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

“You’ve got to sort of glide over it. You have to skate over it.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2021

If you win an Oscar, car hops will skate over with your statue, which would have a suction cup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2021

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