scuttlebutt

scut·tle·butt  (sktl-bt)

n.

1. Slang Gossip; rumor.

2. Nautical

a. A drinking fountain on a ship.

b. A cask on a ship used to hold the day's supply of drinking water.

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[scuttle + butt.]

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scuttlebutt [ˈskʌt^əlˌbʌt]

n Nautical

1. (Transport / Nautical Terms) a drinking fountain

2. (Transport / Nautical Terms) (formerly) a cask of drinking water aboard a ship

3. Chiefly US slang rumour or gossip

[from scuttle³ + butt⁴]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

scuttlebutt - a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people; "the divorce caused much gossip" gossip, comment report, account - the act of informing by verbal report; "he heard reports that they were causing trouble"; "by all accounts they were a happy couple" earful - an outpouring of gossip hearsay, rumor, rumour - gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth grapevine, pipeline, word of mouth - gossip spread by spoken communication; "the news of their affair was spread by word of mouth" malicious gossip, scandal, dirt - disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people talk of the town, talk - idle gossip or rumor; "there has been talk about you lately"