good old boy

American  

Also good ol' boy

noun

Informal.

1. a male who embodies the unsophisticated good fellowship and sometimes boisterous sociability regarded as typical of white males of small towns and rural areas of the South.

2. a person who belongs to a network of friends and associates with close ties of loyalty and mutual support.

---

Other Word Forms

• good old boyism noun

Etymology

Origin of good old boy

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

When Lorraine first meets Indira, several episodes before she sits down with those good old boys, all she can see is a civil servant in debt up to her eyeballs.

From Salon

“Jimmy is kind of like a good old boy network. He’s not going to sway the boat too much,” Vasquez said.

From Los Angeles Times

To succeed, Mr. Cox will have to confront the “good old boys’ network.”

From New York Times

“There’s the good old boy system, and we’re not a part of it,” one trooper, who remained anonymous, told the station in 2021.

From Washington Times

Was Colonel Parker — a native of Holland, using a fake name and honorary military title and pretending to be a good old boy from West Virginia — a captivating snake-oil salesman?

From New York Times

Related Words

• hick
• hillbilly