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Not subject to or not paying ones share of taxes.

Surprisingly, not meaning Scottish, but has its root in Latin Scottus, and traces to Scandinavia.

Years ago, a British magazine published a letter from a reader, irate that the magazine had used the verb "welsh" to describe an agreement that had been breached. The overly sensitive letter writer defended the honor of his native Wales. The magazine ran the letter unedited but captioned it "Scotch that usage."

Yes, some days one is just itching to be offended. In day gone by our scathing letter to the editor might sit in the hall to be mailed, so we could reconsider. Today I can email/post my panties being in a bunch to the entire nation in seconds with illustrations. Love and hate makes fools of us all, and no persons gets off scot-free.

In the 1990s, a friend of mine had been dating a young man from a well to do family of Boston Beacon Hill. She met the parents for luncheon at their home on sed hill one Saturday. My friend is a pretty English-Irish petite lass and quite smart. The conversation eventual turned to a discussion of the wrong type of folk, and as often happen focused on one particular clan. Not the Irish as you might expect, but the historic English view of the Welsh. Luncheon ended early because she just couldn't take it any more and left with her suitor. She turned to him and said "What was that all about? And who still gripes about the Welsh, it's the 90's for Christ sake!"

My friend is one quarter Welsh, but apparently hides it well.

"No person gets off scot-free." Not merely untaxed, but not paying anything - tax, fee, penalty, price, whatever.

Death, taxes, and cleaning are all facts of this life.

Some people I know have not been taught the last...

I just always assumed cleaning. I'm a gardener, so weeding is a fact of life too. I used to take ti chi and marshal arts and practice kata stances while weeding. It was a good path to a zen state of mind. You can do a lot of thinking while you ripping this lil thing out of the ground. I used to invite my friend that workout a lot or do meditation to come weed, they never do. Wimps!

The term is not related to the denizens north of Hadrian's Wall. (I'm sure they were taxed to the hilts of their Claymores!)

From my long-time favorite etymology source:

scot-free (adj.) Old English scotfreo "exempt from royal tax," from scot "royal tax," from Old Norse skot "contribution," literally "a shooting, shot; thing shot, missile," from PIE *skeud- "to shoot, chase, throw" (see shoot (v.); the Old Norse verb form, skjota, has a secondary sense of "transfer to another; pay") + freo (see free (adj.)). First element related to Old English sceotan "to pay, contribute," Dutch schot, German Schoß (Shoss "tax, contribution." French écot "share" (Old French escot) is from Germanic.

Based on the PIE root throw, I wonder if in olden times they just threw the taxes at the tax collector to encourage him to move on!

Which raises the question whence cometh the name Scotland? Tax-land? A fiefdom of the English - or what?

I live in the Commonwealth of Taxachusetts, plenty of Scottish pay there fair share.

I live in the Commonwealth of Taxachusetts, plenty of Scottish pay there fair share.

I spent 4 years there long ago in Worcester. I've been back home in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Maryland long since. Maryland, once known as the Free State is now known as the Fee State, and the Revolutionary War description "The Old Line State" now means they keep handing us the same old line about taxes and gun control.

Have to find someplace nearby that won't tax my retirement income when I retire.

Texas has no income tax.

Puerto Rico doesn't charge income tax on retirement income. New Hampshire is sans income tax too.

I was in Texas as a guest of the USAF at Lackland AFB, and found San Antonio charming. Also, been to Houston and Dallas, in the summer the Devil can have them. I have friends in Austin, TX and sounds like I would enjoy it.

I regret not acknowledging this suggestion. George recommended the same word by e-mail and I only refer to this shop more or less weekly. I will make the correction in the archive.

I always have at least 100 suggestions on "the list" and they come from my own experience, the suggestion box, e-mail to me personally, and the Agora. I am aging and as I do, it becomes harder and harder to keep things straight.

Again, my apologies for the oversight.

I'll let you go scot-free then, since as I progress thru the end of middle age I see the trend in myself.