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Posts:
2
From:
Englishtown, NJ
Registered:
2/19/07
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(1 of 1)
May 25, 2007 8:55 PM
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I happily note that our Lee has almost correctly given us the origin of the word "scuttlebutt" for gossip. A "butt" was a large barrel, and it could contain any ship's supplies (the salt pork as well as the water) as well as cargo (wine, for example, although that might not all reach its destination). But the hole in the butt was the "bung hole" not the "scuttle".
Yet Lee is on target, as usual. We allow his occasional "close misses", even with a rifle. The "scuttlebutt" was a butt of water brought up on deck (and tied to a mast, or other secure object). The top was removed and a "scuttle" (ladle) provided (again tied to something secure - everything on a sailing ship had to be tied to something secure). There is your "drinking fountain" - a butt of water and a common scuttle so the crew could get a fast drink during their hot labors.
Lee's comment on the genesis of the term "scuttlebutt" for gossip and rumor is right on, just as in the modern office the drinking fountain is the place for idle chat (and, in the case of the sailing ship, some chat that might have constituted mutiny if overheard) so was the scuttle butt.
Best, Jon
Jonathan W. Murphy, Ltjg. USNR (ret)
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