bosom buddy

One's close or closest friend; a friend one holds dear to one's heart. We grew up right next door to each other, so we have been bosom buddies since we were kids. I'm so excited that my bosom buddy is coming to visit this weekend! Carly's my bosom buddy, so I can tell her anything.

bosom friend

1. One's close or closest friend; a friend one holds dear to one's heart. We grew up right next door to each other, so we have been bosom friends since we were kids. I'm so excited that my bosom friend is coming to visit this weekend! Carly's my bosom friend, so I can tell her anything.

2. slang Lice. Ugh, I'm so itchy—I really hope my bosom friends aren't back. A: "If you're itchy, are you sure it's not because of bosom friends?" B: "Ew! Don't even joke about that!" A: "Please don't tell anyone that I've got lice, OK?" B: "Sure. I've had bosom friends before, so I know it's not fun."

bosom buddy/friend

An intimate friend. This turn of phrase for denoting a very dear associate is found in both the Old and New Testaments. Nathan says it “lay in his bosom and was unto him as a daughter” (2 Samuel 12:3), and in the Gospel of St. John, John, often called the “beloved disciple,” is described as the bosom friend of Jesus. In his “Ode to Autumn” John Keats wrote, “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun.” By this time “bosom friend” was also a euphemism for body lice, and Jonathan Swift’s Polite Conversation (1738) includes the pun, “I’m afraid your Bosom Friends are become your Backbiters.” The alliterative bosom buddy is of later provenance; the word “buddy,” for comrade or chum, dates from the mid-nineteenth century and originated in America. See also boon companion.