What it means
A skiver is the mate who always vanishes the second there’s real work to do. It’s the person doing a skive, dodging school, shifts, chores, anything remotely effortful, and leaving everyone else to graft. Usually said as a mild insult, but sometimes with grudging respect when the disappearing act is flawless. You’ll hear it at work or in school constantly.
Usage examples
"Where’s Dave? Said he was popping out for a sarnie, but he’s been missing since ten. Absolute skiver, hiding in the bog on TikTok."
"He's a right skiver, always nipping out for a fag when the hard graft starts."
"Don't be a skiver, it's your turn to do the washing up."
"You clocked him yet? Funny how the skiver was glued to his chair till the boxes needed shifting."
"Miss gave us one group task and Liam pulled a full skiver, disappeared to fill his bottle for twenty minutes."
Where it comes from
Skiver is straight-up British slang built from skive, meaning to dodge work, school, or any bit of effort you can wriggle out of. Skive is widely traced back to French esquiver, meaning to dodge or evade. By the late 19th and early 20th century, it was well rooted in British slang, and skiver naturally followed for the person doing it.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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