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Bucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-01-08 12:26 PM
Original message
Great Scott!
stolen from Lileks










Who the heck is Scott anyway? And why is his name being used as an ejaculation of surprise?

According to World Wide Words, it comes from either German immigrants in America using their traditional ejaculation "Grüß Gott!" (the little ß character isn't a funky B; it's a German letter standing for a double S - thus leading to something kinda sort like "Groo-Scott") or it's a reference to Winfield Scott, the hero of the Mexican-US War, since the phrase first pops up in the 1860s at the height of Scott's fame (he was the commanding general of the army at the start of the Civil War, but was too old to take the field, so his reputation never suffered).

Personally, I have never used this ejaculation. Superman ejaculated "Great Scott" quite frequently in cartoons when I was a kid, so the ejaculant took on a certain corny flavor. The British seemed to take in this ejaculation as their own--it shows up in the Chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes movies, and most recently it has splashed into Harry Potter books.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-01-08 12:30 PM
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1. Er...
Are "ejaculated" and "ejaculant" really the best words they could have used there?


Also, I love "girl assitant". :P
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RandomThoughts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-01-08 12:43 PM
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2. Haven't seen the comics, but
Scott, or bagpipes, or many Scottish references sometimes are references to the Scottish Rite of Masonry. Since code and symbols are so commonly used by some in the group, using Scott in above comics, as a nod to other Masons could be a possible meaning.

Bad monster having lobster hands would fit the shellfish.
Pyramid upside down on bad guy.

You would have to look at the other pictures and themes to know for sure though. There has to be multiple, above coincidence or self creation, for that to be the intent.

It is true that it could have been created from a different meaning, most if not all symbols are, they are then used with a nod among people who understand them. And they always have deniablity since the words also have other meanings.

Just a guess.
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