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Examples
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Every man who has been three months at sea knows how to work Tom Coxs traversethree turns round the long-boat, and a pull at the scuttled-butt.
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Every man who has been three months at sea knows how to "work Tom Cox's traverse" - "three turns round the long-boat, and a pull at the scuttled-butt."
Two years before the mast, and twenty-four years after: a personal narrative 1869
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Each of these jobs must be finished before breakfast; and in the mean time the rest of the crew filled the scuttled-butt, and the cook scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of which sailors eat), and polished the hoops, and placed them before the galley to await inspection.
Two Years Before the Mast Richard Henry Dana 1848
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Every man who has been three months at sea knows how to "work Tom Cox's traverse" -- "three turns round the long-boat, and a pull at the scuttled-butt."
Two Years Before the Mast Richard Henry Dana 1848
Gammerstang commented on the word scuttled-butt
"Scuttlebutt", meaning rumour or gossip, is derived from "scuttled butt". To "scuttle" a ship is to puncture the hull or open the sea-cocks so that water enters the hull and sinks it. A "butt" is a barrel or cask, so a "scuttled butt" was a barrel with a hole cut in it to allow access to the water inside.
January 14, 2018
plethora commented on the word scuttled-butt
Here we have the beginnings of the water-cooler moment
January 14, 2018