skinder, verb intransitive

/ˈskənə//ˈskɪnə/
Forms:
Also skinner.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, to slander, gossip, tattle. The combinations originated in Afrikaans, formed on skinder verb (the Afrikaans noun, ‘gossip’, being skindery).
colloquial
1. To gossip.
1942 M.G. Gilbert Informant, Cape Town, Western Cape 8 Feb. 1I went up to her losieshuis at twelve, after I’d been at office — Had lunch, and sat sewing and skinnering till tea-time.
1959 J. Meiring Candle in Wind 96The women may discuss Lena and ‘skinder’ about her. But the men are silent. They keep their own thoughts.
1974 ‘Blossom’ in Darling 8 May 91Ouma as usual, is off skindering behind some bushes with her main mates.
1975 Scope 16 May 20The poor fellow..would spend an uncomfortable evening in the second row..wondering what his wife and Mireille were skindering about.
1979 Darling 83I love talking,..and I’m a terrible gossip. In fact that’s what the law in Parliament is all about — to stop me gossiping. I love skinnering.
1981 C. Van Wyk in Bloody Horse No.4, 59I was standing on the first storey of the block of flats listening to the women cackle and skinder between the lines of washing below.
1988 M. Nel in Personality 25 Apr. 54We may quarrel and ‘skinner’ (gossip) among ourselves, but when someone is in trouble everyone arrives to help.
1988 ‘K. Lemmer’ in Weekly Mail 2 Dec. 15We’re back in business, kêrels, so let’s skinner!
1991 Weekly Mail 24 May 15What he possessed was a common touch...He could drink and skinner with the best of us and had a rough-diamond wit, which was given to barbed sideswipes.
2. combinations
skinderbek/-bek//bɛk/, plural skinderbekke/-kə/, [Afrikaans, bek mouth], a scandalmonger; also attributive;
skinder stories/-stɔːriz//-stʊəris/ [English or Afrikaans stories], often in political contexts, malicious rumour, gossip; scandal stories.
1959 J. Meiring Candle in Wind 90Perhaps that will teach you not to believe everything that old skinderbek says!
1976 S. Lynne Beloved VikingI can see madam isn’t a skinder-bek and won’t say bad things about another person.
1985 D. Kramer in Cosmopolitan May 102A rebellious boereseun whose name was causing fever blisters to break out on the lips of the local skinderbek association.
1987 Sunday Times 1 Mar. 17It’s amazing where gossiping on a stoep can get you these days. Those wonderful skinderbekke of TV’s ‘Kooperasie Stories’ are making a bid for the big time.
1974 Sunday Times 6 Oct. 9Kies said he was sick and tired of sensational ‘skinderstories’ about his private life.
1978 Sunday Times 1 Oct. 17Dr Mulder’s men remain scornful of the clinging stain of the Information debacle, calling it ‘skinderstories’.
1979 Daily Dispatch 12 Dec. 1She said she had beaten Nosipo because she had spread ‘skinder stories’ about her.
1980 Daily Dispatch 24 Mar. 6Later came Dr Wassenaar’s book proving the material cost of apartheid (38 billion). ‘Skinderstories’ said Mr Vorster in Parliament.
1989 D. Watts on M-Net TV 29 Oct.Skinner-stories at the very highest level.
1990 Weekend Mail 13 July 5I suppose that most of the skinder-stories about the habits of the middle-class blacks were fabrications by jealous people.
To gossip.
Derivatives:
Hence skinderer  noun, gossiper; skindering  verbal noun and skindering  participial adjective, gossiping.
1980 E. Prov. Herald 1 Oct. 17Defending the threat..to sue anybody who came forward with unfounded allegations about the industry, Mr W—..said Dr L— could not allow ‘skinnering’ to continue.
1981 Sunday Times 25 Oct. 20After naughty ‘skindering’ between the two, brunette model Pat W— had slapped blonde model Jennifer G—..in the mouth.
1982 E. Prov. Herald 31 Aug. 15Who has not squirmed at that skindering in post office and voorkamer,..at that canny tongue, that sharp ear.
1990 Weekly Mail 14 Sept. 7Journalists are a skinnering lot, it’s true, but this week quite a few of them will be hoping they weren’t overheard.
1993 M. Glaser Unquiet Love 19I heard the dismembering of at least five persons who had somehow got on the wrong side of the skinderers...Ouma’s voice was as raspy as a true skinderer’s voice should be.
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19421993
skinder, nounn.skipjack, nounn.
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