Part 441

Sketch, v. i. To make sketches, as of landscapes.

Sketch"book`, n. A book of sketches or for sketches.

Sketch"er (?), n. One who sketches.

Sketch"i*ly (?), adv. In a sketchy or incomplete manner. "Sketchily descriptive." Bartlett.

Sketch"i*ness, n. The quality or state of being sketchy; lack of finish; incompleteness.

Sketch"y (?), a. Containing only an outline or rough form; being in the manner of a sketch; incomplete.

The execution is sketchy throughout; the head, in particular, is left in the rough.

J. S. Harford.

Skew (?), adv. [Cf. D. scheef. Dan. ski&?;v, Sw. skef, Icel. skeifr, G. schief, also E. shy, a. & v. i.] Awry; obliquely; askew.

Skew, a. Turned or twisted to one side; situated obliquely; skewed; -- chiefly used in technical phrases.

Skew arch, an oblique arch. See under Oblique. -- Skew back. (Civil Engin.) (a) The course of masonry, the stone, or the iron plate, having an inclined face, which forms the abutment for the voussoirs of a segmental arch. (b) A plate, cap, or shoe, having an inclined face to receive the nut of a diagonal brace, rod, or the end of an inclined strut, in a truss or frame. -- Skew bridge. See under Bridge, n. -- Skew curve (Geom.), a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve. See Plane curve, under Curve. -- Skew gearing, or Skew bevel gearing (Mach.), toothed gearing, generally resembling bevel gearing, for connecting two shafts that are neither parallel nor intersecting, and in which the teeth slant across the faces of the gears. -- Skew surface (Geom.), a ruled surface such that in general two successive generating straight lines do not intersect; a warped surface; as, the helicoid is a skew surface. -- Skew symmetrical determinant (Alg.), a determinant in which the elements in each column of the matrix are equal to the elements of the corresponding row of the matrix with the signs changed, as in (1), below.

(1) 0 2 -3-2 0 53 -5 0 (2) 4 -1 71 8 - 2-7 2 1

This requires that the numbers in the diagonal from the upper left to lower right corner be zeros. A like determinant in which the numbers in the diagonal are not zeros is a skew determinant, as in (2), above.

Skew (?), n. (Arch.) A stone at the foot of the slope of a gable, the offset of a buttress, or the like, cut with a sloping surface and with a check to receive the coping stones and retain them in place.

Skew, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Skewed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Skewing.] 1. To walk obliquely; to go sidling; to lie or move obliquely.

Child, you must walk straight, without skewing.

L'Estrange.

2. To start aside; to shy, as a horse. [Prov. Eng.]

3. To look obliquely; to squint; hence, to look slightingly or suspiciously. Beau. & Fl.

Skew, v. t. [See Skew, adv.] 1. To shape or form in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.

2. To throw or hurl obliquely.

Skew"bald` (?), a. Marked with spots and patches of white and some color other than black; -- usually distinguished from piebald, in which the colors are properly white and black. Said of horses.

Skew"er (?), n. [Probably of Scand, origin; cf. Sw. & Dan. skifer a slate. Cf. Shuver a fragment.] A pin of wood or metal for fastening meat to a spit, or for keeping it in form while roasting.

Meat well stuck with skewers to make it look round.

Swift.

Skew"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Skewered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Skewering.] To fasten with skewers.

Skid (skd), n. [Icel. skð a billet of wood. See Shide.] [Written also skeed.] 1. A shoe or clog, as of iron, attached to a chain, and placed under the wheel of a wagon to prevent its turning when descending a steep hill; a drag; a skidpan; also, by extension, a hook attached to a chain, and used for the same purpose.

2. A piece of timber used as a support, or to receive pressure. Specifically: (a) pl. (Naut.) Large fenders hung over a vessel's side to protect it in handling a cargo. Totten. (b) One of a pair of timbers or bars, usually arranged so as to form an inclined plane, as form a wagon to a door, along which anything is moved by sliding or rolling. (c) One of a pair of horizontal rails or timbers for supporting anything, as a boat, a barrel, etc.