# scumming

Pronunciation: say "SKUM-ing" /ˈskʌmɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The practice of reloading a saved game, or restarting it, so as to play on with a better outcome than the first attempt produced.
   - Simple: Loading an old save or starting a game again to get a better result.
   - _Purists sneer at the scumming that lets players reload until every dice roll goes their way._
   - _The game deletes your save when your character dies, precisely to stop scumming._
2. The scum that is skimmed off the surface of a liquid.
   - Simple: The dirty foam or layer that is taken off the top of a liquid.
3. The tactic of gathering easy rewards in areas that pose little challenge, as when a high-level character returns to the early levels of a roguelike game.
   - Simple: Getting easy prizes in easy parts of a game, like a strong player going back to early levels.
   - _Hours of scumming on the shallow floors had left his warrior rich but no stronger._
   - _Veteran players dismiss that kind of scumming as a waste of a good character._
4. A buildup of sticky ink on a printing plate.
   - Simple: A sticky layer of ink that builds up on a printing plate.
   - _Scumming on the plate meant the blank margins came out faintly tinted._
   - _The pressman blamed the scumming on a poor balance between ink and water._

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 4** — Formed from scum + -ing.
**Meanings 1, 3** — Probably from skimming, altered under the influence of the derogatory sense of scum.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/scumming (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).