a US telegraph company (= one offering a service of sending people’s messages by the use of electric current along wires). It was established in 1851 and used during the American Civil War . Since it could deliver written messages quickly in an emergency, people often feared it was bad news when one arrived. The company now offers ways of sending money to other countries.
WESTERN UNION
Meaning of WESTERN UNION in English
Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary. Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь. 2005