good old boy
Southern establishment member
A good old boy is a white man from the rural American South, typically one who embodies a constellation of traditional values: friendliness, informality, loyalty to his community, and conservative politics.
The term can be affectionate or critical depending on context—it may suggest warmth and authenticity or imply racism and insularity.
A good old boy network is an informal system where such men help each other get jobs and opportunities: He got the contract through the good old boy network.
Favoring friends in appointments
- nepotismPreferring kin in hiring
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
backroom deals · gentlemen's club · influence peddling · clubby · connections · clique · insiders · powerbrokers
Rural Southern laborer stereotype
- chauvinistBiased group supremacist
- sexistBiased based on gender
- paternalisticRestrictive under guise of care
- provincialRegional or narrow-minded
patriarchal · backwoods · machismo · parochial · blue-collar · reactionary · xenophobic · homophobic
Allied partner in schemes
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- magnoliaLarge-flowered ornamental tree
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- bayouMarshy, slow-moving waterway
moonshine · banjo · bluegrass · honky-tonk · barbecue · hoedown · biscuits · grits
Showing kindness, warmth
- genialPleasantly warm-mannered
- cordialWarmly friendly manner
- affableWarm and approachable
- neighborlyFriendly toward those nearby
backslapping · easygoing · folksy · down-home · approachable · gregarious · jovial · charming
Consistently loyal and true
- devotedLoyally and lovingly attached
- steadfastFirmly loyal, unshakeable
- true-blueCompletely, unwaveringly loyal
- dependableWorthy of trust
reliable · trustworthy · staunch · ride-or-die · brotherhood · solidarity · thick as thieves · tight-knit
cronyism
Favoring friends in appointments
- nepotismPreferring kin in hiring
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
establishment · backroom deals · gentlemen's club · influence peddling · clubby · connections · clique · insiders · powerbrokers · gatekeepers
redneck
Rural Southern laborer stereotype
- chauvinistBiased group supremacist
- sexistBiased based on gender
- paternalisticRestrictive under guise of care
provincial · patriarchal · backwoods · machismo · parochial · blue-collar · reactionary · xenophobic · homophobic · anti-intellectual
confederate
Allied partner in schemes
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- magnoliaLarge-flowered ornamental tree
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
bayou · moonshine · banjo · bluegrass · honky-tonk · barbecue · hoedown · biscuits · grits · collards
friendly
Showing kindness, warmth
neighborly · backslapping · easygoing · folksy · down-home · approachable · gregarious · jovial · charming · storytelling
faithful
Consistently loyal and true
- devotedLoyally and lovingly attached
- steadfastFirmly loyal, unshakeable
- true-blueCompletely, unwaveringly loyal
dependable · reliable · trustworthy · staunch · ride-or-die · brotherhood · solidarity · thick as thieves · tight-knit · got your back
- Southern PoliticsDixiecrats, Jim Crow, poll tax, poll taxes, one-party rule
- good old
- corruptioncorruption, graft, kickbacks, bribery, bribes
- SouthernersAlabaman, Alabamian, Alabamians, Arkansan, Arkansans
good old boyoutsider
One excluded from group
newcomer · interloper · carpetbagger · stranger · pariah
good old boycoastal elite
Privileged urban seaboard residents
city slicker · Yankee · cosmopolitan · sophisticate · progressive