▪ I. skim, n.
Also 6 skymme, 6–7 skimme.
[f. skim v. In earlier use taking the place of scum n.]
1. † a. = scum n. 2 b. Obs.
| 1539 Elyot Cast. Helthe 33 That [water]..wherof cometh leest skymme or frothe, whan it doth boyle. a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1622) 444 Like a skimme which seetheth into the broth. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 70 Continue..your skimming so long as any skim doth arise. 1703 Art & Myst. Vintners 57 Boyl it in a Pan of Iron, take off the skim. 1764 E. Moxon Eng. Housew. (ed. 9) 171 Boil it over a slow fire, and skim it whilst any skim rises. |
† b. = scum n. 3 b.
Obs.| 1606 L. Bryskett Civ. Life 108 Although Philip took delight in this skim of men [flatterers], yet could they neuer draw him..to incurre those vices. |
c. Amer. A thin layer
of ice.
| 1807 J. R. Bedford Jrnl. 22 Jan. in Tennessee Hist. Mag. (1919) V. 50 Nothing worth noting..but the intense severity of the cold..occasioning a very thin skim of ice on the river. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. xx. 206 It never has even a skim of ice upon its surface. 1897 Daily News 10 Sept. 8/3 A frost that produced a skim of ice beyond Winnipeg. |
d. The fraction of latex which is poor in globules of rubber and is separated from the cream by centrifugation in the manufacture of rubber.
| 1928 Brit. Pat. 319,410 2/1 The concentrate contained approximately 0·07 and the skim about 0·14 per cent of ammonia. 1937 H. Barron Mod. Rubber Chem. v. 57 Latex is separated into two portions, one containing about 60 per cent of rubber and very little serum constituents, while the ‘skim’ contains about 6 per cent rubber and nearly all the serum constituents. 1952 Ann. Rep. Progress of Rubber Technol. xvi. 21 A producer of latex concentrate has described a procedure for recovering the residual rubber from centrifuge skim or cream under⁓layer. 1972 Materials & Technol. V. xiv. 471 The whey or skim obtained after the concentration of latex still contains small amounts of rubber, which can be recovered as skim rubber. |
2. a. A form of horse-hoe; a shim.
rare—1.
| 1795 Vancouver Agric. Essex 99 Horse-hoes or skims..answer particularly well for cleaning the fallows. |
b. An addition to the coulter of a plough by which the surface of the ground is pared off.
| 1799 A. Young Agric. Linc. 141 The turnips were ploughed for once, with Ducket's skim coulter plough, without the skim. 1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 416 If you attach the skim to bury the surface. 1837 Brit. Husb. II. 18 (L.U.K.), A double skim, which can be either added to the plough or removed at pleasure. 1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., There is sometimes a skim in front of the coulter which serves to turn in the weeds. |
3. ellipt. = skim-milk 1. Also
fig.| 1885 Daily News 1 Dec. 2/1 The milk is manufactured into butter and cheese,..and the ‘skim’..is not exactly the most nourishing stuff in the world. 1886 All Year Round 14 Aug. 34 But there is skim and skim, just as there is butter-milk and butter-milk. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 30 Dec. 3/1 The owners of pictures are in the habit of proffering a certain proportion of skim with their cream. |
4. a. The act of skimming or moving lightly.
| a 1851 Moir Castle of Time xxiii, For clouds on the blue air, with shadowy skim, Were rolling their faint billows. 1891 Hardy Tess (1900) 73/2 The buoyancy of her tread, like the skim of a bird which has not quite alighted. |
b. A hasty sketch or survey.
| 1889 Pall Mall G. 19 Oct. 3/3 As a careful political study, it [the book] is of little value. Delightful skims are apt to be full of fables. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
skim ice;
skim-board, a type of surf-board used for riding shallow water;
skim money slang, a portion of the takings at a casino illicitly diverted in order to evade taxes;
skim-net, a net used with a kind of skimming action;
skim-plough, a plough having a skim attached, a skim-coulter plough; hence
skim-plough vb.| 1965 P. L. Dixon Compl. Bk. Surfing 143 Riding a *skim board is simple to define, difficult to accomplish. 1972 National Geographic Nov. 688 Riding a skim⁓board, a youth glides over a comber-laved beach. |
| 1938 W. Faulkner Unvanquished 211 It lay with its body on the land and its head fixed in the *skim ice like it was set into a mirror. 1974 J. Keats Of Time & Island v. 74 You can see them [sc. fish] lying under skim ice in the shallows in the spring. |
| 1973 W. McCarthy Detail iii. 144 They used her as a courier for *skim money. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 820/2 *Skim Net (Fishing), a large dipping net. 1887 Goode Fisheries U.S. 802 Prior to 1872, shrimp were taken in this locality only with skim-nets. 1891 C. L. Morgan Anim. Sketches 135 An efficient skim-net, wherewith to capture insects on the wing. |
| 1813 A. Young Agric. Essex I. 137 The *skim-plough of the late Mr. Ducket,..and other skim coulters. 1837 Brit. Husb. II. 17 (L.U.K.), Trench and skim ploughs. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 765 The land has been recently skim-ploughed. |
Add:
[1.] e. A thin coating (
of a substance); a film.
orig. N. Amer.| 1951 W. Faulkner Requiem for Nun 227 That same white tide sweeping them in: that tender skim covering the winter's brown earth, burgeoning through spring and summer into September's white surf. 1962 M. E. Murie Two in Far North ii. viii. 178 There was only a light skim of snow as yet. 1966 D. Bagley Wyatt's Hurricane ix. 259 Then, a few miles further on, they ran into water on the road, just a skim at first, but deepening to over six inches. 1979 M. McMullen But Nellie was so Nice I. i. 12 She put on a light skim of makeup..and left the apartment gratefully. 1989 Independent 10 Aug. 6/5 The trick of adding a skim of asphalt—bitumen and stone—to provide a running surface was not invented until 1901. |
[4.] c. The action or process of skimming a profit from gambling receipts; the money taken in this way.
Cf. skim v. 2 d. Chiefly
U.S.| 1972 T. P. McMahon Issue of Bishop's Blood xiii. 152 The take in Las Vegas is on the order of eight and a half millions a week. A good chunk of that dough, the skim, goes through Gentilli's hands. 1982 Washington Post 12 Oct. a8/2 One method of obtaining this money is..to buy casinos in Nevada using front men and then insert their own personnel to effect a skim. 1984 N.Y. Times 28 Jan. i. 9/4 Cash equivalent to the spurious ‘fill’ slips was removed from the casino cashier's cage, the books were balanced and the skim was complete. 1986 T. Barling Smoke xvii. 396 OK. But we get the whole skim from the London casinos. |
[5.] skim coat Plastering = setting coat s.v. setting vbl. n. 14.
| 1895 in Funk's Stand. Dict. II. 1680/1 *Skim coat,..A thin finishing coat of plaster. 1898 Internat. Corresp. Schools Instruction Paper: Masonry ii. 137 The first layer applied is called the scratch coat; the second, the brown or finishing coat; and the third, the skim, white, or finishing coat. 1990 Do it Yourself Apr. 8/2 The beading..is not seen after the skim coat of plaster has been applied. |
▪ II. skim, a. rare.
[By inference from skim-milk.] Skimmed; made of skim-milk.
| 1794 Darke in Marshall Rev. (1810) II. 373 Where they make the skim cheese, the land is deemed too rich for one meal. 1866 Intellect. Observer No. 56. 126 Milk scant and skim. 1893 Daily News 25 Dec. 5/5 Then the problem of branding skim cheese will be solved. |
▪ III. skim, v. (
skɪm)
Also 5
skem(e,
skym(e, 7
skeam-, 6–7
skimme.
[prob. ad. OF. escumer: see scum v. The vowel may be partly due to skimmer, in which the narrowing would be assisted by the original stress on the final syllable.] I. 1. a. trans. To clear (a liquid or a liquid mass) from matter floating upon the surface, usually by means of a special utensil; to deprive (milk) of cream by this method; to deal with (a pot, etc.) in this way. Also
absol. (
Cf. scum v. 1.)
| c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 50 Þou shalt hit frye, In buttur wele skymmet wyturly. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 22 Caste alle on a potte, & skym yt. c 1450 M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 71 Þe þridde part of hony, boiled and skemed. 1548 Elyot, Despumo, to skimme or clarifie any licour. 1570 Levins Manip. 131 To Skimme, despumare. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 36 Are you not hee That..Skim milke, and sometimes labour in the querne? 1611 Cotgr., Escumer,..to skimme, or clarifie, liquor. 1744 Berkeley Siris §1 The clear water, having been first carefully skimmed. 1771 E. Haywood New Present for Maid 32 When it boils, skim it clean. 1826 Art Brewing (ed. 2) 114 Boil the first mash one hour... Then skim and cleanse. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 643 Morgiana..put the pot on the fire to make the broth, but while she was skimming it the lamp went out. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 49/1 When the lead is all melted it is skimmed, and then drawn off into the mould. |
| fig. 1618 Bolton Florus ii. vi. (1636) 105 He might not seeme to have once sipt or skimd the honour of their chastity so much as with beholding them. 1673 S'too him Bayes 115 He had rak'd hell and skim'd the devil for it. 1704 in Pennsylv. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 350, I wish we may ever be skimmed so as to leave anything pure behind. |
b. Agric. To plough (land) very lightly.
| 1799 A. Young Agric. Linc. 163 Skim it with plough very thin to make it fine. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 468 A few surface weeds appearing, he skimmed the land, without turning a furrow. |
2. a. To remove or collect by skimming. Also in
fig. context.
| 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xlvii. 387 Fairies..Feast upon the Cream, which they skim from the Milk. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 393 She..Boils in Kettles Must of Wine, and skims, With Leaves, the Dregs that overflow the Brims. 1778 H. More Florio i. Dramas, etc. 176 He lik'd those literary cooks Who skim the cream of others' books. 1887 Ruskin Præterita II. 141 We bought three cows, and skimmed our own cream. 1894 W. J. Dawson Making of Manhood 30 We forget that the newspaper skims the scum of life. |
b. To take
off or
away by skimming. Also
fig.| 1670 W. Simpson Hydrol. Ess. 86 Upon these waters..is found a kind of white cremor..; this being skim'd off [etc.]. 1744 Berkeley Let. on Tar Water §8 The oil that floated on the top and was skimmed off. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 379 Skim off the skin which will appear on the surface. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 403 The most pure part is skimmed off, and becomes fine oil. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. ii. §3. 81 The lighter and decayed seeds float, and are skimmed off. |
| fig. 1676 Hobbes Iliad xx. 456 And with his Sword he skim'd his head away Helmet and all. 1780 Cowper Progress of Error 343 To purge and skim away the filth of vice. 1926 W. R. Inge Lay Thoughts of Dean ii. x. 157 Civilisation tends to sterilise the ablest part of a nation. In each generation it skims off the cream and leaves the milk thinner. |
† c. To scoop
up as if by skimming.
Obs.—1| 1665 Fox in Bickley Life (1884) xviii. 264 The water..ran about the room so that I was fain to skim it up with a platter. |
d. To conceal or divert (some of one's earnings or takings,
freq. from gambling) to avoid paying tax on them; also
absol. Also with
off.
U.S. slang.| 1966 Nat. Observer (U.S.) 5 Sept. 7/3 Certain Las Vegas gamblers have been ‘skimming’ millions of dollars in casino winnings—taking a cut of the receipts before the tax collector had a chance to get his share. 1973 Sun (Baltimore) 24 July a7/8 Noting the frequent discrepancies in amounts of cash transferred between people and the huge sums involved, he asked: ‘Do you have any information, Mr Strachan, of anyone skimming?’ 1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xviii. 194 Gronevelt felt that hotel owners who skimmed money in the casino counting room were jerks, that the FBI would catch up with them sooner or later. |
3. a. To cover with a thin layer, as with scum.
| 1666 Dryden Annus Mirab. cxiii, Where the false tides skim o'er the cover'd Land, And Sea-men with dissembled Depths betray. 1859 Hawthorne Marble Faun xli, The Fountain of Trevi skimmed almost across with a glassy surface. |
b. intr. To put on a thin layer.
| c 1865 Mrs. Spofford Pilot's Wife in Casquet of Lit. IV. 25/2 The chocolate skimmed all over with a coat of cold oil at last. 1896 Kipling in Sat. Rev. Christmas Suppl. 1/1 The beach-pools cake and skim. |
4. To throw lightly
over or
upon the surface of something.
| 1774 Foote Cozeners iii. Wks. 1799 II. 187 Some saffron, or snuff, just skimmed over his face. 1831 Holland Manuf. Metal I. 141 Water, during the the operation, being frequently skimmed upon the surface to displace the scales. |
II. † 5. To scour (the sea, etc.);
= scum v. 2.
| c 1440 Brut ccxlv. 383 Þe erle toke his meyne, and went to schyppe, and skimmed the see,..þat no maner enymys durste rowte vpon þe see. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 573 The whiche scowryd and skymmyd y⊇ see ryght well and manfully. |
6. a. To deal with, treat, or study, in a slight and superficial manner. Also with
over (
cf. 9 c).
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1605) 179 Who, (but skimming any thing that came before him) was disciplined to leaue the through-handling of all to his gentle wife. 1665 Glanvill Def. Van. Dogm. 51 Such as love only to skim things, and have not the patience to keep their minds to a deep and close attention. 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal ii, To skim a thing over, (to pass it over slightly) effleurer une matiére [etc.]. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. i. ¶2 He had never skimmed the first principles of it [Latin]. 1850 Robertson Serm. Ser. ii. vi. (1864) 88 They skim the surface of the thought. 1876 Gladstone in Contemp. Rev. June 3 Parliament dived into the question, which the Bench had only skimmed. |
b. esp. To read rapidly or carelessly; to glance over without close attention.
| 1799 H. More Fem. Educat. (ed. 4) I. 187 The kind of books here recommended, if thoroughly studied, and not superficially skimmed. 1820 Byron Blues i. 22 Where I just had been skimming a charming critique. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. xii, The London paper.., which Harvey undertook to skim for the benefit of his friend. 1884 G. Allen Philistia II. 75 He..was skimming the telegrams in an unconcerned manner. |
7. a. To move, glide, fly or float, lightly and rapidly over or along (the ground, etc.).
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 76 Then stooping on the Meads and leafy Bow'rs, They skim the Floods. 1716 Gay Trivia ii. 232 The Ball now skims the Street. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 101 Smooth as Swallows skim The new⁓shorn Mead. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 143 One of the most rapacious little animals that skims the deep. 1809 Campbell Gert. Wyom. i. ii, The happy shepherd swains..skim, perchance, thy lake with light canoe. 1849 M. Arnold Resignation 71 The red-grouse..Skims, now and then, the shining ground. 1878 J. Buller New Zealand i. ii. 27 Wild fowl skim the surface of the water. |
| fig. 1884 Pall Mall G. 4 Apr. 5/1 Lady Duffus-Hardy..has skimmed a large expanse of country in order to cull these blossoms for our delectation. |
b. To pass over (a surface) with close approach or very slight contact.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geogr. I. 42 On that day the sun, when lowest, skims the horizon without setting. 1822 J. Imison Sci. & Art I. 414 If you now turn to the north you will find that some just skim the horizon. 1826 F. Reynolds Life & Times II. 111 The oar, instead of deeply entering the water, only slightly skimming the surface. |
8. To cause to fly lightly; to throw (a thing,
esp. one having a flat surface) so that it maintains an evenness of balance or poise in its flight.
| 1611 Cotgr., Ricochet, the sport of skimming a thinne stone on the water. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) IV. 138, I skimmed my hat after him to make him afraid for something. 1768 Woman of Honor III. 245, I took the guinea, and..the window being open, I skimmed it out. 1816 Scott Antiq. xliii, He skimmed his cocked-hat in the air. 1818 ― Hrt. Midl. i, Hearing the..voice of the guard as he skimmed forth for my grasp the expected packet. 1887 Mary Cowden Clarke Girlhood Shaks. Heroines vii. 174 To skim both bread and trencher to the other end of the hall. |
9. a. intr. To sail, glide, float, fly, run, etc., with a light and easy motion, on or close to some surface, or through the air.
In very frequent use from
c 1700.
| 1591 J. Eliot Disc. Warre 18 The little Pyrate, that did but skimme vp and downe the sea in a litle Brigandine. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 7 The winds skimming over the face of them, fannes the coole vapour all over those quarters. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 497 Sportful Coots run skimming o'er the Strand. 1705 Berkeley Cave of Dunmore Wks. 1871 IV. 507 A rivulet..skims along the side of the cave. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol iii. 287 As the slick Lev'ret skims before the Pack. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, The barges were seen skimming along the moon-light sea. 1848 Dickens Dombey xxiii, The hard glazed hat in question skimmed into the room like a bird. 1865 W. G. Palgrave Arabia II. 302 An English-built yacht skimmed by. 1886 Manch. Exam. 8 Jan. 6/1 The sleighs skim along very smoothly and lightly as long as the ponies keep their feet. |
| fig. 1704 Norris Ideal World ii. iii. 151 Others who are for skimming over the surfaces of a great many things, without going to the bottom of anything. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. I. i. x. 271 They skim lightly over the surface and never touch the greater part lying at the bottom. 1820 Scott Monast. xxxi, I hate the judgment that, like the flesh-fly, skims over whatever is sound, to detect and settle upon some spot which is tainted. 1874 H. R. Reynolds John Bapt. iii. §2. 187 The science of comparative religion skims round the outside of the region. |
b. To glance
over, without reading closely.
| 1738 Mrs. Pendarves in Mrs. Delany Lett. & Corr. (1861) I. 30 Your last letter, which..I skimmed over to satisfy myself of your health. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind i. iv, Plumeo skimmed over the pages, like a swallow over the flowery meads. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family I. 89 Why in such a hurry? Let me first just skim over the paper. 1843 Le Fevre Life Trav. Phys. I. i. i. 14 He was skimming over my introductory epistle. |
c. To pass
over lightly, without dwelling upon or treating fully.
| 1741 Watts Improv. Mind ii. viii. Wks. (1801) 234 They skim lightly over the arguments. 1765 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 430 Our blemishes and foibles.., which the eye does not willingly fix upon, but is apt to skim lightly over. 1824 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. ii. v. 263 He skims over rather than dives into the subjects of which he treats. 1884 Spectator 4 Oct. 1319/2 He is skimming over a real difficulty, which is not to be evaded by eloquent talk. |
d. To go
over lightly with the scythe.
| c 1830 Glouc. Farm Rep. 26 in Husb. III. (L.U.K.), The rank grass..is ‘skimmed over’ or mown, and made into hay for young stock in the winter. |
10. To glance
round the horizon.
| 1817 Keats I stood tip-toe 17 There was wide wandering for the greediest eye,..Far round the horizon's crystal air to skim. |
▸
trans. To copy (data on a credit card, etc.) electronically for fraudulent use.
Cf. skimming n.| 1980 Amer. Banker 17 Sept. 10/1 Information on how to produce fraudulent credit cards or skim data from magnetic tape on cards was being circulated freely in prisons. 1984 Business Week (Nexis) 15 Oct. 105 Add other forms of credit card fraud—such as ‘skimming’ information from a valid card's magnetic strip and rerecording it on another card, as can easily be done with a $30 handheld device—and losses probably hit $150 million last year. 2003 Business Rev. Weekly 14 Aug. 24/1 A gang that skimmed cards at 14 ATMs in Sydney and Melbourne last November, stealing more than $500,000 from the accounts of 500 victims. |