When they do, the only guy who escapes is Pope, a smart-ass who has slayed a skitter or two in his day.

FORBES: Spielberg's Falling Skies Not So Original

Reindeer skitter around the pen, darting in one direction and then the other, the movement of a single nervous animal setting the herd moving again just as they start to settle.

BBC: In Sweden, a long journey home

In the early hours, sea lions often gambol in the bay, and crabs skitter across the rocks.

FORBES: On The Waterfront

Slender, sheathed in black leather, with short ebony hair sticking up in a tuft, her fingers sticking out of black woollen gloves as they skitter across a keyboard, Mara cuts through scene after scene like a swift, dark blade.

NEWYORKER: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo