APAD: scot free

Meaning:

    To escape without incurring payment or without punishment.

 

Background:

   Dred Scott was a black slave born in Virginia, USA in 1799. In several

   celebrated court cases, right up to the USA Supreme Court in 1857, he

   attempted to gain his freedom. These cases all failed but Scott was later

   made a free man by his so-called owners, the Blow family. Knowing this, we

   might feel that we don't need to look further for the origin of the phrase

   `scot free'. Many people, especially in the USA, are convinced that the

   phrase originated with the story of Dred Scott.

 

   The etymology of this phrase shows the danger of trying to prove a case on

   circumstantial evidence alone. In fact, the phrase has nothing to do with Mr.

   Scott.

 

   Given the reputation of Scotsmen as being careful with their money we might

   look to Scotland for the origin of `scot free'. Wrong again, but at least we

   are in the right part of the world now. `Skat' is a Scandinavian word for tax

   or payment and the word migrated to Britain and mutated into `scot' as the

   name of a redistributive taxation, levied as early the 10th century as a form

   of municipal poor relief.

 

   `Scot' as a term for tax has been used since then in various forms - Church

   scot, Rome scot, Soul scot and so on. Whatever the tax, the phrase `getting

   off scot free' simply refers to not paying one's taxes.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

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Okay. Next time at the checkout of a duty-free store, I'll ask for confirmation,

e.g., "Is it true that I can bag the shortbread and haggis scot free?"

Nice one (didn't know theOrigin b4)! Thx 7G. Guess there

r always the "tricky lucky" ones. ;-))

You're welcome. I like it too. Is "tricky lucky" a phrase?

So scot free is tax free,not 零元购

oh no, I just made it up, like "gooster" ;-)

Originally yes but it has evolved from "tax-free" to 零元购.

'gooster' is a goodster :-)

我附近开了家华人超市，与cashier混熟了，她们见多识广，好多老外买grocery没有钱，一连几个信用卡全都刷刷爆了，

我们买一袋半价清理干净的鱼，就是有人买了以后没钱付，超市自认倒霉。但很多都外表光鲜，

Good to know. Here in SF, theft under $950 goes scot-free.

Thieves were caught and released the next day.

if not, what can be done? Feed them with free meal in jail?

The cashier may not know the phrase:) I didn't know till now

I think they have to work in prison.

Same here. It might be confusing :-)

学习了。有趣的来历。