Scuttlebutt means water fountain or, in Navy slang, a rumour or gossip.
The term is identical to the iconic colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, that at regular times becomes the locus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: a butt (cask or small barrel) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became Navy slang for gossip or rumors.
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