skew-whiff
/ˈskiː.wɪf/UK/ˈskjuː.(w)ɪf/
skew-whiff adjective: askew; lopsided, not straight.
Adjective
skew-whiff (comparative more skew-whiff, superlative most skew-whiff)
- Askew; lopsided, not straight.
- I hung up that picture, but it looks skew-whiff to me.
- “[…]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.”1971, Blackwood′s Magazine, volume 309, page 497
skew-whiff meaning in Malayalam
skew-whiff in Malayalam
- crooked, askew, lopsided
- വക്രമായ, ചരിഞ്ഞ, ഒരു വശത്തേക്കു തൂങ്ങിക്കിടക്കുന്ന, സമതുലിതമല്ലാത്ത, ഒരുവശത്തേക്കുചരിഞ്ഞ, മദ്ധ്യത്തിൽനിന്നു മാറിയുള്ള
Examples of skew-whiff in a sentence
- His genially skew-whiff posture for the camera may be intended to deflect easy attempts to get an angle on him.1997, Australian Literary Studies, volume 18, University of Tasmania, page 199:
- Johnson replied, with a shake of his massive head so vigorous that his ill-fitting wig became even more skew-whiff:[…].1999, Alan Wall, The Lightning Cage, page 4:
- 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.2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:
- 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, Charles Rawlings-Way, Meg Worby, Lindsay Brown, Paul Harding, Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin, Lonely Planet, page 112:
Synonyms of skew-whiff
Forms of skew-whiff
| comparative | more skew-whiff |
|---|---|
| superlative | most skew-whiff |
| alternative form | skew-wift |
| alternative form | skew wift |
| alternative form | skew wiff |
| alternative form | skew-wiff |
| alternative form | scew-whiff |
| alternative form | skew whift |
| alternative form | skew-whift |
| alternative form | skew whiff |
| alternative form | skewiff |
| alternative form | ski whiff |
| alternative form | squewiff |
| alternative form | skewquieff |
Origin of skew-whiff
From skew + weft. The expression 'skew weft' dates at least from the 18th century as a term used by handloom weavers, typically in northern England. It was used originally to describe fabric which was out of alignment, and the term survives today in the manufacture of glass fiber cloth. The word weft does not derive from 'whiff' as in a puff of air (as suggested elsewhere). The modern spelling comes from a corruption of 'skew-wift' whose sound developed colloquially in spoken English from the original. Bow weft also exists.
Questions about skew-whiff
- What does skew-whiff mean?
- Skew-whiff means askew; lopsided, not straight.
- What is skew-whiff in Malayalam?
- Skew-whiff in Malayalam is വക്രമായ, ചരിഞ്ഞ, ഒരു വശത്തേക്കു തൂങ്ങിക്കിടക്കുന്ന. See Skew-whiff meaning in Malayalam.
- How do you use skew-whiff in a sentence?
- His genially skew-whiff posture for the camera may be intended to deflect easy attempts to get an angle on him.
- What part of speech is skew-whiff?
- Skew-whiff is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce skew-whiff?
- Skew-whiff is pronounced /ˈskjuː.(w)ɪf/ (UK).
Words near skew-whiff in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: skew-whiff (page history and authors); skew-whiff (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-skew-whiff.ogg.
Cite this entry: “skew-whiff.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/skew-whiff. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.