Great Scott - wikipedia Great Scott Jump to : navigation , search This article is about the exclamation . For other uses , see Great Scott ( disambiguation ) . Look up great Scott in Wiktionary , the free dictionary . Great Scott ! is an interjection of surprise , amazement , or dismay . As a distinctive but inoffensive exclamation , popular in the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century , and now considered dated . It originates as a minced oath , historically associated with two specific `` Scotts '' , notably Scottish author Sir Walter Scott and somewhat later in the United States , US general Winfield Scott . Contents ( hide ) 1 Origins 1.1 Sir Walter Scott 1.2 Winfield Scott 2 Later usage 3 References Origins ( edit ) It is frequently assumed that Great Scott ! is a minced oath of some sort , Scott replacing God . The 2010 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English labels the expression as `` dated '' and simply identifies it as an `` arbitrary euphemism for Great God ! '' . Alternatively , but similarly , it has been suggested that it may be a corruption of the Austrian greeting Grüss Gott . In keeping with the Victorian - era origin of the phrase , it is sometimes anecdotally associated with Albert , Prince Consort . Sir Walter Scott ( edit ) An early reference to Sir Walter Scott as the `` great Scott '' is found in a poem entitled `` The Wars of Bathurst 1830 '' published in The Sydney Monitor on 27 October 1830 ( i.e. still during Scott 's lifetime ) ; the pertinent line reading `` Unlike great Scott , who fell at Waterloo '' , in reference to Scott 's poorly - received The Field of Waterloo An explicit connection of Sir Walter Scott 's name with the by - then familiar exclamation is found in a poem published 15 August 1871 , on the centenary anniversary of Scott 's birth : Whose wild free charms , he chanted forth Great Scott ! When shall we see thy like again ? Great Scott ! Mark Twain also uses the phrase to reference Sir Walter Scott and his writing . Twain 's disdain for Scott is evident in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur 's Court ( 1889 ) , in which the main character repeatedly utters `` great Scott '' as an oath , and in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ( 1884 ) , where he names a sinking boat the Walter Scott . Winfield Scott ( edit ) John William De Forest , in Miss Ravenel 's Conversion From Secession to Loyalty ( 1867 ) reports the exclamation as referring to Winfield Scott , general ‐ in ‐ chief of the U.S. Army from 1841 to 1861 : `` I follow General Scott . No Virginian need be ashamed to follow old Fuss and Feathers . We used to swear by him in the army . Great Scott ! the fellows said . '' The general , known to his troops as Old Fuss and Feathers , weighed 300 pounds ( 21 stone or 136 kg ) in his later years and was too fat to ride a horse . A May 1861 edition of The New York Times included the sentence : These gathering hosts of loyal freemen , under the command of the great SCOTT . The phrase also appears in a 3 May 1864 diary entry by Private Robert Knox Sneden ( later published as Eye of the Storm : a Civil War Odyssey ) : ' Great Scott , ' who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861 -- 2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ' John Brown 's Body ' . In the July 1871 issue of The Galaxy , in the story `` Overland '' , the expression is again used by author by J.W. DeForest : `` Great -- Scott ! '' he gasped in his stupefaction , using the name of the then commander - in - chief for an oath , as officers sometimes did in those days . Later usage ( edit ) The phrase has the ring of being somewhat `` dated , '' suggestive of the nineteenth century or generally an old - fashioned minced oath . Twentieth - century publications frequently use it to suggest such a context , as , for example , in the Rathbone -- Bruce Sherlock Holmes films ( said by Dr. Watson ) , Silver Age comics ( especially Superman ) , the television series Dennis the Menace ( said by Mr. Wilson ) , The Rocky Horror Picture Show , The Lion , the Witch , and the Wardrobe ( end of chapter six ) , and the Back to the Future films ( Dr. Emmett Brown ) . It was also said in A Christmas Story as Ralphie is in line to see Santa Claus , and in the episode `` When The Rat 's Away , The Mice Will Play '' from the Batman TV show , said by Adam West ( Batman ) . Scrooge McDuck uses it in DuckTales Remastered . It is also used in `` The Laughing Fish '' , an episode of Batman : The Animated Series , by a one - time character voiced by George Dzundza when The Joker enters his office . The Joker , voiced by Mark Hamill , quips , `` Actually I 'm Irish . '' In Half - Life 2 , Dr. Kleiner says it when he first sees Gordon Freeman in the game . In The Office episode `` Valentine 's Day '' , Michael Scott uses the phrase `` Great Scott ! '' at the end of his home - made `` The Faces of Scranton '' video . `` Great Scott Film Industries '' is the name of his imaginary film company , and the logo includes a lightning bolt and a headshot of Steve Martin and Robin Williams . The phrase is said by Doc Spencer at the end of Danny the Champion of the World , by Aunt Sponge in James and the Giant Peach and by Miss Trunchbull in Matilda . It was also used in Legends of Tomorrow by Dr. Martin Stein ( in the episode `` Marooned '' ) , in Peter Pan 2 by Captain Hook , and in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Gilderoy Lockhart . A large basalt rock collected by astronaut David Scott on the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971 is informally known as Great Scott . References ( edit ) Jump up ^ The suggestion dates to at least the 1950s . `` Great Scott ( Punch Alm. 1930 , S. 43 ) , in Bayern USA - seitig 1954 f. identifiziert mit Grüß Gott , ist literarisch selten . '' Wiener Beiträge zur englischen Philologie 64 - 65 ( 1956 ) , p. 204 . Jump up ^ `` The Wars of Bathurst 1830 '' . The Sydney Monitor . National Library of Australia . 27 October 1830 . p. 3 Edition : Afternoon . Retrieved 5 April 2014 . The poem is mock - heroic , and casts the `` meeting between S * * * * r and Sons and some bushrangers '' in terms of a great battle , about which the fame of a poet might be based , unlike Scott 's poem , which was considered one of his weakest works . Jump up ^ `` '' Scott 's Centenary `` , 15 August , 1871 '' . The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia . 15 August 1871 . p. 5 . Retrieved 5 April 2014 . Jump up ^ Miss Ravenel 's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty , New York : Harper & Brothers , 1867 , p. 40 ^ Jump up to : `` World Wide Words : Great Scott '' . World Wide Words . Michael Quinion. 21 December 2002 . Retrieved 2009 - 01 - 28 . Jump up ^ The Galaxy , vol. 12 , July 1871 , p. 53 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Scott&oldid=836166840 '' Categories : English phrases Interjections Hidden categories : CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Use dmy dates from July 2013 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 13 April 2018 , at 02 : 00 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . 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where does the expression scott free come from
Look up great Scott in Wiktionary , the free dictionary . Look up great Scott in Wiktionary , the free dictionary . Great Scott ! is an interjection of surprise , amazement , or dismay . As a distinctive but inoffensive exclamation , popular in the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century , and now considered dated . It originates as a minced oath , historically associated with two specific `` Scotts '' , notably Scottish author Sir Walter Scott and somewhat later in the United States , US general Winfield Scott . It is frequently assumed that Great Scott ! is a minced oath of some sort , Scott replacing God . The 2010 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English labels the expression as `` dated '' and simply identifies it as an `` arbitrary euphemism for Great God ! '' . Alternatively , but similarly , it has been suggested that it may be a corruption of the Austrian greeting Grüss Gott . In keeping with the Victorian - era origin of the phrase , it is sometimes anecdotally associated with Albert , Prince Consort . An early reference to Sir Walter Scott as the `` great Scott '' is found in a poem entitled `` The Wars of Bathurst 1830 '' published in The Sydney Monitor on 27 October 1830 ( i.e. still during Scott 's lifetime ) ; the pertinent line reading `` Unlike great Scott , who fell at Waterloo '' , in reference to Scott 's poorly - received The Field of Waterloo An explicit connection of Sir Walter Scott 's name with the by - then familiar exclamation is found in a poem published 15 August 1871 , on the centenary anniversary of Scott 's birth : Whose wild free charms , he chanted forth Great Scott ! When shall we see thy like again ? Great Scott ! Whose wild free charms , he chanted forth Great Scott ! When shall we see thy like again ? Great Scott ! Mark Twain also uses the phrase to reference Sir Walter Scott and his writing . Twain 's disdain for Scott is evident in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur 's Court ( 1889 ) , in which the main character repeatedly utters `` great Scott '' as an oath , and in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ( 1884 ) , where he names a sinking boat the Walter Scott . John William De Forest , in Miss Ravenel 's Conversion From Secession to Loyalty ( 1867 ) reports the exclamation as referring to Winfield Scott , general ‐ in ‐ chief of the U.S. Army from 1841 to 1861 : `` I follow General Scott . No Virginian need be ashamed to follow old Fuss and Feathers . We used to swear by him in the army . Great Scott ! the fellows said . '' `` I follow General Scott . No Virginian need be ashamed to follow old Fuss and Feathers . We used to swear by him in the army . Great Scott ! the fellows said . '' The general , known to his troops as Old Fuss and Feathers , weighed 300 pounds ( 21 stone or 136 kg ) in his later years and was too fat to ride a horse . A May 1861 edition of The New York Times included the sentence : These gathering hosts of loyal freemen , under the command of the great SCOTT . These gathering hosts of loyal freemen , under the command of the great SCOTT . The phrase also appears in a 3 May 1864 diary entry by Private Robert Knox Sneden ( later published as Eye of the Storm : a Civil War Odyssey ) : ' Great Scott , ' who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861 -- 2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ' John Brown 's Body ' . ' Great Scott , ' who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861 -- 2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ' John Brown 's Body ' . In the July 1871 issue of The Galaxy , in the story `` Overland '' , the expression is again used by author by J.W. DeForest : `` Great -- Scott ! '' he gasped in his stupefaction , using the name of the then commander - in - chief for an oath , as officers sometimes did in those days . `` Great -- Scott ! '' he gasped in his stupefaction , using the name of the then commander - in - chief for an oath , as officers sometimes did in those days . The phrase has the ring of being somewhat `` dated , '' suggestive of the nineteenth century or generally an old - fashioned minced oath . Twentieth - century publications frequently use it to suggest such a context , as , for example , in the Rathbone -- Bruce Sherlock Holmes films ( said by Dr. Watson ) , Silver Age comics ( especially Superman ) , the television series Dennis the Menace ( said by Mr. Wilson ) , The Rocky Horror Picture Show , The Lion , the Witch , and the Wardrobe ( end of chapter six ) , and the Back to the Future films ( Dr. Emmett Brown ) . It was also said in A Christmas Story as Ralphie is in line to see Santa Claus , and in the episode `` When The Rat 's Away , The Mice Will Play '' from the Batman TV show , said by Adam West ( Batman ) . Scrooge McDuck uses it in DuckTales Remastered . It is also used in `` The Laughing Fish '' , an episode of Batman : The Animated Series , by a one - time character voiced by George Dzundza when The Joker enters his office . The Joker , voiced by Mark Hamill , quips , `` Actually I 'm Irish . '' In Half - Life 2 , Dr. Kleiner says it when he first sees Gordon Freeman in the game . In The Office episode `` Valentine 's Day '' , Michael Scott uses the phrase `` Great Scott ! '' at the end of his home - made `` The Faces of Scranton '' video . `` Great Scott Film Industries '' is the name of his imaginary film company , and the logo includes a lightning bolt and a headshot of Steve Martin and Robin Williams . The phrase is said by Doc Spencer at the end of Danny the Champion of the World , by Aunt Sponge in James and the Giant Peach and by Miss Trunchbull in Matilda . It was also used in Legends of Tomorrow by Dr. Martin Stein ( in the episode `` Marooned '' ) , in Peter Pan 2 by Captain Hook , and in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Gilderoy Lockhart . A large basalt rock collected by astronaut David Scott on the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971 is informally known as Great Scott .