| 释义 |
scuttle-butt, scuttlebutt|ˈskʌt(ə)lbʌt|
[See scuttled ppl. a.]
a. Naut. A cask of drinking-water on board ship; a drinking-fountain. Also fig.
1805J. J. Moore Midshipman's or Brit. Mariner's Vocab., Scuttle-butt, or cask, is a cask having a square piece sawn out of its bilge and lashed upon the deck. It is used to contain the fresh water for daily use. 1832E. C. Wines Two Years & Half in Navy I. iii. 45 At sea the marines in succession all do duty as sentries in the following places;—one at the cabin door, one at the scuttle⁓butt, one at the brig. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxii. 123 Going to the scuttle-butt for a drink of water. 1844J. F. Cooper Afloat & Ashore II. xi. 178 People never can tell so much of other person's affairs, without bailing out most of their ideas from their own scuttle-butts. 1846Young Naut. Dict., Scuttled-butt or (as it is generally abbreviated) Scuttle-butt, a cask with a square hole cut in its bilge, kept on deck to hold water for ready use. 1920U.S.S. Oklahoma Sea-Bag 25 July 2/1 The Scuttle Butt has justified its existence as a source of prognostic rumor. The water is freezing cold—the Scuttle Butt is iced... Come down and get a drink of cold water. 1972F. van W. Mason Roads to Liberty 104 Katie, on her way to draw water from the scuttlebutt, saw a flying fish.
b. slang (orig. U.S. Naut.). Rumour, idle gossip, unfounded report.
1901Smoking Lamp June 55/2 (title of miscellany column) Scuttle butt. 1933Leatherneck July 18/1 We will endeavor to convey all of the scandal, scuttle-butt, dope and dopes to you through the.. Editor. 1943Sun (Baltimore) 20 Sept. 11/7 Also a cause for betting was the ultimate destination. In navy slang ‘scuttlebutt’ was rife and had the ship bound everywhere from China to Murmansk. 1950‘D. Divine’ King of Fassarai iv. 20 I'd got the scuttle-butt about that from the Marine Corps boys. 1966K. Giles Big Greed 76 He'd heard a rumour that the Frog drank..but he dismissed it as a scuttlebutt. 1977Time 11 Apr. 17/1 Rawlings Co. now makes the official major league baseball after a 101-year Spalding reign, and the scuttle-butt is that Rawlings is turning out a rabbit ball. 1980Rydge's (Sydney) Jan. 23/1 They are privy to vast amounts of corporate intelligence (and scuttlebutt) that runs daily around the Rialto.
c. attrib., as scuttle-butt gossip, (a) one who exchanges gossip at a scuttle-butt; (b) the gossip exchanged there; scuttle-butt yarn, a yarn originating from talk around a scuttle-butt.
1901Smoking Lamp May 18/1 (title) Scuttle butt gossip. 1918R. W. Kauffman Our Navy at Work xiii. 198 It's wilder than anything the scuttle-butt gossips could make up! Ibid. 199 Ships are full of..rumours..which originate in talk exchanged around the skuttle-butt, or drinking barrel, so that all wild stories are branded as ‘scuttle-butt yarns’. 1923Our Navy 1 May 15/2 While these rumors are branded as of the ‘scuttle butt’ variety they persist as rumors. 1930P. Buranelli Maggie of Suicide Fleet ii. 57 There are stories and rumors, scuttle-butt gossip.
Hence ˈscuttlebutt v. intr., to gossip, to spread unfounded stories.
1945H. I. Phillips Private Purkey's Private Peace xi. 62 There were many who felt..Oscar was just scuttle⁓butting. |