Chapter Sawny to Scapegoat of S by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Scaevola [left-handed ]. So Caius Mucius was called, because, when he entered the camp of Porsenna as a spy, and was taken before the king, he deliberately held his hand over a lamp till it was burnt off, to show the Etruscan that he would not shrink from torture.

Scaffold, Scaffolding A temporary gallery for workmen. In its secondary sense it means the postulates and rough scheme of a system or sustained story. (French, échafaud, échafaudage.) (See Cinter .)

Scagliola Imitation marble, like the pillars of the Pantheon, London. The word is from the Italian scáglia (the dust and chips of marble); it is so called because the substance (which is gypsum and Flanders glue) is studded with chips and dust of marble.

Scales The Koran says, at the judgment day everyone will be weighed in the scales of the archangel Gabriel. His good deeds will be put in the scale called “Light,” and his evil ones in the scale called “Darkness;” after which they will have to cross the bridge Al Serát, not wider than the edge of a scimitar. The faithful will pass over in safety, but the rest will fall into the dreary realms of Jehennam.

Scallop Shell Emblem of St. James of Compostella, adopted, says Erasmus, because the shore of the adjacent sea abounds in them. Pilgrims used them for cup, spoon, and dish; hence the punning crest of the Disington family is a scallop shell. On returning home, the pilgrim placed his scallop shell in his hat to command admiration, and adopted it in his coat-armour. (Danish, schelp, a shell; French, escalope.)

“I will give thee a palmer's staff of ivory and a scallop-shell of beaten gold.”- The Old Wives' Tale. (1595.)

Scalloped [scollopt ]. Having an edge like that of a scallop shell.

Scammozzi's Rule The jointed two-foot rule used by builders and invented by Vincent Scammozzi, the famous Italian architect. (1540-1609.)

Scamp [qui exit ex campo ]. A deserter from the field; one who decamps without paying his debts. S privative and camp. (See Snob .)

Scandal means properly a pitfall or snare laid for an enemy; hence a stumbling-block, and morally an aspersion. (Greek, skandalon.)

“We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a [scandal].”- 1 Cor. i. 23.

   The Hill of Scandal So Milton calls the Mount of Olives, because King Solomon built thereon “an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab; and for Moloch, the abomination of the children of Ammon” (1 Kings xi. 7).

Scandal-broth Tea. The reference is to the gossip held by some of the womenkind over their “cups which cheer but not inebriate.” Also called “Chatter-broth.”

“ `I proposed to my venerated visitor ... to summon my ... housekeeper ... with the tea-equipage but he rejected my proposal with disdain ...' `No scandal-broth,' he exclaimed, `No unidea'd woman's chatter for me.' ”- Sir W. Scott: Peveril of the Peak (Prefatory letter).

Scandalum Magnatum [scandal of the magnates ]. Words in derogation of peers, judges, and other great officers of the realm. What St. Paul calls “speaking evil of dignities.”

Scanderbeg A name given by the Turks to George Castriota, the patriot chief of Epirus. The word is a corruption of Iskander-beg, Prince Alexander (1414-1467).

Scanderbeg's Sword must have Scanderbeg's Arm - i.e. None but Ulysses can draw Ulysses' bow. Scanderbeg is a corruption of Iskander-beg (Alexander the Great), not the Macedonian, but George Castriota, Prince of Albania, so called by the Turks. Mahomet wanted to see his scimitar, but when