dial.

• SKIDDOO
vb. to depart hastily …1905 Amer. sl.

• SKID DROP
n. a large load of drugs dropped from the air by means of a cargo skid attached to a parachute …Bk1998 drug culture sl.

• SKIDGE!
int. attack! a command inciting a dog to attack …1983 Aust. sl.

• SKID GREASE
n. butter …1921 Amer. dial., chiefly logging usage

• SKID LID
n. 1. a safety helmet or crash helmet …1958 US sl.
n. 2. a paratrooper’s helmet …1991 US sl.

• SKID MARK
n. a faecal stain on a toilet bowl or underwear …1971 Aust. sl.

• SKIDOO
n. a snowmobile …1961 Can.
vb. 1. to depart hastily …1905 Amer. sl.
vb. 2. to travel by skidoo …1986 Can.

• SKIDOODLE
vb. to rush off, to scamper, to escape …M19 sl., orig. US

• SKID-ROAD
adj. disreputable …Amer. sl.
(nouns usually as ‘skid road’)
n. 1. a forest track over which logs are dragged …1880 Amer. logging usage
n. 2. a  street or district of cheap shops and resorts; a relatively disreputable district …1915 Amer. sl.
n. 3. an area of town frequented by loggers after working hours; a red-light district …1925 Amer. dial.

• SKID ROW
n. 1. 1931 sl., chiefly Amer. – a part of a town frequented by vagrants, alcoholics, etc.
n. 2. 1996 UK sl. – in prison: cells for troublesome prisoners

• SKIDS
n. 1. 1966 Amer. dial. – diarrhoea
n. 2. 1996 UK sl. – underpants
vb. 1. 1910s sl. – to leave, to go
vb. 2. 1920s US sl. – to blunder, to make a mistake, to decline
vb. 3. 1950s US criminals’ sl. – to get rid of

• SKID SHOT
n. 1993 US sl. – in pool: a shot made with backspin on the cue ball

• SKIED
adj. 1. 1730-46 rare – seeming to touch or reach the sky; lofty
adj. 2. 1868 – in cricket: hit or sent up high in the air
adj. 3. 1989 drug culture sl. – under the influence of drugs

• THE SKIES
n. a1300 obs. – the clouds

• SKIFF
n. 1. a light gust of wind or shower of rain, etc. …1819 Sc.
n. 2. a slight sketch, trace, touch, etc. of something …1839 Sc.
n. 3. a thin coat or layer, as of snow …Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
vb. 1. to move lightly and quickly, esp. so as to barely touch a surface; to glide, to run, etc. in this manner …1725 Sc.
vb. 2. to touch lightly in passing over; to skim …1807-10 Sc.
vb. 3. to freeze over in a thin coat …1967 Amer. dial.

• SKIFFLE
n. 1. a rent party …1946 African-American sl.
n. 2. a music genre, a sort of poor man’s rock ‘n’ roll, played on homemade or low budget instruments; popular in the late 1950s …1957 UK
n. 3. a very short hairstyle …1999 Jamaica

• SKIFT
n. 1. an artifice, device, or trick …c1460 obs.
n. 2. a light fall of snow or rain; a thin layer of snow or frost on the ground, or of ice on water …1808 Amer. dial.
n. 3. a wisp of clouds …1891 Amer. dial.
vb. 1. to shift, change, or move something …a1300 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
vb. 2. to undergo shifting, change, or removal; to change one’s place, etc. …a1300 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
vb. 3. to arrange, devise, manage, or order something …a1300 obs.
vb. 4. to divide, to distribute, or make division …c1420 obs.
vb. 5. to escape, to get away from …c1440 obs.
vb. 6. to move lightly and quickly; to skip, to run, to glide …a1586 obs.
vb. 7. to freeze over in a thin coat …1943 Amer. dial.
vb. 8. to skip stones …1968 Amer. dial.

• SKIFTER
vb. to move lightly and quickly; to skip, to run, to glide …1887

• SKIFTING
n. division, distribution …c1440 obs.

• SKIG
adj. fastidious …a1300 obs.

• SKI-JAWED
adj. twisted, askew, crooked …1950 Amer. dial.

• SKIKART
n. an old name for the hare …a1325 obs.

• SKILFER
n. a small piece; a splinter …1597 obs. rare

• SKILFERS
n. scurf; dandruff …1599 obs. rare

• SKILFUL
adj. 1. endowed with reason; rational; also, following reason, doing right …a1300 obs.
adj. 2. reasonable, just, proper …1340 obs.
adj. 3. sufficient, ample …a1350 obs.
adj. 4. intellectual, mental …1387-8 obs.
adj. 5. having good knowledge of a subject …1596 obs.

• SKILFULLY
adv. reasonably; with good reason …c1325 obs.

• SKILFULNESS
n. 1. the quality of being reasonable …c1440 obs.
n. 2. knowledge of a thing …a1656 obs.

• SKILL
int. exclamation of approval …2003 UK sl.
n. 1. reason as a faculty of the mind; the power of discrimination …c1200 obs.
n. 2. cause, reason, ground …a1300 obs.
n. 3. a sense of what is right or fitting …1338 obs.
n. 4. a wise or sensible act …a1500 obs.
n. 5. an art or science …1570 obs.
n. 6. knowledge or understanding of something …1587 arch.
n. 7. a skilled person …a1657 obs.
vb. 1. to cause a distinction or difference …c1200 obs.
vb. 2. to separate, to part from …a1200 obs.
vb. 3. to allege in argument …1390 obs.
vb. 4. to mount, to ascend …a1400 obs.
vb. 5. to understand, to comprehend …a1500 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
vb. 6. to avail, to help …1528 arch.
vb. 7. to get along, to subsist …1537 obs.
vb. 8. to have knowledge of, or skill in, something …1540 obs.
vb. 9. to teach, to instruct …a1813 rare

• SKILLET
n. a Black person …1942 Amer. dial., derogatory

• SKILLET BLONDE
n. a Black woman …1935 Amer. dial.

• SKILLET BREAD
n. pancakes, a pancake …1947 Amer. dial.

• SKILLEY
n. 1. a gruel or stew, usually thickened with bread or meal …1834 Amer. dial.
n. 2. gravy …1927 US prison sl.

• SKILLICK
n. a coin of the smallest value …1835 rare

• SKILLIGALEE
adj. worthless, trifling …1883
n. 1. a kind of thin, watery porridge, gruel, or soup, commonly made from oatmeal, and used especially in prisons and workhouses …1819
n. 2. a stew of whatever leftovers are available …World War I Amer. sl.

• SKILLING
n. 1. the operation of reasoning …c1374 obs.
n. 2. a shed or outhouse, esp. a lean-to …1389

• SKILLION
n. 1. a lean-to, serving as a shed or as a small room …1864 Aust.
n. 2. an indefinite very large number …1970s Amer. sl.

• SKILLWISE
adj. 1. intelligent, discerning, clever …a1300 obs.
adj. 2. just, equitable, fair …a1300 obs.
adj. 3. endowed with reason; rational …1357 obs.

• SKILLWISELY
adv. reasonably; rationally; with understanding …a1300 obs.

• SKILLWISENESS
n. discretion, intelligence, reason …a1200 obs.

• SKILLY
adj. skilled, skilful; having considerable skill in some respect …1768 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
n. 1. a kind of thin, watery porridge, gruel, or soup, commonly made from oatmeal, and used especially in prisons and workhouses …1839
n. 2. a stew of whatever leftovers are available …World War I Amer. sl.
n. 3. an insipid beverage, esp. coffee or tea …1927 sl.

• SKILLYGALEE
adj. worthless, trifling …1883
n. a gruel or stew, usually thickened with bread or meal …1951 Amer. dial.

• SKIM
n. 1. scum, a thin covering on liquid …1539 obs. exc. Amer. dial.
n. 2. the rabble …1606 obs.
n. 3. a thin layer of ice …1807 Amer. dial.
n. 4. a hasty sketch or survey …1889
n. 5. a very light fall of snow …1908 Amer. dial.
n. 6. income not reported for tax purposes, esp. from the gross earnings of a gambling casino or other such enterprise …1961 Amer. gambling usage
n. 7. money stolen from a business or enterprise, skimmed from the business funds like cream from milk …1988 sl.
vb. 1. to freeze in a thin layer …1860 Amer. dial.
vb. 2. to conceal or divert some of one’s earnings or takings, esp. from gambling, to avoid paying tax on them …1966 US sl.

• SKIMAGED
adj. drunk …2000 English gypsy usage

• SKIMBLE-SCAMBLE
adj. disorderly; in confusion …1826

• SKIMBLE-SKAMBLE
adj. 1. confused, incoherent, rambling, nonsensical …1596
adj. 2. accompanied by confusion or disorder …1826
adv. in a confused or rambling manner; incoherently …1775
n. confused or worthless discourse; irregular talk; wild, rambling nonsense; rigmarole …1619

• SKIME
vb. to squint, to look askance …1691 N. Eng. dial.

• SKIMELTON
n. a noisy celebration or mock serenade for newlyweds …1886 Amer. dial.

• SKIM ICE
n. a thin layer or covering of ice …1938 Amer. dial.

• SKIMISH
n. alcohol …1908 sl.

• SKIMISHED
adj. intoxicated with alcohol …20C sl.

• SKIMMELTON
n. a noisy celebration or mock serenade for newlyweds …1913 Amer. dial.

• SKIMMER
n. 1. 1830 sl., chiefly US – a broad-brimmed boater
n. 2. 1965 Amer. dial. – the first thin ice that forms over the surface of a pond or pool
n. 3. 1965 Amer. dial. – a very light fall of snow
n. 4. 1972 US sl. – a hat
vb. 1. c1440 – to shimmer, to glitter, to gleam
vb. 2. 1824 – to flutter, to move rapidly; to frisk about lightly

• SKIMMERING
adj. c1440 – gleaming, glittering, flickering

• SKIMMERTON
n. 1868 Amer. dial. – a noisy celebration or mock serenade for newlyweds

• SKIMMING
n. 20C Brit. sl. – illegally taking details of a credit card by passing it through a special scanner which ‘reads’ the information contained on the magnetic strip

• SKIMMINGTON
n. 1. 1623 obs. – the man or woman personating the ill-used husband or the offending wife in the procession (see n. 2.) intended to ridicule the one or the other (obsolete); also, a husband whose wife is unfaithful to him; a shrewish woman
n. 2. 1634 – a ludicrous procession, formerly common in villages and country districts, usually intended to bring ridicule or odium upon a woman or her husband in cases where the one was unfaithful to, or ill-treated, the other  
n. 3. 1753 rare – a row, a quarrel, a disturbance, a riot

• SKIMMITON
n. 1941 Amer. dial. – a noisy celebration or mock serenade for newlyweds

• SKIM MONEY
n. money taken from an enterprise’s net proceeds before any accounting of the proceeds …1981 US sl.

• SKIMMY
adj. of the nature of skimming; superficial; careless, not thorough or exact …1893 rare

• SKIMMY ICE
n. 1965 Amer. dial. – a thin layer of ice  

• SKIMP
adj. 1775 – scanty; meagre  
n. 1967 Amer. dial. – a thin coat of snow or ice
vb. 1. 1879 – to stint  
vb. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – to freeze in a thin layer  

• SKIMPER-SCAMPER
adv. 1778 – in hurry and confusion; hurriedly

• SKIMPIES
n. 1965 Amer. dial. – women’s short underwear  

• SKIMPING
adj. Bk1905 Amer. dial. – scarce; scanty

• SKIMPLING
n. 1890 rare – a stunted, not properly developed, person

• SKIMPTION
n. 1942 Amer. dial. – a trivial matter; a very small piece, amount, or quantity; a bit, a scrap  

• SKIMPTUM
n. 1904 Amer. dial. – a very small piece or quantity; a bit, a scrap  

• SKIMPY
adj. 1847 – scanty, meagre; stinted or stunted in some respect  
n. 2003 Aust. sl. – a topless barmaid  

• SKIM UP
vb. 1912 Amer. dial. – to get along; to prosper