Meaning
A tiny amount; a bit or smidgen, almost always used in the phrase 'a skosh' and often adverbially, as in 'move over a skosh' or 'a skosh too salty'. It is casual American English with a folksy, mid-century military flavor. Casual and a touch nostalgic; nearly always appears as 'a skosh' modifying a verb or adjective. Regional use: General English (borrowed from Japanese via U.S. military slang).
Origin
A clipping of Japanese sukoshi 'a little, a few, some', brought home as Korean War-era American armed forces slang; Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to 1952, and the Online Etymology Dictionary likewise ties it to the Korean War. Like 'honcho', it is a linguistic souvenir of the postwar U.S. military presence in Japan and Korea. From service slang it spread into general American speech, where it still does duty as a lightweight synonym for 'tad' or 'smidgen', typically in the frame 'a skosh'.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a skosh
- skoshe
- sukoshi
Usage Examples
- The batter needed a skosh more sugar, so I added a teaspoon and tasted again.
- Could you move your chair a skosh to the left so the stroller fits past?
- He felt a skosh nervous before the recital, but the applause settled him down.