scupper
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English scope (“scoop”) or Dutch schop (“shovel”) + -er; or from Dutch scheppen (“to draw off”).
Noun
scupper (plural scuppers)
- (nautical) A drainage hole on the deck of a ship.
- (architecture) A similar opening in a wall or parapet that allows water to drain from a roof.
- 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 111:
- I have said that our roof was decidedly Biblical in style; but to make it a dry one, something of a nautical character was added to its architecture, for on either side were scuppers, and it was slightly arched in the centre[.]
Derived terms
Translations
nautical: drainage hole
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architecture: drainage hole in a wall or parapet
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Further reading
Etymology 2
Of unknown origin; possibly verbized form of Etymology 1, but this is unlikely.
Verb
scupper (third-person singular simple present scuppers, present participle scuppering, simple past and past participle scuppered)
- (British) Thwart or destroy, especially something belonging or pertaining to another.
- Coordinate term: scuttle
- The bad media coverage scuppered his chances of being elected.
- 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World , London, New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- ["]The only chance was to get the guns and try a rescue. Of course they may scupper them at once in revenge.["]
- 2002 July 2, Hugo Young, “We can't allow US tantrums to scupper global justice”, in The Guardian:
- This is the face of American exceptionalism […] threatening to scupper both the court and, failing that, UN peace-keeping operations in Bosnia and anywhere else the US might have forces deployed on such work.
- 2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media:
- Anthony Watson’s late interception and Owen Farrell’s 100% kicking contribution also helped scupper the Wallabies, despite the promise of their exciting new centre Jordan Petaia and the roadrunner pace of winger Marika Koroibete.
- 2020 May 20, John Crosse, “Soon to be gone... but never forgotten”, in RAIL, page 62:
- Pacers should have all been withdrawn by now, but that has been scuppered by a failure to deliver new trains on time and delays to infrastructure projects. The most high-profile withdrawals were to be Northern's Class 142s and '144s' (the latter by the end of 2018, and the '142s' by the end of last year).
Translations
thwart, destroy
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References
- “scupper”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.