skewer

Etymology 1

From Middle English skeuier, skuer, likely a variant of Middle English *skever, *skiver (compare Modern English skiver), probably of North Germanic origin, compare Icelandic skífa (“to slice”), Norwegian skive, Swedish skiva, Swedish skifer (“a slate”).

noun

1. A long pin, normally made of metal or wood, used to secure food during cooking.
2. Food served on a skewer.
3. (chess) A scenario in which a piece attacks a more valuable piece which, if it moves aside, reveals a less valuable piece.
   Coordinate term: pin

verb

1. To impale on a skewer.
2. (chess) To attack a piece which has a less valuable piece behind it.
3. (figurative) To severely mock or discredit.
   Parody, in its purest form, is an act of both mockery and appreciation. True masters of the practice possess a bone-deep understanding of their targets; they skewer because they love—or at least, because they’ve done their homework. 26 June 2014, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-07
   A journalist outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday displaying one of the many tabloid covers skewering Mr. Johnson. 2022-01-13, Mark Landler, “U.K. Monarchy and Government Plunge Into Simultaneous Crises”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, image caption

Etymology 2

From skew + -er.

noun

1. (rare) That which skews something.

adj

1. comparative form of skew: more skew