scupper

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌp.ə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌp.ɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌpə(ɹ)

Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English scope (“scoop”) or Dutch schop (“shovel”) +‎ -er; or from Dutch scheppen (“to draw off”).

scupper (plural scuppers)

1. (nautical) A drainage hole on the deck of a ship.
2. (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[.]

• scupper on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Of unknown origin; possibly verbized form of Etymology 1, but this is unlikely.

scupper (third-person singular simple present scuppers, present participle scuppering, simple past and past participle scuppered)

1. (transitive, UK) To 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     Pacers should have all been withdrawn by now, but that has been scuppered by a failure to deliver new trains on time and delays to infrastructure projects.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).

• “scupper”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• cuppers