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A buttload in modern slang just means "a large amount," but surprisingly, it is also actually a real unit of measure that has fallen out of favor for perhaps obvious reasons. :)

A butt (from Middle English bote) is equal to two hogsheads, but hogsheads vary according to the contents. In the United States a hogshead is typically 63 gallons and a butt is 126 gallons.

Some sources say that the difference in size of a butt depends on where you live (gallons vs imperial gallons). In Scotland, a butt is 108 Imperial gallons, and a hogshead is 54 gallons.

Other sources say that a butt was 126 gallons if wine, and 108 if ale, which would go along with the varying-hogshead size explanation.

It depends on who you talk to when translating "butt" into "buttload" however. Some say that a filled butt is a buttload. Others, that a wagon filled with butts would be a buttload. I favor the wagon explanation myself, but I really don't know if there is a difference. How many giant 126-gallon casks can you really fit in a wagon anyway?

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7y ago

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