Old boy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old boy is an ironic to jokingly loving term for an adult, rather older man .

In some areas of Germany, older bachelors were specifically called "old boys".

In terms of the origin of the word, “old boy” corresponds to the term “old maid ”, but does not have the derogatory aftertaste that is today. Linguistically it is an oxymoron - a formation from two opposing, contradicting terms.

Use of the word

  • self-deprecating: "I old boy ... (can't do it anymore)"
  • as a greeting among men: "Hello, old boy!" , "Happy Birthday, old boy!"
  • for characterization, e.g. B. "That happy old boy ..." or "some old boy ..."

Quotes

  • Wilhelm Busch in The Adventure of a Bachelor (1875): "Red wine is for old boys / one of the best gifts."
  • August Bebel said at the SPD party congress in 1907 that in the event of a war in the East, as an "old boy, he would still be ready to pick up the gun and go to war against Russia."
  • Rudolf Schermann (a contemporary church critic) in his curriculum vitae: “Who is Pastor Rudolf Schermann? An old boy who was young at heart. Of course, that wasn't always the case. "

Other meanings

  • Vieux garçon (French for "old boy") is the French name of the card game Black Peter .

supporting documents

  1. ^ A b Johann Georg Krünitz : Economic Encyclopedia , Vol. 41, Berlin 1787, p. 132 sv Knabe. Online .
  2. ↑ Johann Christoph Adelung : Grammatical-Critical Dictionary of High German Dialect , Vol. 2, Leipzig 1793, Sp. 1648 sv Knabe. Online .
  3. ^ Protocol on the negotiations of the party congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Held in Essen from September 15 to 21, 1907. Vorwärts bookstore, Berlin 1907, p. 255 .

Web links