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Google and the thesaurus aren't helping, unfortunately.

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    Search on "skosh"
    – mfe
    Commented Apr 17, 2011 at 5:28
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    @mfe that's it exactly! You should post that as an answer so that I can accept it.
    – Zikes
    Commented Apr 18, 2011 at 12:49

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I believe that the term comes from the Japanese 'sukoshi' which means a little, or a small amount. As a carpenter in Canada, we used the term a lot and after I moved to Japan and became familiar with the language, it occurred to me one day, that I already knew that particular word.

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    World Wide Words confirms.
    – RegDwigнt
    Commented Apr 17, 2011 at 10:40
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    As does the Straight Dope.
    – Alex
    Commented Apr 18, 2011 at 21:15
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    +1. I grew up hearing this in rural Indiana. Many years later I began studying Japanese. Years after that it occurred to me, "You know, skosh sounds an awful lot like sukoshi! What a funny coincidence!" Then, a few months ago, the realization hit me...
    – Arkaaito
    Commented Aug 17, 2015 at 8:42
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I am not sure of the origin, but if you google "skosh" you'll find plenty of stuff. It's one of those words I often describe as "cute farmer talk."

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