sift verb to move swiftly through a crowd UK Adopting conventional “sift” (to pass through a sieve), perhaps incorporating a gentle pun on “shift” (to move).
I sift fast through the crowd takin’ in the open bags an’ pockets wishin’ my fingers were fast too. Siftin’s really wha’m good at. Movin’. Skankin’. Disappearin’. — Nick Barlay, CurvyLovebox, p. 21, 1997