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skid
the skids
1. The framework that is attached to the side of a ship when loading or unloading cargo. The last of the boxes are on the skids now.
2. slang A period of trouble or decline. The team started the season so well, but they've really hit the skids now. I think Marissa and I are going to break-up soon, we're on the skids.
be on the skids
To be in jeopardy and likely to end or fail. Of course their relationship is on the skids, they fight all the time! Our project is on the skids because the committee pulled their funding.
grease the skids
Fig. to help prepare for or ease the way for the success or failure of someone or something. Ray set out to grease the skids for the right things to happen. We need someone to grease the skids for the Wilson contract.
hit the skids
Fig. to decline; to decrease in value or status. Jed hit the skids when he started drinking. The firm hit the skids when the dollar collapsed.
on the skids
Sl. on the decline. My newly started business is on the skids. Her health is really on the skids, but she stays cheery anyway.
put the skids on (something)
Sl. to cause something to fail. They put the skids on the project when they refused to give us any more money. That's the end of our great idea! Somebody put the skids on.
put the skids under someone or something
Sl. to cause someone or something to fail. Her lateness put the skids under our presentation to the board of directors. He thought he could get promoted if he put the skids under the vice president.
skid across something
to slip or glide across something, such as ice or wet pavement. The car skidded across the pavement and crashed into a tree. Our bus skidded across the icy bridge and ran into a ditch on the other side.
skid into someone or something
to slip or glide into someone or something. The bicycle skidded into a pedestrian. The car skidded into a guard rail.
hit the skids
to fail
His career really hit the skids after his divorce. Usage notes: often used in the form on the skids ( failing): I can't believe that a whole industry is on the skids.
hit the skids
1. (Australian informal) to leave a place quickly When his ex-girlfriend arrived at the party Ben really hit the skids.
2. (Australian informal) to make a vehicle stop very suddenly A car suddenly pulled out in front of us and Jake hit the skids.
3. (Australian informal) to get into a very bad situation, especially by losing your money, home, or job Poor old Dennis has really hit the skids since he split up with his wife.
skid row
(mainly American informal) a poor area in a city where people who have no jobs and homes live in cheap rooms or sleep outdoors She works as a social worker with alcoholics on skid row. (mainly American informal)
be on the skids
(informal) to be having a lot of problems and be likely to fail I hear their space programme is on the skids.
put the skids under somebody/something
(British & Australian informal) to make something likely to fail Opposition from local residents has put the skids under plans for a new nightclub.
See hit the skidson the skids
In the process of decline or ruin, as in If she quit now, her career would be on the skids. The skids here are runners such as those on a sled, enabling one to go downhill quickly. [c. 1920]
put the skids on
Bring to a halt, as in The school committee put the skids on the idea of a dress code. The word skid here probably refers to a shoe or drag that applies pressure to the wheel of a vehicle to prevent it from moving.
put the skids under
Bring about the failure or defeat of, as in It was lack of funds that put the skids under the new senior center. The skids here are runners or rollers on which a heavy object may be moved. [Colloquial; early 1900s]
skid row
A squalid district inhabited by derelicts and vagrants; also, a life of impoverished dissipation. For example, That part of town is our skid row, or His drinking was getting so bad we thought he was headed for skid row. This expression originated in the lumber industry, where it signified a road or track made of logs laid crosswise over which logs were slid. Around 1900 the name Skid Road was used for the part of a town frequented by loggers, which had many bars and brothels, and by the 1930s the variant skid row, with its current meaning, came into use.
grease the skids
tv. to help prepare for the success or failure of someone or something. (see also
put the skids under someone/something.)
Ray set out to grease the skids for the right things to happen. hit the skids
tv. to decline; to decrease in value or status; to go downhill (figuratively). Jed hit the skids when he started drinking.
on the skids
put the skids under someone/something
tv. to cause someone or something to fail. (see also
on the skids.)
The mayor put the skids under my plan. skid marks
n. unclean, brownish marks on one’s underpants. Just looking at him, you know he’s the type who has skid marks and enjoys popping zits.
skid row
n. the name for a place populated with ruined alcoholics and other down-and-out people. Just because they’re on skid row, it doesn’t mean they’re beyond help.
skid row bum
n. a down-and-out person; a low alcoholic beggar. Do you want to end up a skid row bum?
skid-lid
n. a motorcycle helmet. The law has no business telling me I gotta wear a skid-lid.
put the skids on
Slang To bring to a halt: "Sacrificing free speech to put the skids on prurient printed matter is not the correct path, the courts said" (Curtis J. Sitomer).
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Balcher | | ['ba:ltʃə] | |
| Boyer | | ['bəujə] | |
| Xander | | KSAHN-dər (Dutch), ZAN-dər (English) | Dutch, English (Modern) |
| Nyoman | | - | Indonesian, Balinese |
| Mahthildis | | - | Ancient Germanic |
| Raymond | | RAY-mənd (English), re-MAWN (French) | English, French |