scuttlebutt
Water cooler chatter
Scuttlebutt is gossip or rumor, especially in a workplace or military setting: The scuttlebutt is that layoffs are coming.
The word comes from a cask of drinking water on ships—sailors gathered there to chat, much like office workers at a water cooler.
The nautical origin gives it a slightly salty, informal tone.
Unconfirmed circulating story
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- tittle-tattleTrivial, idle chatter
- buzzContinuous low drone
word · talk · speculation · innuendo · grapevine · chatter · talebearer · rumormonger
Wooden storage barrel
- barrelHooped cylindrical vessel
- water buttOutdoor rainwater storage vessel
- drinking fountainPublic water dispenser
- shipboardOn a vessel
galley · sailors · deck · mess · fo'c'sle · below decks · crew quarters · berth
rumor
Unconfirmed circulating story
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- tittle-tattleTrivial, idle chatter
buzz · word · talk · speculation · innuendo · grapevine · chatter · talebearer · rumormonger · blabbermouth
cask
Wooden storage barrel
- barrelHooped cylindrical vessel
- water buttOutdoor rainwater storage vessel
- drinking fountainPublic water dispenser
shipboard · galley · sailors · deck · mess · fo'c'sle · below decks · crew quarters · berth · wardroom
- nauticalanchor, anchor chain, anchors, boat, boats
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- gossiprumor, rumors, gossip, hearsay, whisper
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, all hands on deck, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat
- buzzword of mouth, grapevine, hearsay, rumor, gossip
- Gossip & Cluesgossip, rumor, hearsay, leak, buzz
scuttlebutttruth
Accordance with reality
fact · hard evidence · certainty · gospel truth · hard news
scuttlebuttpress release
Official statement for media
formal communication · official report · communiqué · formal declaration · white paper