Scuttlebutt, the Water Cooler Talk of 19th Century Seafarers
When office workers catch up on the latest scuttlebutt around the water cooler, they are continuing a long-standing tradition that probably also occurred on the sailing ships of yore. Back in the early 1800s, the cask containing a ship's daily supply of fresh water was called a scuttlebutt (from the verb scuttle meaning "to cut a hole through" and the noun butt, "cask"); that name was later applied to a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval installation. In time, the term for the water source was also applied to the gossip and rumors generated around it, and the latest chatter has been called "scuttlebutt" ever since.
according to scuttlebutt in the financial markets, the company will be downsizing soon
Recent Examples on the WebThis movie stands head and subzero-temp-cold shoulders above its peers in terms of salacious scuttlebutt, however. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2022 Instead, for the first time in nearly a decade, the scuttlebutt was about record demand, full schedules, and pruning client lists as the need for travel advisers balloons. Christopher Muther, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2022 The scuttlebutt is that Apple is behind these deals, with the goal of using Globalstar to provide satellite connectivity to a future iPhone. Tim Fernholz, Quartz, 12 May 2022 The incident has been the scuttlebutt this week among neighbors in this quiet Highlands at Bridgegate subdivision. Matt Bruce, ajc, 13 May 2022 Yet frank discussions at the court will survive the occasional leak of documents or scuttlebutt from the chambers.Washington Post, 4 May 2022 Neither Murray nor Burkhardt have ever stated that publicly, but that’s been the scuttlebutt. Bob Mcmanaman, The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2022 Neither Murray nor Burkhardt have ever stated that publicly, but that’s been the scuttlebutt. Bob Mcmanaman, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2022 More recently, Deuxmoi has launched a podcast and has its own (unaffiliated) Subreddit forum where readers dissect high-profile scuttlebutt — both anonymous and not — that surfaces on the account. Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
alteration of scuttled butt butt with a hole cut into it