carrier pigeon

American  

noun

1. one of a breed of domestic pigeons having a large wattle around the base of the beak.

2. a homing pigeon trained to carry messages.

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carrier pigeon British  

noun

1. any homing pigeon, esp one used for carrying messages

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Etymology

Origin of carrier pigeon

First recorded in 1640–50

Example Sentences

When the war started, the army brought Mr. Skevington in to train the birds as carrier pigeons.

From Literature

Armies still relied on signal lamps and carrier pigeons to deliver messages that could mean the difference between life and death.

From Literature

A sort of industrial carrier pigeon, popular long before email and Amazon, pneumatic tubes used to be common in office buildings, hospitals, department stores and such.

From Los Angeles Times

If he continues to bat like this, he is well within his rights to deliver his pre-match message via carrier pigeon.

From BBC

Adler spearheaded a number of moves to modernize Reuters, which gained fame in its early days for using carrier pigeons to relay scoops.

From Reuters