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• old-boy network
  old-boy network

  noun

  an exclusive network that links members of a profession, social class, or organization or the alumni of a particular school through which the individuals assist one another in business, politics, etc.
• old boy network
  old boy network

  noun

  the appointment to power of former pupils of the same small group of public schools or universities

old-boy network

American  

[ohld-boi] / ˈoʊldˈbɔɪ /

noun

1. an exclusive network that links members of a profession, social class, or organization or the alumni of a particular school through which the individuals assist one another in business, politics, etc.

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old boy network British  

noun

1. informal the appointment to power of former pupils of the same small group of public schools or universities

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old boy network Cultural  

1. A set of relationships based on past friendship or acquaintance that sometimes replaces or undermines official organizations: “He didn't deserve that promotion; he got it because of his connections to the old boy network.”

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Etymology

Origin of old-boy network

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

old-boy network old boy network

Patsy Cline, who died in a plane crash the year before Parton got to town, had recently challenged the industry’s old-boy network, in which women almost never headlined shows.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 25, 2017

This is not an old-boy network, but a “one-boy network.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2017

No other college combines the intimate academic setting and broad curriculum of a LAC with a potent old-boy network.

From Economist ● Oct. 29, 2015

He rejected the notion there is an old-boy network among GMs who just hire buddies.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2015

He reminds us that the SAT was viewed, upon its introduction, as a liberal reform — a breakthrough for meritocracy, a way to jettison the old-boy network that fenced out minorities and nonlegacies.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2011

“There was definitely a contingent of old school – you know – old boy network types who resented me,” she added.

From Reuters ● Apr. 20, 2022

And yet the film almost makes you feel empathetic for the old boy network – nobody gave them the memo that a new day had come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2016

A former Conservative Party employee, he began a lobbying firm in the 1970s at a time when the term was barely recognised - the old boy network was still the favoured method of doing business.

From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2015

“To most people who even pay attention, they are just going to say, ‘This is just the good old boy network in South Carolina,’ ” he said.

From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2012

Takeovers are too important a part of national economic life to leave to the old boy network.

From The Guardian ● May 29, 2010