Fun Facts – Scuttlebutt

Hey,  what’s the scuttlebutt?

Today we use the term “scuttlebutt” to mean rumors, gossip or insider news.

It’s the sort of talk that stereotypically takes place when office workers encounter each other at the water cooler or coffee machine and trade news and complaints about the latest depredations of management.

The term corresponds to the colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, which at times becomes the focus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: a butt (cask) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became slang for gossip or rumours.

The “butt” in “scuttlebutt” is simply a very old English word meaning “cask” or “barrel.” The “scuttlebutt” was originally “scuttled-butt,” from the verb “to scuttle,” meaning “to cut or bore a hole in something” (specifically “to cut a hole in the hull of a ship n order to sink it”).

Originally, any opening or hatch on a ship was called a “scuttle,” possibly drawn from the French “escoutille” (hatchway). In the case of the “scuttlebutt” water cask, the “scuttle” was a covered hole in the top that opened to allow sailors to scoop out water with a tin pot. So a “scuttlebutt” was simply a “butt” with a “scuttle” in the lid.

Next word “Buttload”   Yes I said it, buttload…