Scot-free

A phrase derived from the old legal exaction “Scot and Lot,” the former being derived from the Anglo-Saxon sceat , pay, and the latter meaning a tribute allotted to every man according to his means. It was rare indeed that anyone got off “Scot-free” in ancient times. Scotia. From the Celtic scot , wanderer, with the suffix ia , country; the ancient designation of the Highlands, now, with the Lowlands, called “Scotland.”