[the_other]

I had to look up "telegraph" to confirm I'd understood you correctly. I don't recall seeing it used in the context of describing language, so I doubted my interpretation. I've heard it used most in discussions of boxing: a boxer's posture or their sequence of muscle activations _telegraph_ their planned attack such that their opponent has time to block or counter.

I like the way you used it. I'll try to use that myself.

[layer8]

It means communicating something quite clearly but by indirect means (and possibly inadvertently).

[hinkley]

I've had this argument in code reviews a couple of times:

Them (on the subject of 4 new methods): hey why did you make method 3 look "weird"? You should make it look like the other three.

Me: because one of these methods can set the building on fire, and the rest can't. I bet you can guess which one is the dangerous one. Works as expected.