bush telegraph

Alternative forms

 * bush-telegraph

Noun

 * 1)  A system used by undeveloped societies in remote regions for communication over long distances, such as drum sounds, word-of-mouth relay, or smoke signals.
 * 2) * 2007, "From Sudan to supermodel stardom," msnbc.com, 28 Aug. (retrieved 19 Sep. 2008) :
 * When I was born, family and friends came from all over, thanks to the bush telegraph. There were very few telephones where I grew up, so my father mentioned my birth to someone at the market. And that woman told a man who was delivering rice to a place up the road. He told someone there, who was taking a herd of cattle south, toward the villages. And pretty soon the news of my birth had spread far and wide.
 * 1)  A gossip network.

Synonyms

 * jungle telegraph
 * jungle telegraph, grapevine, rumor mill/rumour mill