skew-whiff
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈskjuː.(w)ɪf/
  • (AU) IPA: /ˈskjuː.(w)ɪf/
Adjective

skew-whiff

  1. (UK, Australia, NZ, colloquial) Askew; lopsided, not straight.
    I hung up that picture, but it looks skew-whiff to me.
    • 1971, Blackwood′s Magazine, Volume 309, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ek0nAQAAIAAJ&q=%22more|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.”
    • 1984, Punch, Volume 286, Part 1, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1doeAQAAMAAJ&q=%22more|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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=iOkKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22skew-whiff%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22skew-whiff%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=F-Wkfa467b&sig=EkVOKe-F2CqXPDE7S_iOoxxgIMI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uKVMUKStGOiwiQfN84GwBA&redir_esc=y 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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6WdbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22more|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, The Line of Beauty, 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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=bPd5YW6arVAC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=%22skew-whiff%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=5lSnvxP5PN&sig=HVQaJq0QFz81DckBpRiSOo-sNng&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uKVMUKStGOiwiQfN84GwBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22skew-whiff%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false 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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=M57hfGo4OyAC&pg=PA530&lpg=PA530&dq=%22skew-whiff%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=LEsUzNJmtD&sig=1PzBGI8Zp4Pv7BWDNdkSKykqkHo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uKVMUKStGOiwiQfN84GwBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22skew-whiff%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 530],
      The Cat is a large, comfortable space with a great atmosphere and skew-whiff 1950s decor (a Melbourne trademark).
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