Meanings
plural old boy networks · alternative old-boy network
- idiomaticA presumed unacknowledged system of association between childhood friends (especially those at school or university together), used for mutual assistance or favouritism.
His hiring and promotion of senior officers rested not on merit but on an old-boy network of connections from Wall Street and the Social Register.
2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, page 71 more example
Another BWMT member said bars have no open advertising for bartenders and no affirmative action policy. He said bars hire "young, good looking white men" through an "old-boy network."
1982 April 10, David Morris, “Highly Segregated”, in Gay Community News, page 2Synonyms: good old boy network
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA presumed unacknowledged system of association between childhood friends (especially those at school or university together), used for mutual assistance or favouritism.
Translations
Finnish vanhojen kaverien verkosto
- vanhojen kaverien verkostosystem of favouritism
Norwegian Bokmål gutteklubb, gutteklubben Grei
- gutteklubbsystem of favouritism
- gutteklubben Greisystem of favouritism
Polish kolesiostwo
- kolesiostwosystem of favouritism
Cite this entry
old boy network. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20boy%20network
“old boy network.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20boy%20network. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “old boy network,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20boy%20network.
Source: old boy network on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.