be on the skids
To be in jeopardy and likely to end or fail. Of course their relationship is on the skids, they fight all the time! Our project is on the skids because the committee pulled their funding. Did you hear that Bill and Maria are on the skids?
grease the skids
To work to prepare something for success. You've done everything you could to grease the skids—now, it's time to open your online store and hope for the best. If you didn't study at all, you certainly didn't grease the skids ahead of your exams. You've submitted all the paperwork the government requested? Then you've greased the skids already.
hit the skids
To experience a period of trouble or decline. The team started the season so well, but they've really hit the skids recently. I think Marissa and I are going to break up soon—we've hit the skids. Don't expect them to get a deal done because negotiations have hit the skids, apparently.
on skid row
In utter poverty or squalid circumstances. It's amazing that, after nearly five years on skid row, he's now one of the biggest names in show business.
on the skids
Experiencing a period of trouble, difficulty or decline. The team started the season so well, but they've been on the skids for the last few games. Marissa and I are really on the skids lately—I think a breakup is inevitable at this point.
put the skids on (something)
To cause something to halt, cease, or fail. His criminal record has so far put the skids on every job he's applied for. The CEO quickly put the skids on the proposal for better employee benefits.
put the skids under (someone or something)
To cause the ruin, failure, or defeat of someone or something. Her frequent absences from work put the skids under any hopes she had of a promotion. The boss accused Theresa of trying to put the skids under him.
skid across (something)
1. To slide, slip, or skim along the surface of something. I fell while I was wakeboarding and skidded 30 feet across the water. A huge truck smashed into the car and sent it skidding across the interstate.
2. To cause someone or something to slide, slip, or skim along the surface of something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "skid" and "across." The shuffleboard player skidded the disk across the court in an attempt to knock his opponent's disk out of the scoring area. The mechanical bull flung me off and skidded me across the barroom floor.
skid into (someone or something)
1. To collide with someone or something after sliding, slipping, or skimming along some surface. I hit the brakes as hard as I could, but I could stop the car from skidding into the driver in front of me. A crate fell out of the back of the van and skidded into a woman on the sidewalk.
2. To cause someone or something to collide with someone or something else after sliding, slipping, or skimming along some surface. The shuffleboard player skidded his disk into his opponent's in an attempt to knock it out of the scoring area. The force of the impact skidded me into the people watching in the front row of the court.
3. To enter into some place or area after sliding, slipping, or skimming along some surface. The collision caused the bus to turn over on its side and skid into the intersection. I lost my balance as I turned on my bike and skidded into a drainage ditch beside the sidewalk.
4. To cause someone or something to enter into some place or area after sliding, slipping, or skimming along some surface. The shuffleboard player skidded his disk into his opponent's in an attempt to knock it out of the scoring area.
skid lid
A padded used to protect the head of someone riding a bicycle, motorcycle, or other similar means of transportation. I wound up with a broken arm and some bruised ribs, but thank God I was wearing my skid lid, or it could have been a lot worse! Look at that guy! Zipping through red lights, weaving in and out of traffic, and not even wearing a skid lid!
skid mark
slang A mark or streak of feces on the inside of one's underpants. You can wash the skid marks out of your own underwear, thank you very much. Stop scratching your butt like that. You're going to end up with a skid mark!
skid row
1. A squalid area of poverty and destitution, typically inhabited by those suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction. When they hosted the Olympics, the city was criticized for rounding up the homeless and keeping them all contained on skid row.
2. A life marked by poverty and squalid circumstances. It's amazing that, after nearly five years on skid row, he's now one of the biggest names in show business.
skid-row bum
A person reduced to abject poverty and squalid living conditions, especially an alcoholic or drug addict. He used to run one of the most successful companies in the city, but then the market crashed and he wound up as a skid-row bum. I have to walk by a couple skid-row bums on my way to work who always beg for my spare change.
the skids
1. The framework that is attached to the side of a ship when loading or unloading cargo. The last of the boxes are on the skids now.
2. slang A period of trouble or decline. The team started the season so well, but they've really hit the skids now. I think Marissa and I are going to break-up soon, we're on the skids.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
grease the skids
Fig. to help prepare for or ease the way for the success or failure of someone or something. Ray set out to grease the skids for the right things to happen. We need someone to grease the skids for the Wilson contract.
hit the skids
Fig. to decline; to decrease in value or status. Jed hit the skids when he started drinking. The firm hit the skids when the dollar collapsed.
on the skids
Sl. on the decline. My newly started business is on the skids. Her health is really on the skids, but she stays cheery anyway.
put the skids on (something)
Sl. to cause something to fail. They put the skids on the project when they refused to give us any more money. That's the end of our great idea! Somebody put the skids on.
put the skids under someone or something
Sl. to cause someone or something to fail. Her lateness put the skids under our presentation to the board of directors. He thought he could get promoted if he put the skids under the vice president.
skid across something
to slip or glide across something, such as ice or wet pavement. The car skidded across the pavement and crashed into a tree. Our bus skidded across the icy bridge and ran into a ditch on the other side.
skid into someone or something
to slip or glide into someone or something. The bicycle skidded into a pedestrian. The car skidded into a guard rail.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
on the skids
In the process of decline or ruin, as in If she quit now, her career would be on the skids. The skids here are runners such as those on a sled, enabling one to go downhill quickly. [c. 1920]
put the skids on
Bring to a halt, as in The school committee put the skids on the idea of a dress code. The word skid here probably refers to a shoe or drag that applies pressure to the wheel of a vehicle to prevent it from moving.
put the skids under
Bring about the failure or defeat of, as in It was lack of funds that put the skids under the new senior center. The skids here are runners or rollers on which a heavy object may be moved. [Colloquial; early 1900s]
skid row
A squalid district inhabited by derelicts and vagrants; also, a life of impoverished dissipation. For example, That part of town is our skid row, or His drinking was getting so bad we thought he was headed for skid row. This expression originated in the lumber industry, where it signified a road or track made of logs laid crosswise over which logs were slid. Around 1900 the name Skid Road was used for the part of a town frequented by loggers, which had many bars and brothels, and by the 1930s the variant skid row, with its current meaning, came into use.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.