of clearing the way
for more serious operations.

SKIRTS. The extreme edges of a plain, forest, shoal, &c.

SKIS-THURSDAY. "The Lady-day in Lent" of the Society of Shipwrights at
Newcastle, instituted in 1630.

SKIT. An aspersive inuendo or for fun.

SKIVER. A dirk to stab with.

SKOODRA. A Shetland name for the ling.

SKOOL. The cry along the coast when the herrings appear first for the
season: a corruption of _school_.

SKOORIE. A northern term for a full-grown coal-fish.

SKOTTEFER [Anglo-Sax. _scot_, an arrow or dart]. Formerly, an archer.

SKOUTHER. A northern name for the stinging jelly-fish.

SKOUTS. Guillemots or auks, so called in our northern islands from their
wary habits.

SKOW. A flat-bottomed boat of the northern German rivers.

SKRAE-FISH. Fish dried in the sun without being salted.

SKUA. A kind of sea-gull.

SKUNK-HEAD. An American coast-name for the pied duck.

SKURRIE. The shag, _Phalacrocorax graculus_. Applied to frightened
seals, &c.

SKY-GAZER. The ugly hare-lipped _Uranoscopus_, whose eyes are on the
crown of its head; the Italians call him _pesce-prete_, or priest-fish.
Also, a sail of very light duck, over which un-nameable sails have been
set, which defy classification.

SKY-LARKING. In olden times meant mounting to the mast-heads, and
sliding down the royal-stays or backstays for amusement; but of late the
term has denoted frolicsome mischief, which is not confined to boys,
unless three score and ten includes them.--_Skying_ is an old word for
shying or throwing.

SKYLIGHT. A framework in the deck to admit light vertically into the
cabin and gun-room.

SKYSAIL. A small light sail above the royal.

SKYSAIL-MAST. The pole or upper portion of a royal mast, when long
enough to serve for setting a skysail; otherwise a skysail-mast is a
separate spar, as _sliding gunter_ (which see).

SKY-SCRAPER. A triangular sail set above the skysail; if square it would
be a moonsail, and if set above that, a star-gazer, &c.

SLAB. The outer cut of a tree when sawn up into planks. (Alburnum.)

SLAB-LINES. Small ropes passing up abaft a ship's main-sail or
fore-sail, led through blocks attached to the trestle-trees, and thence
transmitted, each in two branches, to the foot of the sail, where they
are fastened. They are used to truss up the slack sail, after it has
been "disarmed" by the leech and buntlines.

SLACK. The part of a rope or sail that hangs loose.--_To slack_, is to
de