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• Boy Scout
  Boy Scout

  noun

  a member of an organization of boys BoyScouts, founded in England in 1908 by Lieutenant General Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, that seeks to develop certain skills in its members, as well as character, self-reliance, and usefulness to others.
• boy scout
  boy scout

  noun

  See Scout

Boy Scout

American  

noun

1. a member of an organization of boys BoyScouts, founded in England in 1908 by Lieutenant General Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, that seeks to develop certain skills in its members, as well as character, self-reliance, and usefulness to others.

2. (lowercase) a member of any similar society elsewhere.

3. (lowercase) a person whose deeds, obliging personality, idealism, etc., exceed normal expectations.

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boy scout British  

noun

1. See Scout

2. informal an apparently virtuous and innocent person

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Sensitive Note

Use of boy scout to mean “someone who is obliging and idealistic” usually implies that the person is naive or unworldly.

Etymology

Origin of Boy Scout

First recorded in 1905–10