Englishget off scot-free
Meaning: To escape the proper or expected punishment; to be acquitted of a crime.
Example: “The ringleader got off scot-free while his accomplices went to jail.”
Equivalents in other languages
Finnish: Päästä kuin koira veräjästä Literally: To get off like a dog through the gate
Dutch: De dans ontspringen Literally: To leap out of the dance
Origin: Has nothing at all to do with Scotland or anyone named Scott, despite how the spelling looks — a coincidence responsible for a persistent modern misunderstanding. "Scot" here comes from Old Norse skot, a contribution or payment, anglicized after arriving in Britain around the 10th century into a word for a local municipal tax, often one raised specifically for poor relief. Late Old English scotfreo meant, quite literally, exempt from that royal or municipal tax — a genuine legal and financial status, not a moral judgment. Over time, being "scot-free" broadened from its narrow tax-exemption sense into the modern idea of escaping any punishment or consequence entirely, tax or otherwise.
More English idioms
- get-up-and-go Physical energy.
- get up on the wrong side of the bed To be in a bad mood from the beginning of the day.
- give someone or something short shrift To make quick work of something or to give little time to someone.
- give someone the green light To get or give permission to proceed.
- give someone the sack To be fired from one's job.
- give someone the third degree To be questioned in great detail.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
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