Pony Express
Preserved but no longer current.
This was the U.S. govern- ment mail system across the continent just before the days of railways and telegraphs. It ran from St. Joseph, Missouri, to the Pacific Coast and was inaugurated in 1860; less than two years later it was superseded by the electric telegraph.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Pony Express” mean?
This was the U.S. govern- ment mail system across the continent just before the days of railways and telegraphs. It ran from St. Joseph, Missouri, to the Pacific Coast and was inaugurated in 1860; less than two years later it was superseded by the electric telegraph.
Is “Pony Express” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.