different between fling vs scuttle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fl??/
• Rhymes: -??

Etymology 1

From Middle English fling, from the verb (see below). Compare Icelandic flengur (“a fast sprint”).

Noun

fling (plural flings)

1. An act of throwing, often violently.
2. An act of moving the limbs or body with violent movements, especially in a dance.

3. An act or period of unrestrained indulgence.
   • 1838, Douglas William Jerrold, Men of Character

     When I was as young as you, I had my fling. I led a life of pleasure.
4. A short casual sexual relationship.

   Synonym: hookup

5. (figuratively) An attempt, a try (as in "give it a fling").
6. (obsolete) A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe or taunt.
   • c. 1732, Jonathan Swift, Epistle to a Lady

     I, who love to have a fling, / Both at senate house and king.

7. A lively Scottish country dance.

8. (obsolete) A trifling matter; an object of contempt.
   • ante 1800, old proverb

     England were but a fling / Save for the crooked stick and the grey goose wing.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English flingen, flengen, from Old Norse flengja (“to whip”), from Proto-Germanic *flangijan? (“to beat, whip”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh?k- (“to beat”). Cognate with Icelandic flengja (“to spank”), Norwegian flengja (“to rip, tear, or fling open”).

Verb

fling (third-person singular simple present flings, present participle flinging, simple past flung or (colloquial or dialectal, nonstandard) flang or (nonstandard) flinged, past participle flung or (nonstandard) flinged)

1. (intransitive, now archaic) To move (oneself) abruptly or violently; to rush or dash.
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 113:

     I see, sir, said I, I see what a man I am with. […] And away I flung, leaving him seemingly vexed, and in confusion.

   • I flung closer to his breast, / As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath.

2. (transitive) To throw with violence or quick movement; to hurl.
   • I know thy generous temper well. / Fling but the appearance of dishonour on it, / It straight takes fire.
3. (intransitive, archaic) To throw; to wince; to flounce.
   • 1836, Helen Crocket, The Ettrick Shepherd's Last Tale

     The horse flung most potently, making his heels fly aloft in the air.

4. (intransitive, archaic) To utter abusive language; to sneer.

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• skuttle

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sk?t?l/, [?sk?t??], [?sk?t??]
• (US) IPA^(key): /?sk?t?l/, [?sk????], [?sk????]
• Rhymes: -?t?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English scuttel, scutel, from Old English scutel (“dish, platter”), from Latin scutella, diminutive form of Latin scutra (“flat tray, dish”), perhaps related to Latin scutum (“shield”); compare Dutch schotel and German Schüssel.

Noun

scuttle (plural scuttles)

1. A container like an open bucket (usually to hold and carry coal).
   • 1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, ch 4:

     All through dinner—which was long, in consequence of such accidents as the dish of potatoes being mislaid in the coal skuttle and the handle of the corkscrew coming off and striking the young woman in the chin—Mrs. Jellyby preserved the evenness of her disposition.

2. A broad, shallow basket.
3. (obsolete, Northern England and Scotland) A dish, platter or a trencher.

Usage notes

The sense of "dish, platter" survives in compounds like scuttle-dish (a large dish).

Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French escoutille (compare French écoutille), from Old Norse skaut (“corner of a cloth, of a sail”), or alternatively from Spanish escotilla, ultimately from Gothic ???????????????????????? (skauts, “projecting edge, fringe”), from Proto-Germanic *skautaz (“corner; wedge; lap”). Compare German Schoß, Old English s??at. More at sheet.

Noun

scuttle (plural scuttles)

1. A small hatch or opening in a boat. Also, small opening in a boat or ship for draining water from open deck.
2. (construction) A hatch that provides access to the roof from the interior of a building.

Synonyms

• (hatch that provides access to the roof): roof hatch

Translations

Verb

scuttle (third-person singular simple present scuttles, present participle scuttling, simple past and past participle scuttled)

1. (transitive, nautical) To cut a hole or holes through the bottom, deck, or sides of (as of a ship), for any purpose.
2. (transitive) To deliberately sink one's ship or boat by any means, usually by order of the vessel's commander or owner.
   • 2002, Richard Côté, Theodosia Burr Alston: Portrait of a Prodigy, Corinthian Books (2002), ?ISBN, page 325:

     In this version, the Patriot was boarded by pirates (or the crew and passengers were overpowered by mutineers), who murdered everyone and then looted and scuttled the ship.

   • 2003, Richard Norton Smith, The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955, Northwestern University Press (2003), ?ISBN, page 238:

     To lay the foundation for an all-weather dock at Shelter Bay, he filled an old barge with worn-out grindstones from the Thorold paper mill, then scuttled the vessel.

   • 2007, Michael Mueller, Canaris: The Life and Death of Hitler's Spymaster, Naval Institute Press (2007), ?ISBN, page 17:

     He decided that before scuttling the ship to prevent her falling into enemy hands he had to get the dead and wounded ashore.

   • 2009, Nancy Toppino, Insiders' Guide to the Florida Keys and Key West, Insiders' Guide (2009), ?ISBN, page 227:

     In recent years, steel-hull vessels up to 350 feet long have been scuttled in stable sandy-bottom areas, amassing new communities of fish and invertebrates and easing the stress and strain on the coral reef by creating new fishing and diving sites.

3. (transitive, by extension, in figurative use) Undermine or thwart oneself (sometimes intentionally), or denigrate or destroy one's position or property; compare scupper.

   The candidate had scuttled his chances with his unhinged outburst.

Translations

Etymology 3

See scuddle.

Verb

scuttle (third-person singular simple present scuttles, present participle scuttling, simple past and past participle scuttled)

1. (intransitive) To move hastily, to scurry.
   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 3

     there was a wisp or two of fine seaweed that had somehow got in, and a small crab was still alive and scuttled across the corner, yet the coffins were but little disturbed.

   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 8

     Morel scuttled out of the house before his wife came down.

Usage notes

The word "scuttle" carries a crab-like connotation, and is mainly used to describe panic-like movements of the legs, akin to crabs' leg movements.

Translations

Noun

scuttle (plural scuttles)

1. A quick pace; a short run.

Further reading

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language
• An historical dictionary
• The English Dialect Dictionary
• Scuttle in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

References

Anagrams

• cutlets, cuttles