Long before there was office gossip around the water cooler, there was gossip around the "scuttlebutt."
Today, "scuttlebutt" is another word for rumors or gossip. But the expression originally referred to a cask of drinking water kept on the deck of a ship — a place where sailors naturally gathered to chat.
The word combines two older terms. "Scuttle" has been used since the 1500s to mean to cut or bore a hole in the bottom or the sides of a boat or some other vessel. By extension, it can also mean to sink a vessel deliberately, because that's what happens if you drill holes into it. "Scuttle" can also mean to destroy or smash.
The "butt" in "scuttlebutt" doesn't refer to anatomy. It's probably a borrowing from French and Latin, and it refers to a large cask used to store liquids. In the 1400s, there's evidence of "butts" of wine or beer or cider. To get to the liquid inside, you had to scuttle a hole into it.
By the 1800s, we have evidence of "scuttlebutt" referring to a water cask with a hole cut into it that sailors used to get drinks. As crew members stopped by throughout the day, it became a natural gathering place to swap news, tell stories, and spread rumors. Anyone who's ever worked in an office with a water cooler can likely identify.
Starting as early as 1901, "scuttlebutt" had taken on its more general meaning of gossip or rumors. If you'd like to hear more about the origins of "scuttlebutt," along with the stories behind words like "scoop" and "the skinny," listen to the audio above.
