scorse, scourse, to exchange, barter. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 9. 16; B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, iii. 1 (Waspe); Drayton, Pol. (ed. 1613. p. 196); ‘Barater, to scourse, barter’, Cotgrave; hence skoser, a horse-corser, Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 10 (ed. Croft, i. 63). ‘Scorse’ is in prov. use along the south coast (EDD.). See Notes on Eng. Etym., p. 136.
scot and lot, a tax levied by a municipal corporation in proportionate shares for the defraying of municipal expenses; phr. to pay scot and lot, to pay out thoroughly; ‘Twas time to counterfet, or that hotte Termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot’, 1 Hen. IV, v. 4. 115; B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 7 (Cob). The word scot = Anglo-F. escot, a payment (Rough List). See [shot].
scot-free, free from payment of one’s tavern score. B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 7 (Cob).
scotomy, dimness of sight, caused by dizziness. B. Jonson, Volpone, i. 1 (Mosca); Massinger, Old Law, iii. 2 (Simonides). Gk. σκότωμα, dimness; from σκοτοῦν, to make dim. Gk. σκότος, darkness.
scour, to be purged, to have diarrhoea; ‘He continually scowred’, Repentance of Robert Greene (NED.); ‘Poor young man, how he was bound to scaure for it’, Vanbrugh, The Relapse, v. 3 (Nurse). ‘Scour’ (or ‘Scaur’ in Norfolk) is in prov. use for being afflicted with diarrhoea, see EDD. (s.v. Scour, vb.1 4).
scour the queer cramp-ring, to wear the prison fetters (Cant). Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song); ‘skower the cramp-rings, weare fetters’, Harman, Caveat, p. 84; ‘quyerkyn (= queer ken), a pryson-house’, ib.
’scourse, for discourse; with a quibbling reference to scourse or scorse, to barter. B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, i. 2 (Pan).
scout, a slang term for a watch, or pocket time-piece; because a scout is a watchman. Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, ii. 1 (Belfond senior).
scrag, a scraggy creature, lean man. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 606.
scrat, to scratch. Gascoigne, Steel Glas, st. 115; ‘I scratte as a beest dothe that hath sharp nayles, Je gratigne’, Palsgrave. In gen. prov. use in the British Isles (EDD.). ME. scrattyn, or scracchyn (Prompt.); to scratte, ‘scalpere’ (Cath. Angl.).