bosom buddy

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.

See also: bosom, buddy

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

bosom buddy

 and bosom pal

a close friend; one's closest friend. Of course I know Perry. He is one of my bosom pals.

See also: bosom, buddy

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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.

See also: bosom, buddy, friend

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer