/skreed/ , n.
1. a long discourse or essay, esp. a diatribe.
2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.
3. Building Trades.
a. a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface.
b. a wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like.
c. a board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.
4. Brit. Dial. a fragment or shred, as of cloth.
5. Scot.
a. a tear or rip, esp. in cloth.
b. a drinking bout.
v.t. , v.i.
6. Scot. to tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.
[ 1275-1325; ME screde torn fragment, irreg. (with sc- for sh- ) repr. OE screade SHRED ]