scut·tle·butt 
(sk
ŭt
l-b
ŭt
′)
n.1. Nautical a. A cask on a ship used to hold the day's supply of drinking water.
b. A drinking fountain on a ship.
2. Slang Gossip; rumor.
[Alteration of scuttled butt, cask with a hole cut into it : SCUTTLE1, to cut a hole in (the hull of a ship) + BUTT5. Sense 2, probably from fact that sailors would exchange gossip while taking a drink from the cask.]