- For the Massachusetts music venue, see Great Scott (club). Great Scott is a live music venue in Allston, Massachusetts USA.
Great Scott! is an exclamation of surprise or amazement.
Possible origins
The expression dates back at least to the American Civil War, and may refer to a real person, the one-time commander of the U.S. Army, General Winfield Scott. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Winfield Scott ( June 13, 1786 &ndash May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general Diplomat, and presidential candidate In a May 1861 edition of the New York Times was the sentence:
- These gathering hosts of loyal freemen, under the command of the great SCOTT. Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
In an 1871 issue of Galaxy magazine, there is:
- ‘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. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
The phrase also appears in the 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’. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João For the reggae musical group see John Brown's Body (band. For the epic poem see John Brown's Body (poem "John [1]
Another possible origin of the phrase is that people seeking to emulate the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha altered and anglicized "Grüß Gott!", or "God bless!" into "Great Scott!". Grüß Gott (literally 'Greet God' see explanation below is a Greeting, less often a farewell in the Upper German Sprachraum especially in Swabia The etymologist and author John Ciardi once believed this, but later recanted in a radio broadcast in 1985. John Anthony Ciardi ( June 24, 1916 - March 30, 1986) was an American Poet, translator, and Etymologist Despite that recantation, the expression is likely to be a minced oath: a mild substitute for invoking the name of God; very possibly derived from the phrase "[by the] grace of God". A minced oath, also known as a pseudo-profanity, is an expression based on a Profanity that has been altered to reduce or remove the disagreeable or objectionable
Culture
The phrase "Great Scott" was commonly found in superhero comic books, including Superman. A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon Dr. Watson habitually used the expression in the Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes Films made between 1939 and 1946. The Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce were made between 1939 and 1946 The exclamation can also be found in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, such as by Digory in the book The Magician's Nephew, or by Peter in the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C One of the better-known contemporary uses was as the catchphrase of Doctor Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future film trilogy. A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance "Doc Brown" redirects here For the British rapper see Doc Brown (rapper. The Back to the Future trilogy is a comedic Science fiction Film Trilogy written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis Christopher Lloyd, who portrayed Brown in the films, used the expression in TV ads during 2006-2007 which refer back to this role ("Great Scott! I forgot to tell Marty about DirecTV!")
Other occurrences include the television cartoon Sheep in the Big City, which has a character called "Great Scott" who appears every time anyone says the phrase, replying "Ye-e-e-s?". Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is a three-time Emmy Award -winning American Actor. Martin "Marty" McFly is a Fictional character and the main protagonist in the Back to the Future DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded Sheep in the Big City is an American Animated television series which ran on Cartoon Network for two seasons from November 2000 to April Mr. Wilson, a character in the Dennis the Menace TV series, frequently used the expression. In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of the characters is named Dr. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical Comedy film that parodies Science fiction and Horror films. Everett von Scott. At one point one of the other characters (Brad Majors played by Barry Bostwick) sees Scott and exclaims, "Great Scott!" This line is typically lampooned by the audience, who often throw toilet paper - a nod to the Scottissue brand. In the movie version of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart exclaims "Great Scott! Look at the time. . . "
The phrase is also occasionally used by Hiro Nakamura on the television science-fiction series, Heroes, albeit sometimes in an exaggerated Japanese ("Gureito Sukotto!"). is a character on the NBC Drama Heroes who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation enabling him to teleport, manipulate time Heroes is an American Science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September
The phrase is used by Michael Scott on the television series, The Office, as his fictional production company at the end of all his mini films for the office. Michael Gary Scott (born March 15, 1964) is a Fictional character on NBC 's The Office portrayed by Steve Carell
Great Scott! was also the name of a now-defunct supermarket chain in the Detroit, Michigan area. Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good
References
"Great Scott, I think I've got it!" From the movie Blithe Spirit staring Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford (1945).
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