scuttlebutt
/ˈskʌtəlˌbʌt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.95 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Originally (now chiefly historical), a cask with a hole cut into its top, used to provide drinking water on board a ship; now (by extension, informal), a drinking fountain on a modern ship.
Countable
Example Sentences
- "[S]o they continue to fire as directed, until they are either sent down to the cock-pit themselves, or have a momentary respite from their exertions, when, choaked with smoke and gunpowder, they go aft to the scuttle-butt, to remove their parching thirst."
- "In this way, with an occasional break by relieving the wheel, heaving the log, and going to the scuttle-butt for a drink of water, the longest watch was passed away; […]"
- "The scuttle-butt is a goodly, round, painted cask, standing on end, and with its upper head removed, showing a narrow circular shelf within, where rest a number of tin cups for the accommodation of drinkers. Central, within the scuttle-butt itself, stands an iron pump, which, connecting with the immense water-tanks in the hold, furnishes an unfailing supply of the much-admired Pale Ale, first brewed in the brooks of the Garden of Eden, and stamped with the brand of our old father Adam, who never knew what wine was."
- "It was the middle-watch: a fair moonlight; the seamen were standing in a cordon, extending from one of the fresh-water butts in the waist, to the scuttle-butt near the taffrail. In this manner, they passed the buckets to fill the scuttle-butt."
- "[T]he scuttle-butts are on the starboard side of the galley. You will find a bottle on one of them that will serve as a dipper. Drink moderately, for your life's sake, and get a pannikin from the galley and bring it aft, filled."
- "When the eight new tankers of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey start on their coastwise service, their crews will be assured of the proper preservation of their perishable foods. Carrier refrigerating systems will provide for the 1220 ft.³ refrigerator, chill room of 890 ft.³, and the scuttle butt with storage capacity of 40 gal. of drinking water."
Etymology
The noun is derived from scuttle (“to cut a hole through (something)”) + butt (“wooden cask”). Noun sense 2 (“gossip, idle chatter; rumour”) refers to the fact that sailors would gather around the scuttlebutt to drink and exchange gossip; compare furphy and water cooler. The verb is derived from the noun.
Word Breakdown
- Root: *(s)kewd-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈskʌtəlˌbʌt/
- British English: /ˈskʌtəlbʌt/