skive
skive Lexical Profile
skive Game Scores & Validity
• verb
British To evade work, school, or a duty, typically by staying away without permission or pretending to be ill (often followed by 'off').
"Several students decided to skive off the final lecture of the afternoon to enjoy the sunny weather."
To pare, shave, or slice off the surface or edges of leather, rubber, or a similar material to reduce its thickness.
"The cobbler carefully skived the overlapping edges of the leather pieces so the seam would lie completely flat."
• noun
British An instance of avoiding work or a duty by staying away or leaving early; an easy task or situation that requires little effort.
"The afternoon seminar turned out to be a complete skive, as the lecturer let everyone leave after ten minutes."
A specialized knife or machine used to pare or thin leather, rubber, or other flexible materials, or the revolving lap wheel used by gem cutters to polish diamonds.
"The bookbinder used a sharp skive to thin the edges of the morocco leather before folding it over the boards."
• Rhymes for skive
Word Origin & Etymology
In its technical sense of paring leather, the word dates to the 18th century from Old Norse 'skífa', meaning to slice or split. The informal British sense of evading work emerged in early 20th-century military slang, possibly influenced by French 'esquiver' (to dodge or slink away).