spratmo

English

Etymology

Unknown

Noun

spratmo (uncountable)

1. (dated, African-American Vernacular, military) News, gossip. [1940s]
   • 1991, J. Alfred Phelps, Chappie: America's first Black four-star general:

     As early as February 1943, the "spratmo"' around Tuskegee was that the 99th was to be sent to the North African theater. There had been other rumors.

   • 1998, Stanley Sandler, Segregated Skies:

     Segregated and unwieldy as the group might be, it was now well established, aggressive, and successful. Morale continued high. Squadron clubs operated in full swing, with drinks, music, and "spratmo" (gossip).

   • 2002, Charles W. Dryden, Benjamin O Davis, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman, page 229:

     Yeah, Babe, I guess I got about seven hours in the hot sun under the bubble canopy but I'm OK now. How 'bout you? What's the latest spratmo about your condition?

   • 2010, J. Todd Moye, Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, page 97:

     “Spratmo,” the base grapevine, hummed with reports that the squadron would ship out any day now—or maybe in two months