mulga wire
/ˈmʌlɡə ˌwaɪ(ə)ɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.69 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An informal gossip network, especially in a rural area such as the outback; also, a component in the network (either a person or an imagined wire).
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
A message or story transmitted through such an informal network, especially one containing false information.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
A system for long-distance communication used by Aboriginal Australians, chiefly using smoke signals; also, a message or signal sent using such a system.
Australian usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "There is a really good sketch of Micky, the lonely boundary rider, whose wonderful stock of news comes by "the mulga wires," who is full of scandal about the squatter's rams, and is "follered" by a phantom hut of leopard-wood slabs."
- "Lumps of silver as big as your head they're picking up. So the mulga wires say."
- ""How did he receive word about the sick lubra?" / "I don't know. Mulga wire, I suppose.""
- "That night, diggers from all over the field, having learnt by ‘mulga wire’ that one of their number had married Harry Albury's girl, gathered round the hut making cacophonous celebration […]"
- "In the meantime, I had been receiving worrying reports about Nancy by mulga wire but could not find out for sure what was wrong."
- "‘The mulga-wire’s not working too good,’ he said by way of greeting. ‘I had no idea. When did you get back?’"
Etymology
From mulga (“any of a number of small acacia trees, especially Acacia aneura, forming dense scrub in dry inland areas of Australia; (by extension) the outback”) + wire (“telecommunication wire or cable”), possibly modelled after bush telegraph.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmʌlɡə ˌwaɪ(ə)ɹ/
- British English: /ˈmʌlɡə ˌwaɪə/