— skiddingly , adv.
/skid/ , n. , v. , skidded, skidding .
n.
1. a plank, bar, log, or the like, esp. one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
2. one of a number of such logs or timbers forming a skidway.
3. a low mobile platform on which goods are placed for ease in handling, moving, etc. Cf. stillage .
4. a plank, log, low platform, etc., on or by which a load is supported.
5. Naut.
a. any of a number of parallel beams or timbers fixed in place as a raised support for boats, spars, etc.
b. any of a number of timbers on which a heavy object is placed to be shoved along on rollers or slid.
c. an arrangement of planks serving as a runway for cargo.
d. an arrangement of planks serving as a fender to protect the side of a vessel during transfer of cargo.
e. sidewise motion of a vessel; leeway.
6. a shoe or some other choke or drag for preventing the wheel of a vehicle from rotating, as when descending a hill.
7. a runner on the under part of some airplanes, enabling the aircraft to slide along the ground when landing.
8. an unexpected or uncontrollable sliding on a smooth surface by something not rotating, esp. an oblique or wavering veering by a vehicle or its tires: The bus went into a skid on the icy road.
9. on the skids , Slang. in the process of decline or deterioration: His career is on the skids.
10. put the skids under , Informal. to bring about the downfall of; cause to fail: Lack of money put the skids under our plans.
11. the skids , Informal. the downward path to ruin, poverty, or depravity: After losing his job he began to hit the skids.
v.t.
12. to place on or slide along a skid.
13. to check the motion of with a skid: She skidded her skates to a stop.
14. to cause to go into a skid: to skid the car into a turn.
v.i.
15. to slide along without rotating, as a wheel to which a brake has been applied.
16. to slip or slide sideways, as an automobile in turning a corner rapidly.
17. to slide forward under the force of momentum after forward motion has been braked, as a vehicle.
18. (of an airplane when not banked sufficiently) to slide sideways, away from the center of the curve described in turning. Cf. slip 1 (def. 15).
[ 1600-10; 1925-30 for def. 11; appar. skith (n.), c. OE scid thin slip of wood; see SKI ]
Syn. 12, 15. slip. 16. slither.