disapproval If a person or organization creams off a large amount of money, they take it and use it for themselves. This means smaller banks can cream off big profits during lending booms
disapproval To cream off part of a group of people means to take them away and treat them in a special way, because they are better than the others. The private schools cream off many of the best pupils
[ 'krEm ] (noun.) 14th century. Middle English creime, creme, from Middle French craime, cresme, from Late Latin cramum, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh cramen scab, crust.