Scuttlebutt Definition
skŭtl-bŭt
noun
A cask on a ship used to hold the day's supply of drinking water.
American Heritage
A drinking fountain on shipboard.
Webster's New World
Rumor or gossip.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Other Word Forms of Scuttlebutt
Noun
Singular:
scuttlebutt
Plural:
scuttlebuttsOrigin of Scuttlebutt
Alteration of scuttled butt cask with a hole cut into it scuttle to cut a hole in (the hull of a ship) butt Sense 2, probably from fact that sailors would exchange gossip while taking a drink from the cask
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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scuttle +"Ž butt. In sense of gossip, because sailors would gather around the scuttlebutt to drink and exchange gossip; compare water cooler and furphy.
From Wiktionary
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