old boy network
3
7.9
- noun
- /oʊld bɔɪ ˈnɛtˌwɜrk/
- Literature
:
red de viejos amigos
- He didn't come through the old-boy network, and for that reason the Republicans don't really like him.
- the good old boy network
- part of the old boy network
The quiet conversations, the private changes that have been made with, you know, with sort of the old boys network, etcetera.
- The quiet conversations, the private changes that have been made with, you know, with sort of the old boys network, etcetera.
Examples
-
Many job opportunities in finance come from the old boy network formed in prestigious universities.
-
We want people to use common sense, but to be honest, that leads to bias and old boy networks.
Blog text (14) -
Since joining the company in 2005, I have found it difficult, if not impossible, to break into the current "good old boy" network at work.
Blog text (28) -
There's an old boy network, and it's lily white.
Blog text (2) -
It also frustrates me that there are people in my group who have been with the company a long time and belong to the old boy network.
Blog text (15) -
The "old boy network" is not a myth, and it tends to be readily available to white men but only occasionally available to minorities and women.
Academic text (1995) -
Advancement within the profession depended to a great extent on a relatively small, informal, old-boy network.
Academic text (2007) -
And nowhere is that baggage more of a burden for them than in large law firms where the good-old-boy network of white male leadership still predominates.
Academic text (2006) -
The company's success can be attributed to the old boy network that connects its leaders.
-
He got the promotion thanks to his ties within the old boy network developed during his time at college.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A network of personal contacts in China used to get favors in business and everyday life
Giving friends special treatment instead of being fair to others
Antonyms
How Exclusive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The word 'network' and the literal words 'old' + 'boy' give a learner a clear sense of a group of (older) men connected to one another, so part of the meaning is recoverable. However, the specific British sense of 'old boy' as an alumnus/former pupil and the connotation of an informal, exclusionary professional patronage is culturally specific and idiomatic, so the full pragmatic meaning is not fully predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase old boy network comes from school life: an old boy was a man who had once been a pupil at the same private school, and a network was the group of former classmates who stayed in touch. These men often used their ties to 'help each other' get jobs or better positions and to leave 'outsiders' out, so today the phrase means an informal system where people with the same background use personal connections to advance each other.