Talk:Scuttlebutt

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Like many seagoing terms, scuttlebutt is made up of two words stuck together: scuttle, and butt. A scuttle on board ship was a very small deck opening, just big enough to allow a man to climb through. The lid or cover for that opening was also called a scuttle. The verb "to scuttle" means to make a hole in the bottom of the ship so that the water comes in and sinks the ship. Both the noun and the verb carry that concept of something moving through a small opening. "Butt" comes from the early French word for a target or the backstop behind the target. The term also refers to a large cask or barrel used for storing liquids. There used to be a standard of liquid measurement for wine called a butt, meaning a barrel containing somewhat more than 100 gallons. That idea of wine containers was the source of the word "butler", since that servant's principal responsibility was to care for and serve wine. There was alway wine and rum to drink on board ship, but water was most precious. Water was carried from home port, restocked from distant lands, and collected from rain. Without water the crew would perish. The water on board was carefully stored in butts. So what would happen if you were to make a small hole (a scuttle) in the cask of water (a butt)? Through that opening you could draw off a little water to drink, and you have a scuttled butt, or a scuttlebutt! The scuttlebutt was customarily mounted on a short platform outside the galley, and lashed to the galley bulkhead. Thirsty crewmen could stop by for a drink using a cup hanging nearby, opening the scuttle to fill the cup and then closing it properly so that the precious water did not spill. Sometimes a few crewmen would gather to quench their thirst and talk about shipboard life. The scuttlebutt was the water cooler on board ship, and that is the origin of the expression to describe word of mouth information that may, or may not be true.

-- I deleted the reference to some musician making a song with some reference to this term, as it it seemed to have little to no relevance to the development of this term. Flapple.