Words and Their Meanings

Scuttlebutt.

*meaning: rumors, gossip

Not to be confused with sea stories and/or gee-dunk.

 

Have used that my entire adult life with no idea it was navy lingo.

 

The word comes from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water on a sailing ship. Water was conventionally stored in a butt (a cask) that had been scuttled (had a hole bored into it) so the water could be withdrawn. (The word scuttle derives from the Middle French escoutille or the Spanish escotilla, meaning hatchway.)

Scuttlebutt = civilian water cooler

 

First you dis Admiral, then you wanna talk like you are one.

 

what did you think it meant/was from?

 

I've never once thought about it. Figured it was just a saying that emerged over time like hundreds of others.

 

I find the origin of expressions, as well as how they melt into the lexicon to where they are just accepted at face value, interesting.

 

decimate is another good example, and has mostly lost its original meaning.

 

or three sheets to the wind

 

Every now and then I'll wonder where something came from and look it up. Just never have wondered on this one.

 

IP "no one cares" post of the day candidate?

 

The word "palace" comes from Palatine, which is the name of the hill where the Emperor's house was located in Rome. Fun facts.

 

set it to iambic pentameter and you'll be right there in the action.

 

Did you just go iPent in your post?

 

did your knee cap travel up to your brain?

 

FYP

 

I also find this fascinating, as well as the related trend of words that fall into disuse but are still embedded in common phrases (for instance, "roughshod" in "run roughshod." I would also cite "umbrage" in "take umbrage," but I've been told that phrase is no longer common. But it's still a good phrase, and even better for the fact that it provides a perfect inverse for "throw shade.")

 

I find the etymology of words pretty interesting.

 

What is the etymology of "etymology"?

 

This thread is entitled, “Spring Practice” and is not intended as the gathering place for an impromptu King of the Nerds contest amongst the resident eunuchs.