Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective UK, Australia, colloquial Askew; lopsided, not straight.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb turned or twisted to one side
  • adjective turned or twisted toward one side

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably from askew

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Examples

  • But, in Michael Taylor's design, the house itself becomes a skew-whiff folly, and everything about the character of the villains is exaggerated.

    The Ladykillers – review by Michael Billington 2011

  • In the enduringly brilliant Weeds, widowed mother-of-two Nancy Botwin (played by Mary-Louise Parker, 46), reinvents herself as a morally skew-whiff drug dealer, a career choice which sets her on a collision course with clean-living best friend Celia Hodes (played with relish by fellow movie star Elizabeth Perkins, 50).

    With The Big C, Nurse Jackie and Weeds, US TV has given us women who are more than just Mistresses 2011

  • The notion that the little old Guardian, all meusli and skew-whiff hair, brown cords and backpacks has been picking on the mightiest and most powerful information machine on the planet is as laughable as it is pathetic.

    Nick Abbot: The End Of The News Of The World Nick Abbot 2011

  • And this went on and on, with people almost queuing up to take turns at this symbol of modern priorities, until she was visibly shaken, her hair in disarray, her glasses slightly skew-whiff on her nose.

    What's Going On Mark Steel 2009

  • There are certain people whose opinions are so utterly skew-whiff that I do not bother to talk to them or argue with them.

    Sheer sentimentality Helen 2006

  • Simon is a good journalist, but it looks like he got this one a little skew-whiff.

    Quick hits from Influence 2006 2006

  • Simon is a good journalist, but it looks like he got this one a little skew-whiff.

    Archive 2006-09-01 2006

  • The place looked as if it had once been a barn; all half-timbered and skew-whiff, it had a warm, friendly look and an obviously active restaurant.

    Salvage for the Saint Charteris, Leslie, 1907- 1983

  • Apart from the occasional skew-whiff line and uneven patterning, the dancers were tip-top, with Anais Chalendard, Jia Zhang and Fernanda Oliveira especially elegant in leading roles.

    Evening Standard - Home Sarah Frater 2011

  • The girl's eyes were somewhat skew-whiff and I was a little bit slow on the uptake, so when she said: "Where's the Coalition from here?"

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Graeme Archer 2012

Comments

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  • Scots - not properly aligned; awry.

    December 10, 2007