old school tie

American  

noun

1. a necktie striped in the colors of a specific English public school, especially as worn by a graduate to indicate his educational background.

2. an alumnus of an English public school.

3. the clannishness and conservative manners, dress, and attitudes associated with students and graduates of the English public schools.

4. snobbishness, clannishness, or extreme conservatism.

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old school tie British  

noun

1. a distinctive tie that indicates which school the wearer attended

2. the attitudes, loyalties, values, etc, associated with British public schools

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Etymology

Origin of old school tie

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Unsurprisingly, the old school tie set at the ACB and Lord's dug in with blustery determination, setting in motion an explosive war of words.

From The Guardian • Jul. 8, 2013

With her two Oxford blues for rowing, it would be easy to see the loyalist MP as part of the old school tie club that unites so many of the cabinet.

From The Guardian • May 27, 2012

Another curiously Sri Lankan trait, highlighted in the book, is the "old school tie", the fierce attachment to one's alma mater.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2011

At 14, Feisal knotted on his father King Ghazi's old school tie, trundled off to Harrow, England.

From Time Magazine Archive

The latest old Etonian to call public attention to the soup stains on the old school tie is 24-year-old David Benedictus.

From Time Magazine Archive