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Reader question: What does this – He's from the old school, fool – mean? My comments: Ha, it means the speaker is not very fond of "he" who is from the old school. The speaker considers him foolish, perhaps not in the straightforward stupid, unintelligent way, but in the way that the old-school man might be intolerably inflexible. Just a guess. First, definitions. Someone who is "from the old school" is one brought up and trained the traditional way. He has conventional ideas and ways of doing things. For example, the painter from the old school might have a difficulty appreciating the avant-garde. In music, he may prefer classical music to, say, rock 'n' roll and rap. "Old school" is not a derogative term. The term itself is mutual. In "he's from the old school, fool", it's a putdown, but in "he's from the old school – he's impeccable in speech and behavior", for example, it is a compliment. Also, it's the same thing to say someone is "old school" (the coach is old school – he trains us three times a day) or "from the old school" (the teacher is from the old school – he never tires correcting our pronunciations). And, by the way, "old school" has nothing to do with your Alma Mater, that is, the old school you graduated from. Here are a few examples from the media. But before the examples, let me say happy holidays to you all. Guo Nian Hao! | 
