scot and lot
Preserved but no longer current.
A municipal levy on all according to their ability to pay. Scot is the tax, and lot the allotment or portion allotted. To pay scot and lot, therefore, is to pay the general assessment and also the personal tax allotted to you.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “scot and lot” mean?
A municipal levy on all according to their ability to pay. Scot is the tax, and lot the allotment or portion allotted. To pay scot and lot, therefore, is to pay the general assessment and also the personal tax allotted to you.
Is “scot and lot” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.