Skive/Skive off

To skive or skive off is British informal to shirk work or malinger and dates from the early 20th century. The origin is unknown although there are some unproven theories. These range from WWI slang derived from the French esquiver which means to slink away, as the French soldiery did in great numbers during the 1917 mutinies. Another theory is that it derives from an earlier dialectical word skive, meaning to shave small slivers or strips off something e.g. leather, wood etc. The problem with this is the expression to shave off work, meaning to avoid work is fairly recent and appeared long after the word skive was established.