"SCOT-FREE"?
"Scot" is a very old word which stood ! for a toll or tax; and "Scot and lot" j was an old expression used of a citi-! Zen of a town, or as we should say, a ratepayer, his "lot" meaning his allot- . ment or assessment and the "scot" anv other levy in general, rates and taxes, so to write. "Scot-free," then, first ! really meant tax-free, but gradually its ! sense was extended to stand for" any , reckoning or price, so that the man who ,1 "gets off scot-free" is the one who escapes without paying the penalty or 1 price. "Scot"' by itself, oddly, * has ! passed right out of our general talk.' and it is only in this particular phrase! that we generally remember it. ■
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 102, 1 May 1940, Page 16
Word Count
125"SCOT-FREE"? Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 102, 1 May 1940, Page 16
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