Skew.

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tufguy

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Could you please tell me the meaning of the word "skew". I am confused about its meaning and usage so could you please help?
 

Rover_KE

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...and 780 examples in fraze.it of its use in a variety of contexts should be enough for a start.
 

tufguy

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"Tim's car was parked skewed."

"He walked in a skewed manner."

"This dumbbell should be lifted up skewed not straight."

Please check.
 

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The car was parked "askew."
 

emsr2d2

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Tom skewed the survey results to back up his original claim.
 

tufguy

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Tom skewed the survey results to back up his original claim.

Do they both mean the same? Are they interchangeable?

"This frame is a little skewed."

"The car was parked skew (why not skewed here?)."

"Tim's hat was a little skewed."

"He lifted that box skewed not straight."
 

emsr2d2

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tufguy

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"This frame is a little askewed."

"The car was parked askew (why not askewed here?)."

"Tim's hat was a little askewed."

"He lifted that box askewed not straight
 

emsr2d2

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We didn't say that "skewed" should be "askewed". We only said that "skew" should be "askew".
 

tufguy

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We didn't say that "skewed" should be "askewed". We only said that "skew" should be "askew".

Sorry to bother you but sorry I didn't get your point.
 

emsr2d2

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The picture was hanging askew.
He parked the car skewed.
She skewed the result in his favour.

"Askewed" does not exist.
 

tufguy

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"This frame is a little askew."

"The car was parked skewed (can we also say askew?)."

"Tim's hat was a little askew."

"He lifted that box askew not straight."
 

emsr2d2

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The first three are OK for me. The fourth doesn't work. We don't "lift something askew". "Askew/skewed" describe something stationary.
 

tufguy

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The first three are OK for me. The fourth doesn't work. We don't "lift something askew". "Askew/skewed" describe something stationary.

So what is the way to say this for moveable things (like dumbell, boxes etc)?

Can askew be replaced by skewed?

You are saying these words are used for something stationary (that means fixed) but we used it for car and hat. Could you please tell why?
 
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emsr2d2

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We can use them because we are describing a stationary car and a stationary hat. The car has already been parked. It was parked by someone and they left it in a skewed position. The hat has already been put on Tim's head. It is no longer moving. It is sitting at a skewed angle on his head.
 

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Crooked (adjective) and crookedly (adverb) are much more common. You should be able to recognize skew and askew, but you're likely to sound odd if you use them. Your example sentences are not very natural.
 
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Skew is easy to understand and use correctly if you learn and remember its meaning in geometry:

Skew lines are lines that do not lie in the same plane.

Other usages derive from that meaning. Some usages which have become quite common derive from a very inexact/incorrect understanding of that meaning.
 

tufguy

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Crooked (adjective) and crookedly (adverb) are much more common. You should be able to recognize skew and askew, but you're likely to sound odd if you use them. Your example sentences are not very natural.

What is the way to make them sound natural?
 

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"Tim's car was parked skewed."

"He walked in a skewed manner."

"This dumbbell should be lifted up skewed not straight."

Please check.

What is the way to make them sound natural?

Tim's car was parked crookedly.

He walked crookedly.


The last one is more challenging because I don't understand what you have in mind. Maybe This dumbbell should be held at an angle when you lift it.
 

tufguy

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Tim's car was parked crookedly.

He walked crookedly.


The last one is more challenging because I don't understand what you have in mind. Maybe This dumbbell should be held at an angle when you lift it.

No, dumbbell should be lifted straight but the person who is lifting dumbbell is lifting it crookedly. Can Crookedly be used for both stationary and non stationary thing?
 
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