Dear Yahoo!:

Dear Yahoo!:
Who is the "Scott" in the saying "Great Scott!"?
Jack
Murrieta, California

Dear Jack:
We suppose it could be anyone. Dred Scott. Sir Walter Scott. Scotty from "Star Trek." Before jumping to any conclusions, we consulted the etymology experts at World Wide Words.

The first known use of the phrase was in a Civil War soldier's diary entry on May 3, 1864. Private Robert Knox wrote: "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.'"

But exactly who was Scott, and why was he so darn great? World Wide Words goes on to explain Scott may have been a reference to an American general named "General Winfield Scott." This makes a lot of sense -- soldiers of this era often took the "name of then commander-in-chief for an oath." It's also worth noting that General Scott was a large man, weighing around 300 pounds. The word "great" would have served as a suitable (and polite) adjective.

Nobody knows for sure if "General Scott" and "Great Scott" are one in the same. But of all the possibilities, this seems the most likely.