Misquote: should have been "sic em Rex"

Posted by Lotg on February 10, 2004

In Reply to: Skitch 'em Rex posted by Lotg on February 09, 2004

: I've seen 2 separate definitions of the word 'skitch'.

: Word Spy says: To ride along, usually while on a skateboard or while wearing roller skates or inline skates, with a moving vehicle by holding on to the bumper or other handhold. (A blend of "skate" and "hitch".)

: Encarta says: (New Zealand) attack: to bite or attack a person or other animal ( refers to dogs ). [Origin unknown: possibly an alteration of catch].

: The latter is closer to my understanding. In fact, my headline is a quote from one of our very successful advertisements - the Ants Pants ad, where the girl lying around in her undies (Ants Pants brand) on a hot sticky night, instructs her echnidna (spiny anteater) - Rex, to skitch the ants of her errr.. nickers (using the instruction... "Skitch 'em Rex"). If you've ever seen an echidna, you'd understand why an echidna could be a girl's best friend.

: Anyway, as Encarta offers a NZ definition that's closer to our use than the Word Spy version, is this definition of 'skitch' purely a Southern Hemisphere thing? Do Northern Hemisphere people use this term and which meaning is relevant?

But despite my misquote (is that a word?), I'm still curious about the two definitions of 'skitch', which still applies.