Did you know Scuttlebutt, Fathom, Son of a Gun were words from the sea?

Scuttlebutt – The cask of drinking water on ships was called a “scuttlebutt” and since Sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, “scuttlebutt” became U.S. Navy slang for gossip or rumors. A “butt” was a wooden cask which held water or other liquids; to “scuttle” is to drill a hole as for tapping a cask.

Fathom – Although a fathom is now a nautical unit of length equal to six feet, it was once defined by an act of Parliament as “the length of a man’s arms around the object of his affections.” The word derives from the Old English “Faethm,” which means “embracing arms.”

Son of a Gun – When in port, and with the crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of easy virtue often were allowed to live aboard along with the crew. Infrequently, but not uncommonly, children were born aboard the ship, and a convenient place for the birth was between guns on the ship’s gun deck. If a child’s father was unknown, they were entered in the ship’s log as “son of a gun.”