Scuttlebutt——傳聞

** unofficial information; unconfirmed report; presumed confidential information; rumor; hearsay; gossip; tidbits; chatter; chitchat

~~傳聞；閒話；閒語；口耳相傳；八卦；謠言；傳謠；流言蜚語；風言風語；謠言滿天飛

~~ tittle-tattle; prittle-prattle; from the grapevine; word of mouth; bull session; word on the street; back-fence talk; talk of the town; bush telegraph

!! Since the 15th century, sailors called any small hatchway in the deck a scuttle, for letting in light or air. A butt is just the old word for a large cask. So, scuttlebutt was a water cask with a hatch (or lid) on the top, through which sailors could scoop the water out with a tin pot or dipper. It happened that it was near the ship’s hatch. Scuttlebutt was the one place where sailors could meet and talk, chit-chat, rumor or gossip.

自從十五世紀以來，水手們將甲板上的任何小艙口稱呼為“scuttle”，用於採光或通風。“Butt”則是大桶的舊詞。因此，“scuttlebutt”表示一個頂部帶有開口（或蓋子）的水桶，水手可以通過它用錫罐或勺子將水舀出。碰巧它就在船艙口附近，因此，“Scuttlebutt”也是水手們見面和交談、閒聊、傳謠或者傳播流言蜚語的地方。

Scuttlebutt can equate to today’s office drinking fountains or water coolers. However, the word now means to rumor and gossip rather than the place where people exchanged them.

“Scuttlebutt”可以等同於現今在辦公室裡的飲水機，但這個詞現在的意思是謠言和八卦，而不是人們交流的地方。

>> About the scuttlebutt that some staffs are going to be fired, time has proven that there is no basis for it.

關於要解僱部分員工的傳聞，時間已印證這是沒有根據的。

>> The scuttlebutt that Macau government would re-start the Provident Fund with \$7,000 for every eligible Macau resident next year is now confirmed.

澳門政府將於明年向每位符合資格的澳門居民重新啟動公積金七千元的傳聞現已得到證實。

學勤進修教育中心英語專科導師

李啟文 教授