Brewer's: Telegram

Milking a telegram. A telegram is said to be “milked” when the message sent to a specific party is surreptitiously made use of by others.

“They receive their telegrams in cipher to avoid the risk of their being `milked' by rival journals,” —The Times, August 14th, 1869.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language