the old boy network






the old boy network

mutual assistance especially preferment in employment shown among those with a shared social and educational background




Related Idioms and Phrases :



any old how

in no particular order



come the old soldier = play the old soldier

use your greater age or experience of life to deceive someone or to shirk a duty – informal

In US nautical slang a soldier or an old soldier was an incompetent seaman.



make old bones

reach an advanced age

He knew he would never make old bones.



of the old school

traditional or old-fashioned

1998 - Imogen de la Bere - The Last Deception of Palliser Wentwood - He came of the old school in which men did not weep in front of other men.



the old Adam

Unregenerate human nature

In Christian symbolism, the old Adam represents fallen man as contrasted with the second Adam, Jesus Christ.

1993 Outdoor Canada : It is the Old Adam in us. We are descendants of a long line of dirt farmers, sheepherders... and so forth.



old as the hills = ancient as the hills

of very long standing or very great age

Hills are used in the Bible as a metaphor for permanence.



the old days

a period in the past often seen as significantly different from the present especially noticeably better or worse



old enough to be his father = old enough to be his mother

of a much greater age than someone – informal

1997 - Nelson De Mille - Plum Island - He was probably old enough to be their father, but girls paid attention to money, pure and simple.



an old one

a familiar joke



the old school tie

the attitudes of group loyalty and traditionalism associated with wearing the tie of a particular public school – British



old Spanish customs = old Spanish practices

longstanding though unauthorized or irregular work practices

This expression has been in use in printing circles since the 1960s. It is often used humorously to refer to practices in the British newspaper printing houses in Fleet Street – London - formerly notorious for their inefficiency. The reason for describing such practices as Spanish is not known.

1998 - Spectator - [Outsourcing] can do much for flexibility and more for costs and it is a proven cure for quaint old Spanish customs.



an old wives' tale = an old wives' fable

a widely held traditional belief that is now thought to be unscientific or incorrect

The phrase (and its earlier variant old wives' fable) is recorded from the early 16th century with the earliest example being from Tyndale's translation of the Bible.



play Old Harry with = play the devil with

damage or affect greatly

Old Harry has been a nickname for the devil in northern England since the 18th century.




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