Idioms

good ole boy

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good old boy

1. In the Southern US, a white man considered to have the qualities associated with traditional conservative Southern masculine culture, including an easygoing demeanor and a generally conservative worldview. The term is applied either positively or negatively, depending on how one views such a culture. Jefferson is a good old boy—you can trust him to uphold our values. Great, just what we need—another good old boy elected to office. She's not from around these parts, so she doesn't understand how good old boys like us operate.
2. A male who is part of a very loyal social group. Of course he only hires his friends—he's a good old boy. What do you expect? Just know that if you marry a good old boy, you're marrying his friends, too. You'll never be able to get any of those good old boys to testify against each other.
3. A nice, pleasant male. He's a good old boy, sure, but there's just no chemistry between us. I'm sure your friend is a good old boy—I just need a break from the blind dates right now. Oh yeah, I've met Andrew before. He's a good old boy, so, sure, he can come along with us.
See also: boy, good, old
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

good ole boy

verb
See also: boy, good, olé
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
Buying Group for about six years has helped our business jump the "good ole boy" hurdle.
Another domestic violence activist, Rose Mary Shaw (Osage), says tribes often function on a "good ole boy system." Shaw has to pressure tribes relentlessly to respond to domestic/sexual violence cases.
They have lumbered us with a good ole boy who spends most of his time with his foot in his mouth, saying things like: "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
The minority firm expressed this to be an example of continuation of the "Good Ole Boy Network."
But most critically, if King was to win in Birmingham, he would have to beat a person at least as formidable as himself, a saintly, legendary figure who embodied all that the citizens of the state felt was best about themselves and their state, the ultimate "good ole boy," and one of the most popular political leaders in Alabama if not the entire South, Eugene "Bull" Connor, known simply as "Mr.
Eliminate the good ole boy network once and for all.
It confirmed their feeling that he had been a good ole boy since the beginning.
I've watched the board degenerate into what amounts to a "good ole boy" club.
About 70 campers joined the barbecue potluck Saturday evening at the campground's General Store that also featured a "jam session" by the Good Ole Boys, playing a mix of country, bluegrass and oldies rock.
His first big role was as Good Ole Boys front man Tucker McElroy in the 1980 musical comedy The Blues Brothers.
Jindal is the first non-white governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction, and in a state that has been described as "half under water, half under indictment," he's a far cry from what Louisiana voters had taken for granted: lily-white good ole boys who made more headlines for scandal and corruption than for governance.
This bedroom farce about a couple of good ole boys has a happy ending.
Apparently in New Hampshire, where Mark lived, the good ole boys had noticed Blair's Bambi persona, his ingratiating smile, his curly hair, his English accent, and had concluded that he was "one of those."
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