Meanings
yellow boy1
plural yellow boys
- archaiccountablehistoricalslangA gold coin; a guinea or sovereign.First known use 17th c.
This enchanting game she has played for two years, and if you are her partner, she expects at least double the number of yellow boys.
1789, Harris's List of Covent-Garden Ladies, London: H. Ranger, page 631 more example
“Damn them, (cried the commodore) I wish both their necks were broke, thof the two cost me forty good yellow-boys.” “Forty guineas! (exclaimed the stranger […]).”
1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC - slanguncountableIron(III) hydroxide, a yellow-orange solid found in acidic water from mining projects.
Yellow Boy2
plural Yellow Boys
- informalengineeringA Winchester Model 1866 lever action rifle.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of goldback (“kind of gold certificate”).
Origin
From the golden yellow colour of its receiver.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
yellow boy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20boy
“yellow boy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20boy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yellow boy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20boy.
Source: yellow boy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.