" Skim off "

[Radman]

Hi there,

when I examine a large number of something, especially papers, usually to find something or to decide what is important. (To quickly examine a number of stuff to find what I am looking for.)

Can I use skim off for this situation or not?

 

[Grumpy]

Better to say "Skim through".

 

[Radman]

Thank you dear Grumpy.
But is there any synonym for skim through?

 

[Mehrgan]

Not a teacher

'Sift through' ;-)

 

[Rover_KE]

'Sift through' ;-)

That is wrong, Mehrgan. Compare the meanings here. I have edited your post to state that you are not a teacher.

 

[Mehrgan]

That is wrong, Mehrgan. Compare the meanings here. I have edited your post to state that you are not a teacher.

Thanks dear Rover_KE, and I just forgot to mention I'm not a teacher. Sorry about that part.
I just suggested 'sift through' as an option for the OP.

I just didn't get the difference. Here's the example which 'sift through' was used in:

'Okay but I think we should sift through everything before we throw it away in case we're throwing away things we should keep.'

I must've missed something here!

Thanks again for the point you mentioned.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thanks dear Rover_KE, and I just forgot to mention I'm not a teacher. Sorry about that part.
I just suggested 'sift through' as an option for the OP.

I just didn't get the difference. Here's the example which 'sift through' was used in:

'Okay but I think we should sift through everything before we throw it away in case we're throwing away things we should keep.'

I must've missed something here!

Thanks again for the point you mentioned.

"Sift through" implies a more thorough search than "skim through" does. Imagine those who were sifting for gold. It was a very careful search.