1301
Skinner, B.F.
skid¹ /skɪd/ v -dd- [I] (of a vehicle or wheel) to slip or slide sideways, especially uncontrollably: If the road's icy it's easy to skid. | He came skidding round the corner on his motorbike.
skid² n 1 [usually sing.] an act or path of skidding: I put the brakes on and the car went into a skid. (=started skidding) | There were skid marks on the road where the van had crashed. 2 a bladelike part which in some aircraft is used in addition to wheels for landing on: helicopter skids 3 [usually pl.] also pallet AmE — a piece of usually wood placed under a heavy object to raise it off the floor or to move it 4 on the skids infml certain to fail or come to an end: I hear their marriage is on the skids. 5 put the skids under infml to cause to fail
skid-pan /'skɪdpæn/ n BrE a prepared slippery surface where drivers practise controlling skidding vehicles
skid row /ˌskɪd 'rəʊ/ n [on] U] AmE infml a poor dirty part of a town where unemployed and drunk people gather: He's headed for skid row, for sure.
ski-er /'ski:ə/ n 1 a person who SKIs: downhill skiers in the Olympics | She's a good skier. 2 infml a person who WATER SKIs
skiff /skɪf/ n a small light boat for rowing or sailing by one person
skif-fle /'skɪfəl/ n [U] especially BrE music popular in the late 1950s, based on US FOLK music and played partly on instruments made by the performers
'ski in,struc·tor n a person who teaches people to SKI
CULTURAL NOTE The stereotype of a ski instructor is a man who is tall and attractive, and enjoys all of the sexual attention he gets from the women he teaches.
'ski jump n (a competition for jumping on SKIs at high speed from) a steep downward slope ending in a cliff
skil-ful usually skillful AmE /'skɪlfəl/ adj having or showing skill; ADEPT: a skilful pianist/negotiator | her skilful handling of a delicate situation —ly adv
'ski lift n a power-driven endless wire rope with seats for carrying people to the top of a slope to SKI
skill /skɪl/ n [C,U] (a) special ability to do something well, especially as gained by learning and practice: Reading and writing are two different skills. | a course that teaches basic computer skills/management skills | He handled the negotiations with great skill. | a painter of great skill
skill-cen-tre /'skɪl,sentə/ n a government training centre for young people in Britain, to help them find jobs
skilled /skɪld/ adj [(in, at)] having or needing skill: We need skilled workers/workers skilled in welding for this job; it's a highly skilled job. → opposite UNSKILLED
skil-let /'skɪlɪt/ n AmE for FRYING PAN → see picture at PAN
skim /skɪm/ v -mm- 1 [T(off, from)] to remove (floating fat or solids) from the surface of a liquid: She skimmed (off) the cream from the milk. | (fig.) Does private education skim off all the best students from the state system? 2 [I(through, over);T] to read quickly to get the main ideas: I've skimmed (through) the report but I haven't had time to look at it in detail. 3 [+adv/prep;T] to (cause to) move quickly along a course near or touching (a surface): Birds skimmed (over) the waves looking for food. | The plane skimmed the treetops. | He was idly skimming flat stones across the surface of the pond. —mer n
,skimmed 'milk also 'skim milk n [U] milk from which the cream has been removed
skimp /skɪmp/ v [(on);T] to spend, provide, or use less of (something) than is really needed: When you make this dish, don't skimp (on) the cream. (=use lots of it)
skimp-y /'skɪmpi/ adj that has been skimped on; not enough; SCANTY: It was a skimpy meal, with hardly enough for everyone. | a skimpy dress (=very short and/or tight) | skimpy evidence —ily adv —iness n [U]
skin¹ /skɪn/ n 1 [U] a) the natural outer covering of an animal or human body, from which hair may grow: Babies have soft skin. | a skin disease | I was out in the thunderstorm, and I got absolutely soaked to the skin. (=extremely wet) | (fig.) He won't worry about the criticism; he's got a pretty thick skin. (=is not easily upset) b) the skin on one's face: My skin's very bad at the moment. (=my face is very dry or especially very SPOTTY) | skin problems → see also SKINCARE, THIN-SKINNED 2 [C,U] (sometimes in comb.) the skin of an animal for use as leather, fur etc: It takes a lot of skins to make a fur coat. | a sheepskin jacket 3 [C] a) a natural outer covering of some fruits and vegetables: banana skins | onion skins → see picture at FRUIT b) the outer covering of a SAUSAGE 4 [C;U] the solid surface that forms over a liquid when it gets cool or is left in the air: Do you like skin on your rice pudding? 5 [C] tech an outer surface built over a structure: Aircraft wings have metal or cloth skins. 6 by the skin of one's teeth infml only just; with very little additional time or space: We had to run for the train, and caught it by the skin of our teeth. 7 get under someone's skin infml to annoy or excite someone deeply 8 no skin off someone's nose infml not something that upsets or causes disadvantage to someone: If she won't accept my help that's her problem – it's no skin off my nose. 9 skin and bone(s) infml very thin: The poor little dog was all skin and bone. 10 under the skin beneath the outside appearance; at heart: We may be of different races but we're sisters under the skin. 11 it's no skin off my/our nose also it's no skin off my/our back AmE spoken used in order to say that you do not care about something that has happened, or do not care what someone thinks or does, because it does not affect you: He can sell the car if he likes – it's no skin off my nose, I never use it. | It's no skin off our back if they raise prices – we'll just raise ours. 12 give/slip me some skin slang said when you hit someone's hand with your hand to show that you are happy about something or happy to see them, often used by young men: What's happening, man? Give me some skin! | Slip me some skin – we showed them how it's done. 13 -skinned /skɪnd/ having the stated type or colour of skin: smooth-skinned | fair-skinned → see also THICK-SKINNED, THIN-SKINNED, save one's skin (SAVE)
skin² v -nn- [T] 1 to remove the skin from: to skin a deer/an onion | (fig., infml) He'll skin you alive (=punish you very severely) if he finds out what you've done. 2 to hurt by rubbing off some skin: I skinned my knee when I fell. → see also keep one's eyes skinned (EYE) 3 there's more than one way to skin a cat infml there are more ways or methods of getting something done. This phrase, often changed, is usually used to suggest that there is a different, possibly illegal, way of doing something when the usual method is not possible: He won't move out of the house, and the lawyers can't help, but there's more than one way of skinning a cat!
skin-care /'skɪnkeə/ adj, n [U] (the act of) looking after one's skin, especially the skin of a woman's face: our new range of skincare products
,skin-'deep adj [F] not going deep; only on the surface; SUPERFICIAL: Their differences of opinion are only skin-deep; they basically share the same beliefs.
'skin-dive v [I] to swim under water without heavy breathing apparatus and not wearing a protective suit: We're going skin-diving to look at the coral reef. —skin diver n —skin diving n [U]
'skin flick n slang a film showing a lot of sex
skin-flint /'skɪnˌflnt/ n derog someone who dislikes spending or giving money; MISER
skin-ful /'skɪnfʊl/ n [S] BrE infml an amount of alcohol to make one drunk: He must have had a skinful; he can hardly walk in a straight line!
'skin graft n an operation to repair a burn, wound etc, by taking a piece of healthy skin to put in place of the damaged skin
skin-head /'skɪnhed/ n (especially in Britain) a young person, usually male, with hair that is shaved off (SHAVE) or cut very short, especially one of a group that sometimes behaves violently. Male skinheads often wear heavy boots such as DOC MARTENS ®, BRACES, and an EARRING in one ear: A gang of skinheads terrorized the holidaymakers.
skin-less /'skɪnləs/ adj not having a skin, especially a SKIN
Skin-ner, B.F. /'skɪnə/ (1904–90) a US PSYCHOLOGIST (=a scientist who studies the way the human mind works) who developed the ideas of BEHAVIOURISM. He did a lot of EXPERIMENTS, especially with animals, to see how they behave in certain situations and how they can be trained to change their behaviour. He also invented 'programmed learning', a teaching method which influenced the way that languages