Great Scott!

[Fred Shapiro]

On Mon, 18 Nov 2002, Michael Quinion wrote:

> A subscriber has asked me about this rather dated interjection. The
> assumption I've seen made is that it refers to Sir Walter Scott, or
> to some archetypal Scotsman. The OED has 1885. I can antedate this
> using MoA, but the real interest for me is in the associations:

The following citation from ProQuest Historical Newspapers seems to
supply at least a little evidence in support of the Winfield Scott theory:

1861 _N.Y. Times_ 22 May 4  These gathering hosts of loyal freemen, under
the command of the great SCOTT.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
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