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The Collaborative International Dictionary
To pay scot and lot

Lot \Lot\ (l[o^]t), n. [AS. hlot; akin to hle['o]tan to cast lots, OS. hl[=o]t lot, D. lot, G. loos, OHG. l[=o]z, Icel. hlutr, Sw. lott, Dan. lod, Goth. hlauts. Cf. Allot, Lotto, Lottery.]

  1. That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.

    But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay.
    --Spenser.

  2. Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without man's choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.

    The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
    --Prov. xvi. 3

  3. If we draw lots, he speeds.
    --Shak.

    3. The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.

    O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's Enough to bear.
    --Milton.

    He was but born to try The lot of man -- to suffer and to die.
    --Pope.

  4. A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; all objects sold in a single purchase transaction; as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.

    I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English heads, chiefly of the reign of James I.
    --Walpole.

  5. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city.

    The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York.
    --Kent.

  6. A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; to waste a lot of time on line; lots of people think so. [Colloq.]

    He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business.
    --W. Black.

  7. A prize in a lottery. [Obs.]
    --Evelyn.

    To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of.

    To cast lots, to use or throw a die, or some other instrument, by the unforeseen turn or position of which, an event is by previous agreement determined.

    To draw lots, to determine an event, or make a decision, by drawing one thing from a number whose marks are concealed from the drawer.

    To pay scot and lot, to pay taxes according to one's ability. See Scot.