Scuttlebutt is gossip or rumor, especially the kind that spreads informally among people who work or live together. When someone asks “What's the scuttlebutt?” they're asking what news or rumors are circulating. If you hear scuttlebutt that the principal might cancel homework for a week, you're hearing an unconfirmed story that's been passed around.

Just like people today gather around the water cooler at work to exchange news and gossip, sailors on old ships would share stories and rumors at the scuttlebutt, a barrel of drinking water where they gathered for their daily water ration.

Scuttlebutt can be true, partly true, or completely made up. That's why people often say things like “According to the scuttlebutt, we might have a substitute teacher tomorrow,” acknowledging that they're sharing unofficial information that may or may not be accurate. The word has a casual, slightly humorous tone. It's the informal chatter that flows through any group of people who spend time together.