scuttlebutt

scut·tle·butt

 (skŭt′l-bŭt′)

n.

1. Nautical

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

b. A drinking fountain on a ship.

2. Slang Gossip; rumor.

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[Alteration of scuttled butt, cask with a hole cut into it : scuttle, to cut a hole in (the hull of a ship) + butt. Sense 2, probably from fact that sailors would exchange gossip while taking a drink from the cask.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

scuttlebutt

(ˈskʌtəlˌbʌt)

n

1. (Nautical Terms) a drinking fountain

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

3. chiefly slang US rumour or gossip

[C19: from scuttle³ + butt⁴]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

scut•tle•butt

(ˈskʌt lˌbʌt)

n.

1. Informal. rumor; gossip.

2.

a. an open shipboard cask containing drinking water.

b. a drinking fountain for use by the crew of a vessel.

[1795–1805]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

scuttlebutt

noun

Slang. Idle, often sensational and groundless talk about others:

gossip, gossipry, hearsay, report, rumor, talebearing, tattle, tittle-tattle, word.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

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