Wiktionary
skim off
vb. to separate (the best part of something from the regular part)
WordNet
Usage examples of "skim off".
Especially when there were five or six owners quarreling about how much they should skim off the top.
He tested it against his palm and found it sharp-edged enough to skim off a layer of skin.
The enterprising ones would skim off their share, and if they were smart and wished to enjoy their lives, they'd learn how to ski and play golf.
These guys skim off the top, but my guess is DeChooch isn't getting a lot.
I can think of four or five core systems where we could easily skim off single SD squadrons and order them to the capital .
I can think of four or five core systems where we could easily skim off single SD squadrons and order them to the capital .