Scuttlebutt

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The nautical term Scuttlebutt originally (and still) means a water fountain or water cask on a ship. However, it is now more commonly used as slang for "information" or "gossip".

Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a sailor's butt: a butt (cask or small barrel) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn.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 U.S. Navy slang for gossip or rumors.