Possible origins
The expression dates back at least to the American
Civil War, and may refer to the one-time commander of the
U.S. Army,
General Winfield Scott. 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.
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.
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’.
[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!". The etymologist and author
John Ciardi once believed this, but later recanted in a radio broadcast in 1985. 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".
Culture
The phrase "Great Scott" was commonly found in
superhero comic books, including
Superman.
Dr. Watson habitually used the expression in the
Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes Films made between 1939 and 1946.
The exclamation can also be found in
C.S. Lewis'
The Chronicles of Narnia
, such as by
Digory Kirke in the book
The Magician's Nephew
, or by Peter in the book
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
. One of the better-known contemporary uses was as the
catchphrase of
Doctor Emmett Brown in the
Back to the Future
film trilogy.
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?". 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. Everett von Scott. At one point
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!").
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.
Great Scott! was also the name of a now-defunct
supermarket chain in the
Detroit, Michigan area.
References
- World Wide Words article on the origins of the phrase "Great Scott"