Skew-whiff
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈskjuË.(w)ɪf/
- AU IPA: /ˈskjuË.(w)ɪf/
Alternative forms
Origin
Probably from askew
Full definition of skew-whiff
Adjective
skew-whiff
- (UK, Australia, colloquial) Askew; lopsided, not straight.I hung up that picture, but it looks skew-whiff to me.
- 1971, Blackwood′s Magazine, Volume 309, most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22more|most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=kVxnCC5c51&sig=aelLeQg73KINy3PBC277IIbZPSg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N6BMUKuwLbGUiQfwx4CYCQ&redir_esc=y page 497,“...I′ve just been looking up at them and it seems to me that Cassiopeia′s Chair is a bit more skew-whiff than usual. Either it′s been moved or we′re heading the wrong way.â€
- 1984, Punch (magazine), Volume 286, Part 1, most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22more|most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=sQPh9NsCbo&sig=HpSRcNtyPqqUp54r3JqIXT3YYlE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N6BMUKuwLbGUiQfwx4CYCQ&redir_esc=y page 87,I nudged him to remember what was surely the best day of his life—when he had walked serenely through the milling throng, moist-eyed, and sheepish grin more skew-whiff than ever, in the starling-shrieking, jabbering cockpit of that tumbledown stadium at Delhi on Christmas Eve in 1981.
- 1997, University of Tasmania, Australian Literary Studies, Volume 18, page 199,His genially skew-whiff posture for the camera may be intended to deflect easy attempts to get an angle on him.
- 1999, Alan Wall, The Lightning Cage, most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22more|most+skew-whiff%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=Epcqd6mU1y&sig=nXSdIzaCeBf9lb2lCh_IB9o7Vak&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N6BMUKuwLbGUiQfwx4CYCQ&redir_esc=y page 4,Johnson replied, with a shake of his massive head so vigorous that his ill-fitting wig became even more skew-whiff:....
- 2005, Alan Hollinghurst, , Bloomsbury Publishing, paperback edition, 401,He wasn′t wearing shoes or a jacket and tie, and his front stud was undone, so that the white collar stood up skew-whiff.
- 2009, Charles Rawlings-Way, Meg Worby, Lindsay Brown, Paul Harding, Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin Lonely Planet, page 112,In a gorgeous old stone-fronted house at a skew-whiff angle to the road, this main-street, mainstream eatery serves big breakfasts, pizzas, burgers, lasagne, focaccias, bruschetta and salads.
- 2009, Justine Vaisutis, Australia, Lonely Planet, page 530,The Cat is a large, comfortable space with a great atmosphere and skew-whiff 1950s decor (a Melbourne trademark).