old boy network

• old-boy network

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old boy network (plural old boy networks)

1. (idiomatic) A presumed unacknowledged system of association between childhood friends (especially those at school or university together), used for mutual assistance or favouritism.

   Synonym: good old boy network

   • 1982 April 10, David Morris, “Highly Segregated”, in Gay Community News, page 2:

     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."

   • 2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, page 7:

     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.

• old boys' club