A skiff of....

[bearfinch]

The other day I used the term "a skiff of snow" in a quick post about a thin layer light fluffy snow that was covering everything outside. Predictably, I had one response asking me about my use of the word "skiff" to describe snow

Comments

[pagerbear]

I have no objection to its use. I just hadn't seen it before.

[bearfinch]

I've heard about it for years, from my mother.

[pharmbear]

It's in my Merriam Webster unabridged dictionary as a light dusting of snow. It's my bible and it validates the use of the word.

[bearfinch]

Good. Some dictionaries I checked only listed skiff as a small boat. That's how my dad was insisting it be used.

[gullinbursti]

I'd never heard or seen it before but the OED confirms it -- it says that meaning is chiefly Scots, and the first usage goes back to 1819 in a Scottish context.

[bearfinch]

That would kind of make sense then. There's quite a few people of scotch or scotch-irish ancestry in Ontario, especially just north of Toronto, where I grew up. The expression gets used there all the time.