# Who is 'Old Boy'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882 "2009-09-13T02:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/1 "2009-09-13T02:57:02Z")
One ex-gf at one time had had a black bf. Now, bf said to her, concerning a mutual friend “I’ll go by Old Boy’s house before coming over.” Many years later, a black co-worker said to me “I asked ‘Old Boy’ to come in on his day off.” I knew of whom he spoke, of course, but the reference hit a note. Later on, he told me that he had asked ‘Old Girl’ to do something. I knew of whom he spoke, but the Old somethingorother rang a bell. So, in the black community, who is ‘Old Boy’ or where did the name originate? Thanks, hh ---
**Author:** ![Coalcracker0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b38774/32.png) [@Coalcracker0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coalcracker0)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/2 "2009-09-13T23:24:49Z")
Not really an answer, but another point of ref: I come from the hard-coal regions of NE PA. We say, “Our lad”, as in “Our lad over there is buying a round.”. Also say “Our lady” where appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/3 "2009-09-13T23:32:18Z")
Maybe they were both fans of “From Russia With Love.” I got nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/4 "2009-09-14T01:33:28Z")
Is this a black thing? I know two guys who talk that way and they’re white. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/5 "2009-09-14T02:54:51Z")
This is a very common expression here in Mississippi. I’ve heard it mostly from whites though. ETA: Also, it’s more common among the over-35 crowd. Younger people say ‘dude’. “I saw dude walking on the tracks today”. “Then dude brought me my latte”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/6 "2009-09-14T02:57:13Z")
[This guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oldboykoreanposter.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/7 "2009-09-14T18:02:17Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > One ex-gf at one time had had a black bf. Now, bf said to her, concerning a mutual friend “I’ll go by Old Boy’s house before coming over.” > > Many years later, a black co-worker said to me “I asked ‘Old Boy’ to come in on his day off.” I knew of whom he spoke, of course, but the reference hit a note. > > Later on, he told me that he had asked ‘Old Girl’ to do something. I knew of whom he spoke, but the Old somethingorother rang a bell. > > So, in the black community, who is ‘Old Boy’ or where did the name originate? > > Thanks, > hh “Old Boy” and “Old Girl” come from the same roots (ouch) as “Old man” and “Old Lady”. I have friends from Detroit that use it. I haven’t heard it much in California, so it could be a midwest/down south thang. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/8 "2009-09-14T18:07:46Z")
I knew a group of friends who used it a lot back in the '90s. One of them got punched out in a nightclub for saying “excuse me, old boy” to someone. We always said “homey” or “homeboy,” semi-ironically. Now I guess I’d probably say dude if anything, but I’m not really cool enough to have friends who understand slang anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/9 "2009-09-14T19:34:24Z")
In British public schools, an “Old Boy” is what we would call “an alumnus”. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/10 "2009-09-14T20:18:37Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > In British public schools, an “Old Boy” is what we would call “an alumnus”. It was also very commonly used in Britain in the 1930s/40s/50s as a general term. “Hello, old boy! I haven’t seen you in a while.” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-old-boy/509882/11 "2009-09-14T21:18:46Z")
I recall Will Smith claiming he was “trying to get a feel for the old girl” in _Independence Day_.