Scuttlebutt? I am not sure if that word is part of your working vocabulary, but for every naval person that ever was, scuttlebutt is a term that means rumors. As in, “have you heard the scuttlebutt? We’re making a mid-patrol stop at….” During my time serving onboard a submarine there was one patrol in which the scuttlebutt was so sure that it was elevated to “the gouge” – an expression that meant the real, insider knowledge. It was our own ontological vocabulary to separate fact from fiction… or at least to label such things. Continue reading →