This is Westcountry slang dating back to before the First World War. Skates are very slippery fish and the name was applied to people who had slippery natures in that they were untrustworthy, would try to avoid giving information or were just not very likeable. The use of the name expanded to include people who were wheeler dealers or people who do a lot of ducking and diving but no actual work. The name is disparaging but at the same time may hold just a hint of reluctant admiration. It is, however, a warning as a skate has no conscience and is totally unscrupulous and untrustworthy. The term is believed to have been used extensively by the British armed forces and was used to describe someone who was a slippery customer, fishy and who avoided their share of the work.
A military term for, dicking around and avoiding working in your shop. Most of the time you are supposed to skate around away from your supervisors and to other shops or the bathroom. Max skate time would be around 15 min.
Hey where's smith at?
I think he's skating in the smoke pit again.
Well if he's going to skate he better have a fucking clipboard
to not work. doing a leisure activity during a time where regular work is supposed to be done. term commonly used in the military. can be used as skater, skated, skating.
I was supposed to fix that trucktoday, but I decided to skate instead.
Nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes. Origin is reportedly from members of the US Coast Guard in the area of Southern Florida.
A sunburn or suntan focused on the left arm. It is caused by the left side of the body being the only half that gets exposed to sunlight while driving. Presumably, it would be located on the right side of the body in countries where they drive on the left side of the road.
I had a trucker's tan after driving for 10 straight hours on a sunny day.
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”
Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing peecalculus.