Old School

Origin of: Old School

Old School

If someone is described as 'old school' it means having traditional, proven, trusted, and rather old-fashioned principles and values, as opposed to having new-fangled, modern, and perhaps dubious principles and values. Therefore, there is often an implied derogatory connotation in not being 'old school'. The expression has been used in this figurative way from at least the early 1700s.