shears vs skive

shears

noun
  • A tool consisting of two blades with bevel edges, connected by a pivot, used for cutting cloth, or for removing the fleece from sheep etc. 

  • Anything resembling a pair of shears in shape or motion, such as a pair of wings. 

  • The bedpiece of a machine tool, upon which a table or slide rest is secured. 

  • An apparatus for raising heavy weights, and especially for stepping and unstepping the lower masts of ships. It consists of two or more spars or pieces of timber, fastened together near the top, steadied by a guy or guys, and furnished with the necessary tackle. Also sheers. 

skive

noun
  • An angled cut or bevel at the edge of something. 

  • An act of avoiding lessons or work. 

  • A rotating iron disk coated with oil and diamond dust used to polish the facets of a diamond. 

  • Something very easy, where one can slack off without penalty. 

verb
  • To avoid one's lessons or work (chiefly at school or university); shirk. 

  • To pare or shave off the rough or thick parts of. 

How often have the words shears and skive occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )