crony
- 01 C1 Advanced
a close friend you have known for a long time.
a close companion or long-standing associate. Informal in register.
Simple“He went out for a few drinks with his old school cronies.”
In context“After the formal ceremony, the retired professor spent the evening reminiscing with his academic cronies about their early days in the laboratory.”
Teacher's tipWhile this can simply mean a friend, it often carries a negative suggestion of people helping each other unfairly.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a friend of a powerful person who gets a job or special help just because they are friends.
a political or business associate who benefits from favoritism, often at the expense of meritocracy.
Simple“The mayor was accused of giving government jobs to his cronies.”
In context“The investigative report highlighted how the CEO appointed several of his cronies to the board of directors to ensure his policies remained unchallenged.”
UsageFrequently appears in the phrase 'cronyism' to describe this type of corruption.
Teacher's tipThis is the most common way the word is used in news and political discussions today.
“But other, more extreme fascist societies proliferated and soon Lintorn-Orman and her cronies were outflanked.”
Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.