Words & TermsEveryday life
bush telegraph
Also: the bush telegraph, heard it on the bush telegraph
The rapid informal spread of news by word of mouth.
In a sentence
In this historical or contextual use, “Bush telegraph” means the rapid informal spread of news by word of mouth.
Where it came from
The expression has strong Australian bush history and figurative use, including development alongside bushranging/frontier communication.
- Initial era
- 1800–1899
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established