variant of scouch, attested slightly earlier, probably expressive variant of crouch
Note: Sense 1, not attested until the mid-twentieth century, may be by association with scoot. Compare scrooch "to crouch, bend," a variant of scrouch, itself a variant of scrouge, and, with an additional nasal consonant, scrunch entry 1. Collectively, these appear to constitute a family of expressive verbs that suggest in one way or another compression of the body or some part of the body.