boy scout

plural boy scouts · alternative Boy Scout · alternative boyscout

1. A male member of the Scout Movement.
2. derogatorysometimesA man adhering to the values of honesty and idealism, and possibly somewhat naive or unworldly.

   Rocard, whose two marriages had failed during his long years as the left's boy scout, was reported to be living with a psychoanalyst.

   2003, Roger F. S. Kaplan, Conservative socialism: the decline of radicalism and triumph of the Left in France, Transaction Publishers, page 91

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   An independently rich 52-year-old, he is very much a political boy scout, and has flailed the state Republican party as a cloistered "country club".

   1982, The Economist, volume 284, Economist Newspaper Ltd., page 24

   But the bottom line is that Simon is running for president as the boy scout who adheres to traditional liberal policies and solutions.

   1987 October 2, Wall Street Journal,

plural Boy Scouts · alternative boy scout

1. A male member of the Scout Movement.
2. slangA person, especially a politician, who is idealistic and naive.

   Gore, of course, has never been a political Boy Scout, least of all when it comes to campaign finance.

   2003, Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, Al Gore: a user's manual, Verso, page 233

   1 more example

   When he arrived in Washington, some people thought of him as a Boy Scout, perhaps because he wore his hair in a crew cut.

   2004, Paul Alexander, Man of the People: The Life of John McCain, John Wiley and Sons, page 167