<verb.change> the lines on the sheet of paper are skewed [ adj ]
having an oblique or slanting direction or position
<adj.all> the picture was skew
Skew \Skew\, n. (Arch.) A stone at the foot of the slope of a gable, the offset of a buttress, or the like, cut with a sloping surface and with a check to receive the coping stones and retain them in place.
Skew \Skew\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Skewed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Skewing}.] 1. To walk obliquely; to go sidling; to lie or move obliquely.
Child, you must walk straight, without skewing. --L'Estrange.
2. To start aside; to shy, as a horse. [Prov. Eng.]
3. To look obliquely; to squint; hence, to look slightingly or suspiciously. --Beau. & Fl.
Skew \Skew\, adv. [Cf. D. scheef. Dan. ski?v, Sw. skef, Icel. skeifr, G. schief, also E. shy, a. & v. i.] Awry; obliquely; askew.
Skew \Skew\, a. Turned or twisted to one side; situated obliquely; skewed; -- chiefly used in technical phrases.
{Skew arch}, an oblique arch. See under {Oblique}.
{Skew back}. (Civil Engin.) (a) The course of masonry, the stone, or the iron plate, having an inclined face, which forms the abutment for the voussoirs of a segmental arch. (b) A plate, cap, or shoe, having an inclined face to receive the nut of a diagonal brace, rod, or the end of an inclined strut, in a truss or frame.
{Skew bridge}. See under {Bridge}, n.
{Skew curve} (Geom.), a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve. See {Plane curve}, under {Curve}.
{Skew gearing}, or {Skew bevel gearing} (Mach.), toothed gearing, generally resembling bevel gearing, for connecting two shafts that are neither parallel nor intersecting, and in which the teeth slant across the faces of the gears.
{Skew surface} (Geom.), a ruled surface such that in general two successive generating straight lines do not intersect; a warped surface; as, the helicoid is a skew surface.
{Skew symmetrical determinant} (Alg.), a determinant in which the elements in each column of the matrix are equal to the elements of the corresponding row of the matrix with the signs changed, as in (1), below. ※ (1) 0 2 -3-2 0 53 -5 0 (2) 4 -1 71 8 -2-7 2 1
Note: This requires that the numbers in the diagonal from the upper left to lower right corner be zeros. A like determinant in which the numbers in the diagonal are not zeros is a skew determinant, as in (2), above.
Skew \Skew\, v. t. [See {Skew}, adv.] 1. To shape or form in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
2. To throw or hurl obliquely.
These Democratic class-warriors routinely skew their assumptions to show that the tax cut costs the government money and benefits only "the rich." Meanwhile, Treasury is also stumbling on the international front.
Rock 'n' roll wasn't used because lyrics could skew a person's true response to the music, she said.
The association says that to include the total amounts paid for those products, which are relatively new, would skew the statistics.
"The president's priorities are out of skew when he's focusing on Nicaragua and Panama but will not use the same public media in order to try to describe what the problems are with our own economy," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.
CAFE doesn't skew competition, since it applies to everyone.
Mason chalks some of the differences up to unusual situations in a handful of states that skew the numbers the Democrats' way, and topping his "unusual list" is Herb Kohl.
There is nothing inherently wrong with such a skew, but it is one for which Republicans have a natural affinity and from whom it is only natural.
Analysts said the category swings widely from month to month because one or two large projects can skew the total.
However, nonrecurring items continued to skew results at many companies.
Neither does Ingrid Correa of Berlin, who said it is the abundance of goods spanning vast price spectrums - and the high jumps in a handful of once-subsidized staples - that skew the grocery bills.
Despite the sharp split in opinions, few money managers or strategists are recommending that investors skew their portfolios entirely toward stocks or competing investments, such as bonds.