Crossword clues for old boy network
old boy network
WordNet
n. an exclusive informal network linking members of a social class or profession or organization in order to provide connections and information and favors (especially in business or politics); "professional women have developed an old boy network of their own"
Wikipedia
An old boy network, or society (also old boys' club), can refer to social and business connections among former pupils of male-only private schools. The term originated from much of the British elite having attended certain public schools as boys, thus former pupils are " old boys".
This can apply to the network between the graduates of a single school regardless of their gender. It is also known as an old boy society and is similar to an alumni association. It can also mean a network of social and business connections among the alumni of various prestigious schools. In popular language, old boy network or old boy society has come to be used in reference to the preservation of social elites in general; such connections within the British Civil Service formed a primary theme in the British Broadcasting Corporation's satirical comedy series Yes Minister. The phrase "It's not what you know, it's whom you know" is associated with this tradition.
Usage examples of "old boy network".
Biology was an incredible and archaic patriarchy with many of the aspects of an old boy network: secret signs, passwords, rituals of indoctrination.
Every agent has his own 'old boy network' and like every other 'old boy network' it cuts across frontiers, jobs and every other loyalty - it's a sort of spy's insurance policy.
Perhaps the French Secret Service doesn't have an old boy network with your section.
In the course of my research I upset a few younger members of the Oxbridge set by suggesting that the City of London corruption cases of the eighties could be traced to the exclusion practices of the old boy network, and I went as far as to name a few of the culprits.