Chapter Scotch Mist to Screw Plot of S by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Scourge of God (1) Attila, king of the Huns. A.P. Stanley says the term was first applied to Attila in the Hungarian Chronicles. In Isidore's Chronicle the Huns are called Virga Dei. (*, 434-453.)
   (2) Genseric, king of the Vandals, who went about like a destroying angel “against all those who had, in his opinion, incurred the wrath of God.”(Probably the word Godegesal (Gothgesal, God-given) was purposely twisted into God-gesil (God's scourge) by those who hated him, because he was an Arian. God-gesal (or Deodatus) was the common title of the contemporary kings, like our Dei Gratiâ. (*, 429-477.)

Scourge of Princes Pietro Aretino was so called for his satires. (1492-1556.)

Scouring I 'scaped a scouring - a disease. Scouring is a sort of flux in horses and cattle. (Latin, Malum prætervehi, French, L'échapper belle.)

Scowerers A set of rakes in the eighteenth century, who, with the Nickers and Mohocks, committed great annoyances in London and other large towns.

“Who has not heard the Scowerers' midnight fame?
Who has not trembled at the Mohocks' name?
Was there a watchman took his hourly rounds,
Safe from their blows and new-invented wounds?” Gay: Trivia, iii.

Scrape I've got into a sad scrape a great difficulty. We use rub, squeeze, pinch, and scrape to express the same idea. Thus Shakespeare says, “Ay, there's the rub” (difficulty); “I have got into tribulation” (a squeeze, from the Latin tribulo, to squeeze); “I am come to a pinch” (a difficulty). Some think the word a corrupt contraction of escapade, but Robert Chambers thinks it is borrowed from a term in golf. A rabbit's burrow in Scotland, he says, is called a “scrape,” and if the ball gets into such a hole it can hardly be played. The rules of the game allow something to the player who “gets into a scrape.” (Book of Days.)

Scrape an Acquaintance (To). The Gentleman's Magazine says that Hadrian went one day to the public baths, and saw an old soldier, well known to him, scraping himself with a potsherd for want of a flesh-brush. The emperor sent him a sum of money. Next day Hadrian found the bath crowded with soldiers scraping themselves with potsherds, and said, “Scrape on, gentlemen, but you'll not scrape acquaintance with me.” (N.S., xxxix. 230.)

Scratch Old Scratch. Scrat, the house-demon of the North. (Icelandic, scratti, an imp.) (See Deuce, Nick , etc.)

Scratch (A). One who in a race starts from the scratch, other runners in the same race being a yard or so in advance. The scratch runner generally is one who has already won a similar race.
   Coming up to the scratch - up to the mark; about to do what we want him to do. In prize-fighting a line is scratched on the ground, and the toe of the fighter must come up to the scratch.

Scratch Cradle A game played with a piece of string stretched across the two hands. The art is so to cross the thread as to produce a resemblance to something, and for another so to transfer it to his own hands as to change the former figure into some other resemblance. A corruption of “cratch cradle” (the manger cradle), because the first figure represents a cradle, supposed to be the cradle of the infant Jesus.

Scratch Crew (A), in a boat-race, means a random crew, not a regular crew.

Scratch Eleven (A), or “scratch team,” in cricket, means eleven men picked up anyhow; not a regular team.

Scratch Race (A). A race of horses, men, boys, etc., without restrictions as to age, weight, previous winnings, etc.

Scratched A horse is said to be scratched when its name is scratched out of the list of runners. “Tomboy was scratched for the Derby at ten a.m. on Wednesday,” and no bet on that horse made subsequently would be valid.