moccasin telegraph

British  

noun

1. informal the transmission of rumour or secret information; the grapevine

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Example Sentences

Next July, Tinling and ten other clerks will board the sturdy H.B.C. supply ship Nascopie at Montreal, which will arrive at treeless Arctic Bay in September, bringing coal and food for the post, fresh fruit, gasoline, medical and dental supplies, 20 new books for the library, the latest copies of the company magazines, the Beaver and Moccasin Telegraph.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a rule, the slightest disturbance of their routine was heralded in advance by "moccasin telegraph," and this was like a bolt from the blue.

From Project Gutenberg

And, like all yeggs, he was an upholder of the "moccasin telegraph," a wanderer and a carrier of stray tidings as to the movements of others along the undergrooves of the world.

From Project Gutenberg

The news of the strike on Yukon fields flashed round the world on wires invisible and visible, passed by word of mouth from chum to chum, and by moccasin telegraph was carried to remotest corners of the continent.

From Project Gutenberg

And now, apprised by moccasin telegraph, we are all on the qui vive to catch sight of a floating bride.

From Project Gutenberg