I used to watch an anime titled Golden Boy. A few years after I saw it, I heard the lyrics of a Shins song say "you're finally golden boy". In both cases it seems to refer to a young man coming of working age or maybe the first signs of success (probably in terms of a carrier or something).
I was wondering how widespread that usage is, where it comes from, and if I'm right about the meaning.
Anyone know of this?
Best Answer
Looking at an Ngram of the phrase I noticed a sharp rise in its print frequency starting just before 1940. Scanning references from that time period, I found numerous mentions of Golden Boy, a commercially successful 1937 play by Clifford Odet (inspiration for the Coens' Barton Fink). This is also the earliest reference given by the OED as quoted by @Cerberus in his answer to the linked queston, On being golden.
I then found this definition in Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable that confirms the influence of Odet's title:
Other Google Books listings confirm the use of the phrase as a favorite in sports lingo, with various countries and sports having their own golden boys.
The phrase certainly predates this popularization, though. I found several figurative uses of the phrase from the 19th century, notably this 1848 reference describing a character from Goethe's 1773 Goetz von Berlichingen:
The phrase is in quotes because it is being used as a direct (translated) quotation from the play. Sir Walter Scott's English translation of this play has "gallant boy." If any German-fluent users here could confirm that "golden" is a more accurate translation, then this may be the first example of its modern connotation.
In other news, I found early references to the Japanese legend of Kintarō whose name is often translated "Golden Boy" and is the inspiration for the anime title mentioned by the OP. This popular Japanese folk hero, a child of superhuman strength, could also be the origin of this phrase in English though I couldn't find translations of his name as such before this 1896 reference:
Also of note, while unrelated to its origin, is the use of the phrase golden boy in gay subculture since the 1970s to refer to a young man in his prime.