old boy network
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Informal connections and friendships used to gain advantage
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những mối quan hệ và tình bạn không chính thức dùng để đạt được lợi thế
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: social network of older males
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He got the job through the old boy network
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “old boy network” mean?
Informal connections and friendships used to gain advantage Literally: social network of older males
Is “old boy network” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.