skittle 
5677 
skittle (skit'l), r. t. : pret. and pp. skittled, ppr. skiving-machine . 
skittling. [< skittle, H.] To knock over with a machine for paring the surface of leather or 
skittle-ball; knock down; bowl off. [Bare.] 
There are many ways in which the Australian, like the 
rest of us, can skittle down his money. 
Arch. Forbes, Souvenirs of some Continents, p. 70. 
An oblong court 
is played. 
other materials, as pasteboard, rubber, etc. 
Such machines operate either on the principle of the lea- 
ther-splitting machine, or by drawing the pieces to be 
skived under the blade of a fixed knife. Lap skivlng,- 
machine, a machine for scarfing off the thickness of lea- 
ther toward the edge. E. H. Knight. 
sklent, r. A dialectal (Scotch) form of slant. 
skittle-ball (skit'1-bal), n. Tdisfof hard wood skleret, skleiret, . See scMre. 
fo, throwing at the pins in the game of skit- sklerema, n. Same as sclcrema for scleroderr.ua. 
skleyret, . See scleire. 
skittle-dog (skit'1-dog), n. A small kind of sklint (sklint), v. A dialectal form of slant. 
shark : same as picked dogfish (which see, under skliset, . An obsolete form of slice. 
j,i,*edi). [Local, Eng.] skoal(skol), mtorj. [Repr. Icel. skal = Sw.skdl 
skittle-frame (skit'l-friim), . The frame or 
structure of a skittle-alley. 
The magistrates caused all the skittle-frames in or about 
the city of London to be taken up, and prohibited the 
playing at clutch-pins. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 50. 
skittle-ground (skit'l-ground), . Same 
tlcittte-culey. 
skulk 
and of a blackish-brown color intimately variegated with 
chestnut and whitish, becoming yellowish on the sides of 
the neck ; the wings and tail arc Ijluckiah, with the bases 
of their feathers white. The middle pair of tail feathers are 
He repaired to the skittle-ground, and, seating himself on 
a bench, proceeded to enjoy himself in a very sedate and 
methodical manner. Dickens, Pickwick, xlv. 
= Norw. Dan. skoal, bowl: see skull 1 , scale 2 .} 
An exclamation of good wishes ; hail ! 
There from the flowing bowl 
Deep drinks the warrior's soul, 
Skoal! to the Northland ! skoal! 
Longfellow, Skeleton in Armor. 
as skodaic (sko-da'ik), a. [< Skoda (see def.) + 
-ic.] Of or pertaining to Joseph Skoda, an 
Austrian physician (1805-81) Skodaic reso- 
nance. See resonance. 
Skoda's Sign. Skodaic resonance. See reso- 
nance. 
Great Skua {Mtgaltstris ratarractes). 
broad to their tips, and project only about -2 inches. A simi- 
lar skua inhabits southern seas, S. (or M.)antarcticus. The 
poinatorhine skua, or jager, S. (or Le stris) pomarinus, is a 
smaller species, about 20 inches long, and otherwise dif- 
ferent. Still smaller and more different skuas are the 
parasitic, S. (or Lestria) parasiticwi, and the long-tailed. 
S. bu/oni, in which the long projecting tail-feathers are 
acuminate and extend 8 or 10 inches beyond the rest. 
The skuas are all rapacious marine birds. In the United 
. 
States the great skua is usually called sea-hen, and the 
others are known as marlinspikes and boatswains. A 
See 
skittle-pin (skit'1-pin), n. [< skittle + pi* 1 .] 
A pin used in the game of skittles. Also called skoft, . andv. A Middle English form of scoff. 
kettle-pin, kittle-pin. skoS,i:t. To gobble up : same as scoff, 2. [Slang, 
skittle-pot (skit'l-pot), n. A crucible used by Australia.] iocai'EngTish "name of the great , skua is sea-hawk. 
jewelers, silversmiths, and other workers in fine skogboelite (skog'bel-it), n. [< Skogbole (see arctic bird, Lestris, and Stercorarius. 
metal for various purposes. def!) + -ite 2 .] In mineral., a variety of tanta- skua-gull (sku'a-gul), w. A jager or skua; es- 
Skitty (skit'i), n. ; pi. skitties (-iz). [Cf. skit s .~] lite from Skogbole in Finland. pecially, the great skua. 
1. The skit or water-rail, Rallus aquaticus, more skolecite, . See scolecite, 1. skuet, '' An obsolete form of skew*. 
fully called skitty-cock and skitty-coot. [Local, skolion (sko'li-on), n.; pi. skolia (-a). [< Gr. gkug, SCUg (skug), . [Also (Sc.) scoug, skoog; 
Eng.] 2. The gallinule, Gallinula chloropits. 
[Local, Eng.] Spotted skitty. Same as spotted rail 
(which see, under raiM). 
skive 1 (skiv), n. [An unassibilated form of 
slave. Cf. skive 1 -, v.} In gem-cutting, same as 
diamond-wheel (6). 
skive 1 (skiv), v. t. ; pret. and pp. skived, ppr. 
skinny. [An unassibilated form of 'shine, v., 
< skive, n. Cf. skiver 1 .'} In leather-manuf. and skoliosis, - Another spelling of scoliosis. 
lapidary-work, to shave, scarf, or pare off ; grind skolstert, See seoldster. 
away (superfluous substance). skolyont, An obsolete form of sctillion. 
skive 2 (skiv), v. i. [Prob. < skiff 2 , a. ; or a var. sfeomfett, v. t. See scomfit. 
of skew 1 (cf. skiver 1 , as related to skewer).'] To gjjon, n. See scone. 
ov, a song prob. so called from th'e metrical 
irregularities admitted, prop. neut. (sc. jUeAof) 
of mo?j.6f, curved, winding.] An ancient Greek 
drinking- or banquet-song, sung to the lyre by 
the guests in turn. 
Nor have we anything exactly representing the Greek 
scolia, those short drinking songs of which Terpander is 
said to have been the inventor. Encyc. Brit., XIX. 272. 
< Icel. skuggi = Sw. skugga = Dan. skygge, a 
shade, = AS. scua, scfma, a shade; cf. Dan. 
skygge = Sw. skugga = Icel. skyggja, older skyg- 
gva, overshadow: see sky 1 and show 1 ."] 1. 
Shade; shelter; protection. [North. Eng. and 
Scotch.] 
Under the scoug of a whin-bush. Leighton. 
2. A place of shelter. [North. Eng. and Scotch.] 
3. The declivity of a hill. [Prov. Eng.] 4. 
A squirrel. [Prov. Eng.] 
Skugg, you must know, is a common name by which all 
squirrels are called here [London], as all cats are called 
Puss. B. franklin, quoted in The Century, XXXII. 263. 
7 T" 1 ) _ .17UOB. *-. J ' Ultniil.lt, X|WV*.VI i tv t/*ymwi.. j , ^ 
turn up the eyes. Halliioell. [Prov. Eng .] s koncet,. An obsolete form of sconce* , sconce?. S CUK (skug) r. t. ; pret. and pp. skngged, 
oti-n-orl rlri'vrV. PAnnar. < "skiver. V.. frea. ctnr.tr Smo n,s itkiia. SKUg, S(,ug vs*"^ '. > V '<- " J9f\~~. 
An obsolete spelling of screed. 
An obsolete form of screak: 
An obsolete spelling of screen 
* A 
Skiver^ (ski'ver), . [Appar. < 'skiver, v., freq. skoog, n. Same as skug. 
of skive, v., and ult. identical with shiver^, of skorclet, f. t. See scorele. 
which it may be regarded as an unassibilated skorodlte, . See scorodite. 
form. Cf. skewer."] 1. Same as skiving-knife. skoutt, See scout}. 
2. Leather split by the skiving-knife; a thin gkouth, . See scouth. 
leather made of the grained side of split sheep- skouttt, See scout*. 
skin tanned in sumac. It is used for cheap skow, . See scow, 
bindings for books, the lining of hats, pocket- gfcr. An abbreviation of Sanskrit. 
books, etc. Compare skiving. skrant, See scran. 
Sheepskin is the commonest leather used for binding, skreedt, n. 
Whenunsplit it is called a roan; when split in two the skreekt, . 
upper half is called a skiver, the under or fleshy half a g reen t . 
B<SS |r! r kattAw8, Modern Bookbinding (ed. Grolier), p. 37. " v -<"'" 1 ' " 
3. Iv. shoe-man uf., a machine for cutting coun- g^ r i gK i e . j. See scriggle. 
ters for shoes and for making rands; a leather- gj^jj.^ ' i See scrike. 
skiving machine. 4. An old form of dirk. 8fe j.i mm ' age j . gee scrimmage. 
5. A skewer. Salliwell. [Prov. Eng.] skrimpt See scrimp 
skiver 1 (ski'ver), . f. [< stored, .] To skewer; skrim s cno ' n t, skrimshander, skrimshanker, 
impale. 41., ?(., and a. Same as scrimshaw. 
"flo right through a man," rejoined Sam, rather sulkily, skringe, v. See scringe. 
"Blessed if he didirt near skiver my horse." skrippet, . An obsolete form of scrip 1 . 
c " l( ' i " 1 skron (skron), n. A unit of weight, 3 hundred- 
skiver 2 (skiv'er), v. i. [Origin obscure.] To we ight of barilla, 2 hundredweight of almonds, 
scatter; disperse; fly apart or in various direc- gkmfft, . See scruff 3. 
tions, as a flock of birds. skryt. See scry 1 , scry 2 . 
At the report of a gun the frightened flock will dart skryer (skri'er), n. '[< stcr !/ : see sen/ 1 .] One 
about in terror, skiver, as it is technically called, making wno descries ; specifically, a necromancers or 
the second shot as difficult as the first is^easy. sorcerer's assistant, whose business it was to 
swigged, ppr. sktiggiug, scugging. [< skug, scug, 
.] 1. To shelter; hide. 2. To expiate. 
And aye, at every seven years' end, 
Ye'l tak him to the linn ; 
For that 's the penance he maun dree, 
To scuff his deadly sin. 
Yauiig Benjie (Child's Ballads, II. 303). 
[North. Eng. and Scotch in both senses.] 
skuggery, SCUggery (skug'er-i), n. [< skvg + 
-cry.] Secrecy. [Prov. Eng.] 
skuggy, scuggy (skug'i), a. [< skug + -y 1 .] 
Shady. Jamieson. [Scotch.] 
skiver-wood (ski'ver-wud), n. 
timber. 
skivie (skiv'i), a. [Also skevie; of. skive 2 , skiff?, 
skew 1 .] Out of the proper direction ; deranged ; 
askew. [Scotch. ] 
" What can he mean by deft [daft]?" " He means mad," 
said the party appealed to. . . . "Ye have it," said Peter, 
" that is, not clean skiirit, but ." 
Scott, Redgauntlet, vii. 
skiving (ski'ving), H. [Verbal n. of skive 1 , .] 
1. The operation of taking off the rough fleshy 
parts from the inner surface of a skin by short 
oblique cuts with a curriers' knife. 2. The 
rejected thickness of leather of the flesh side, 
when leather is split for thin shoes and the like. 
When the part selected is the grain side, the thin piece of 
the flesh side is called skiviny; but when the thicker part 
is the flesh side, as prepared for chamois, the thinner grain- 
side piece is the skiver. 
skiving-knife (skl'ving-nif), n. A knife used 
for paring or splitting leather. Also skiver. 
, r-i), n. and a. [Also 
sculdudry,sculduddery (also skulduggery, U. S.) ; 
origin obscure the word, like others of like 
implications, being variable in form and indefi- 
nite in sense.] I. w. 1. Crossness; obscenity; 
unchastity. Ramsay. [Scotch.] 
There was much singing of profane sangs, and birling of 
red wine, and speaking blasphemy and sadduddery. 
Scott, Eedgauntlet, letter xi. 
2. Rubbish. 
II. a. Rubbishy; obscene; unchaste. [Scotch.] 
The rental-book . . . was lying beside him ; and a book 
of sculduddery sangs was put betwixt the leaves, to keep 
it open. Scott, Bedgauntlet, letter xl. 
skulk (skulk), v. [Also sculk; < ME. skulken. 
sculken, scolken, < Dan. skulke = Norw. skulka = 
Sw. skolka, skulk, slink, play truant (cf. Icel. 
what he saw in it. 
The office of inspector of his glass, or, as it was termed, 
skryer, a name not, as Disraeli supposed, invented by (Dr. 
John] Dee. 
T. Wright, Narratives of Sorcery and Magic (1851), I. 230. 
Skt. A contraction (used in this work) for San- 
skrit. 
skua (sku'a), n. [Shetland skooi, the skua 
(shooie, sch'boi, the Arctic gull, Lestris paraxi li- 
ens), < Norw. skua = Icel. skiimr, also skufr, the 
skua, Stercorarius catarractes. The orig. form 
is uncertain, and the etymological relation to 
the like-meaning scout s , scouty-aulin, q. v., is 
not clear.] A gull-like predatory bird of the 
family Laridse and subfamily Stercorariinse or 
Lestridinx, especially Stercorarius or Megales- 
tris catarractes, or M. skua, the species original- 
ly called by this name, which has since been 
extended to the several others of the same sub- 
family. The common or great skua Is about 2 feet long, 
poetic name for the wolf, skolli, 'skulker,' a 
name for the fox, and for the devil) ; with for- 
mative -fc (as in lurk, < ME. luren, E. lower). 
from the verb appearing in D. scJiuikn, LG. 
schulen, skulk, lurk in a hiding-place, G. dial. 
schulen = E. scowl 1 , hide the eyes, peep slyly : 
see scowl 1 ."] I. intraiis. To withdraw into a 
corner or into a close or obscure place for con- 
cealment; lie close or hidden from shame, fear 
of injury or detection, or desire to injure an- 
other; shrink or sneak away from danger or 
work; lurk. 
Skulking in corners. Sha*., W. T., L 2. 288. 
He skulked from tree to tree with the light step and 
prowling sagacity of an Indian bush-fighter. 
Scott, Woodstock, xxxiii. 
II. trans. To produce or bring forward clan- 
destinely or improperly. Eilinuiirgli Rev. (Imp. 
Diet.) [Rare.] 
