Definition of skives:
(v) :
(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) To avoid one's lessons or work (chiefly at school or university); shirk.
(n) :
(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) An act of avoiding lessons or work.
(n) :
(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Something very easy, where one can slack off without penalty.
(v) :
To pare or shave off the rough or thick parts of.
(n) :
An angled cut or bevel at the edge of something.
(n) :
A rotating iron disk coated with oil and diamond dust used to polish the facets of a diamond.