choirboy
noun
choir·boy ˈkwī(-ə)r-ˌbȯi 
1
: a boy member of a choir
2
: an innocent or virtuous man : altar boy sense 2
They're not thugs, but they're not choirboys either …
Phil Taylor
Phil Taylor
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Miffed by the backlash, the Birds cut their own version of the song, with lead singer Ira Tucker transforming Mr. Simon’s twee choirboy vocal into raucous, tent-revival testifying. Eddie Dean, WSJ, 29 July 2022 With his sterling reputation as a local athlete, choirboy, Boy Scout and honor student with no prior arrests, Mr. Artis also drew the support of celebrities, journalists, civil liberties figures and others. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021 Nas paced around the vocal booth listening to the playback, holding his hands together in front of himself like a choirboy. New York Times, 7 July 2021 Quindon Tarver, a McKinney native who appeared as a choirboy in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and on seasons two and seven of American Idol, has died. Jeremy Hallock, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2021 With unprecedented access to the artist, the documentary follows Lightfoot’s evolution from Christian choirboy to troubled troubadour to international star and beloved Canadian icon. Dave Brooks, Billboard, 12 Oct. 2020 The second choirboy died from an accidental overdose after years of drug abuse. Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 17 Sep. 2019 He had been accused of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys after Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996. Nr Editors, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020 Almost 10 years earlier, in 1994, Van Handel had pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious behavior with a 14-year-old choirboy and gone to prison. USA Today, 12 Nov. 2019 See More
Eddie Dean, WSJ, 29 July 2022 With his sterling reputation as a local athlete, choirboy, Boy Scout and honor student with no prior arrests, Mr. Artis also drew the support of celebrities, journalists, civil liberties figures and others. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021 Nas paced around the vocal booth listening to the playback, holding his hands together in front of himself like a choirboy. New York Times, 7 July 2021 Quindon Tarver, a McKinney native who appeared as a choirboy in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and on seasons two and seven of American Idol, has died. Jeremy Hallock, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2021 With unprecedented access to the artist, the documentary follows Lightfoot’s evolution from Christian choirboy to troubled troubadour to international star and beloved Canadian icon. Dave Brooks, Billboard, 12 Oct. 2020 The second choirboy died from an accidental overdose after years of drug abuse. Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 17 Sep. 2019 He had been accused of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys after Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996. Nr Editors, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020 Almost 10 years earlier, in 1994, Van Handel had pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious behavior with a 14-year-old choirboy and gone to prison. USA Today, 12 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1