skim

skim
   to embezzle or extort
   On a regular basis, like cream from milk:
    ... the two brokers set up the 'skimming' operation mainly dealing in overseas shares through overseas brokers and charging the Kuwait organization inflated prices. (Daily Telegraph, 16 April 1994 — they were alleged to have stolen some £2 million)
   It is also American gambling jargon:
    Skimming is the term used to describe the removal of gambling revenues before they are counted for state or Federal taxes. (Daily Telegraph, September 1979)
   A skim is a bribe or other sum regularly received in one of these ways:
    A skim of a hundred and eighty was damned thin for a bull lieutenant. (Weverka, 1973)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • əskimə — «Əskimək»dən f. is …   Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti

  • skim — [skım] v past tense and past participle skimmed present participle skimming [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: Perhaps from scum to remove scum (14 19 centuries), from scum (noun)] 1.) [T] to remove something from the surface of a liquid, especially… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • skim — skim; skim·mel·ton; skim·mia; skim·ming; skim·ming·ly; skim·ming·ton; skim·mi·ty; skim·ble skam·ble; skim·mer; skim·mer·ton; …   English syllables

  • skim — [skɪm] verb skimmed PTandPPX skimming PRESPARTX [transitive] also skim off to take money illegally, for example by not saying that you have made profits so that you do not have to pay tax: • He was accused of s …   Financial and business terms

  • skim — [ skım ] verb 1. ) intransitive or transitive to move quickly over the surface of something, or to make something do this: We stood on the bridge watching swallows skimming the water. skim across/over: Water skiers skimmed across the bay. a )… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • skim — /skim/, v., skimmed, skimming, n. v.t. 1. to take up or remove (floating matter) from the surface of a liquid, as with a spoon or ladle: to skim the cream from milk. 2. to clear (liquid) thus: to skim milk. 3. to move or glide lightly over or… …   Universalium

  • Skim — (sk[i^]m), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Skimmed} (sk[i^]md); p. pr. & vb. n. {Skimming}.] [Cf. Sw. skymma to darken. [root]158. See {Scum}.] 1. To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Skim — Skim, a. Contraction of {Skimming} and {Skimmed}. [1913 Webster] {Skim coat}, the final or finishing coat of plaster. {Skim colter}, a colter for paring off the surface of land. {Skim milk}, skimmed milk; milk from which the cream has been taken …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Skim — may refer to:*Skimming (reading), a high speed reading process *Skimboarding, a sport which involves riding a board on wet sand or shallow water *Skimming (casinos), a practice in which organized crime took part of the take collected by casinos… …   Wikipedia

  • skim — [skim] vt. skimmed, skimming [ME skimen, prob. akin to SCUM] 1. a) to clear (a liquid) of floating matter b) to remove (floating matter) from a liquid 2. to coat or cover with a thin layer [a pond skimmed with ice] …   English World dictionary

  • Skim — Skim, v. i. 1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface. [1913 Webster] Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o er the unbending corn, and skims along the main. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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