skate over

British  

verb

1. to cross on or as if on skates

2. to avoid dealing with (a matter) fully

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skate over Idioms  

1. Treat superficially or hurriedly, avoid mentioning, as in He concentrated on the main points of the contract and skated over the details. This idiom transfers the gliding motion of skating to dealing with something in a cursory way. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

skate over

Yes, we might tell friends in the pub about an illness or operation, but we often skate over things.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2022

Donskoi had been the first to skate over to the Kraken bench to high-five teammates – as the goal-scorer typically does – only to later learn his shot had actually deflected off Jaden Schwartz.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2021

Even a “Foret Perdue” on the way back through Trois-Rivières where you can skate over Zambonied ice paths through miles of frosted forest.

From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2018

Milly, struggling to write a eulogy for her father: “And what do I do about the wives? I mean, two you can skate over, but four’s straying into comedy, isn’t it?”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 11, 2016

It ‘There are literary-critical and theological questions over whether it occurs to Satan that there’s the possibility of repentance, but we’ll skate over those here. “

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith