on the skids

on the skids
Skid Skid (sk[i^]d), n. [Icel. sk[=i][eth] a billet of wood. See {Shide}.] [Written also {skeed}.] 1. A shoe or clog, as of iron, attached to a chain, and placed under the wheel of a wagon to prevent its turning when descending a steep hill; a drag; a skidpan; also, by extension, a hook attached to a chain, and used for the same purpose. [1913 Webster]

2. A piece of timber used as a support, or to receive pressure. Specifically: (a) pl. (Naut.) Large fenders hung over a vessel's side to protect it in handling a cargo. --Totten. (b) One of a pair of timbers or bars, usually arranged so as to form an inclined plane, as form a wagon to a door, along which anything is moved by sliding or rolling. (c) One of a pair of horizontal rails or timbers for supporting anything, as a boat, a barrel, etc. [1913 Webster]

3. (A["e]ronautics) A runner (one or two) under some flying machines, used for landing. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

4. A low movable platform for supporting heavy items to be transported, typically of two layers, and having a space between the layers into which the fork of a fork lift can be inserted; it is used to conveniently transport heavy objects by means of a fork lift; -- a skid without wheels is the same as a {pallet}. [PJC]

5. pl. Declining fortunes; a movement toward defeat or downfall; -- used mostly in the phrase

{on the skids} and

{hit the skids}. [PJC]

6. [From the v.] Act of skidding; -- called also {side slip}. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • hit the skids — informal begin a rapid decline or deterioration * * * hit the skids see ↑skid, 2 • • • Main Entry: ↑hit hit the skids informal : to begin to fail or get worse very suddenly and quickly After he was injured his career hit the skids …   Useful english dictionary

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