skirt
skirt
Pronunciation
skirt /skɜːrt/
skɜːrt: /sk/ - /ɜː/ - /rt/
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: skirt
Plural Noun: skirts
Present Tense Verb (base form): skirt
Present Tense Verb (third-person singular): skirts
Present Participle Verb: skirting
Past Tense Verb: skirted
Past Participle Verb: skirted
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: A garment worn by women and girls that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs, typically without separate sections for each leg.
Synonyms: kilt, dress (when referring to the lower portion), petticoat (historically)
Antonyms: trousers, pants, shorts
Definition 2: The part of a dress or coat that hangs below the waist.
Synonyms: hem, lower portion, panel
Antonyms: bodice, top, lapel
Definition 3: The outer edge or border of an area or object.
Synonyms: periphery, edge, rim, fringe, outskirts
Antonyms: center, core, interior, middle
Verb
Definition 1: To move around the edge of something, avoiding the center or a direct confrontation.
Synonyms: avoid, bypass, circumnavigate, evade, go around
Antonyms: confront, face, enter, penetrate, meet
Definition 2: To be located along the border or edge of something.
Synonyms: border, flank, lie along, abut
Antonyms: penetrate, bisect, cut through
Examples of Use
Books:
"She wore a long, flowing skirt that brushed the tops of her sandals as she walked." (From "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett, originally published 1911)
"The path began to skirt the edge of the forest, offering glimpses of the valley below." (From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, published May 1998)
Newspapers:
"The city council voted last night to skirt the controversial parking issue until next month's meeting." (The Guardian)
"A new fashion trend sees designers experimenting with pleated skirts for all seasons." (The New York Times)
Online Publications:
"How to style a denim skirt for any occasion: our top tips." (Vogue.com)
"Analysts believe the company will try to skirt around the new regulations by reclassifying its products." (TechCrunch)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: In "Clueless" (1995), Cher famously wears a yellow plaid skirt suit.
Music: The song "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" by Cake (released 2001) features the lyric, "I want a girl with a short skirt and a loooong jacket."
Television: On an episode of "The Great British Baking Show," a contestant might be heard saying, "I need to skirt the edge of this tart with the pastry." (BBC, various dates)
Video Games: In "Grand Theft Auto V," players can choose to customize their character's attire with various skirts. (Rockstar Games)
General Public Discourse:
"Be careful; that car is trying to skirt around the traffic jam on the shoulder."
"I love that floral skirt you're wearing today!"
"The new bypass will skirt the town, reducing congestion in the center."
10 Quotes Using Skirt
"A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest." (Winston Churchill)
"If you wear a short enough skirt, the party will come to you." (Dorothy Parker)
"Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt." (Shirley Chisholm)
"Fashion is born by small facts, trends, or even politics, never by trying to make little pleats and furbelows, by trinkets, by clothes easy to copy, or by the shortening or lengthening of a skirt." (Elsa Schiaparelli)
"Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things." (Ebbe Skovdahl)
"Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn't allowed in a photo because I wasn't wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport." (Billie Jean King)
"She wore a short skirt and a tight sweater and her figure described a set of parabolas that could cause cardiac arrest in a yak." (Woody Allen)
"Any asshole can chase a skirt, art takes discipline." (Charles Bukowski)
"We were emerging from the period of war, of uniforms, of women-soldiers built like boxers. I drew women-flowers, soft shoulders, fine waists like liana and wide skirts like corolla." (Christian Dior)
"The devil gets up to the belfry by the vicar's skirts." (Thomas Fuller)
Etymology
The word "skirt" has a fascinating journey through languages!
It comes from an Old Norse word, "skyrta," which meant a "shirt" or "tunic." This Old Norse word itself is related to words in other Germanic languages, like Old English "scyrte" (which also meant shirt) and Old High German "scurz" (meaning short).
So, the very first known use and meaning of the word's ancestor was something like a loose, shirt-like garment.
Over time, when "skyrta" made its way into English, it eventually evolved into our modern "skirt." It's interesting how the meaning shifted from a top garment (shirt) to specifically the lower part of a garment or a separate lower garment for women. The "short" connection in its Germanic roots likely played a role in how it eventually came to refer to something that skirts or goes around, as in the edge or border of something.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Skirt
Skirt the issue: To avoid dealing with the main point or topic.
Skirt around: To go around something rather than through it, either literally or figuratively to avoid a direct confrontation.
Skirt the law/rules: To adhere to the letter of the law or rules, but not necessarily the spirit; to avoid directly breaking them while still achieving a desired (often questionable) outcome.
On the skirt of: Located at the edge or periphery of something.
To lift one's skirt: (Often figurative, sometimes literal) To reveal something private or hidden; to expose oneself or an issue.
To have a short skirt: (Referring to a person) To be perceived as sexually provocative. (This is often considered outdated or offensive).
To tug at someone's skirt: To try to get someone's attention, often in a persistent or slightly annoying way, especially in a dependent manner.
To get a rise out of someone's skirt: To provoke an angry or emotional reaction from someone, particularly if they are generally reserved or difficult to upset. (Less common)
The skirts of an argument: The peripheral or less important aspects of a debate. (Original phrase)
To be tied to one's mother's skirt: To be overly dependent on one's mother. (Similar to "tied to one's mother's apron strings")
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of skirt from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
