OLD BOY NETWORK


Meaning of OLD BOY NETWORK in English

n [ sing ] ( BrE infml often disapprov )

(especially in the past) the situation in many British companies, government departments and branches of the armed forces where people give jobs and other privileges to ‘old boys’ (= former students) of the public school (1) or university that they went to:

Most of the managers were chosen by the old boy network and many of them turned out to be incompetent.

Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary.      Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь.