English Reference
Idiom idiom

mukluk telegraph


The spread of information and gossip by word of mouth in rural Alaska.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The mukluk telegraph says the storm is coming tonight.

CONTEXTUAL

Word travels fast in this village because the mukluk telegraph is always active.

COMPLEX

Before the internet reached the remote settlement, the mukluk telegraph served as the primary, albeit often unreliable, source of local news.


Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    bush telegraph

    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. 02

    jungle telegraph

    A system used by primitive cultures in remote tropical regions for communication over long distances, such as drum sounds or a relay of runners.

Last updated August 10, 2026