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What is the meaning?

Posted by Joan on July 19, 2003

In Reply to: What is the meaning? posted by masakim on July 18, 2003

: : My grandmother always said "Scat Tom" when someone sneezed. Can someone tell me where this originated and the meaning?

: scat _Gesundheit!_ or _God bless you!_ after someone sneezes; _scat_ is common throughout the South and is much preferred in Arkansas over the other terms.
: From "Whistlin' Dixie: Southern Ways of Speech" section of _The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms_ by Robert Hendrickson
: ----------
: scat! (Usu. imperative.) Go away!: coll.: 1869 (OED). Hence, occ. as joc. v.i. As _scram_ is abbr. of S.E. _scramble_, so prob. is _scat_ an abbr. of S.E. _scatter.
: From A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by Eric Partridge & Paul Beale

Thank you for the answer

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