poster boy

poster boy

A boy or man who typifies or is the perfect example of a particular characteristic, attitude, opinion, cause, or type of person. Pete managed to disassemble their washing machine, fix the problem, and then reassemble it all by himself? Wow, he's like the poster boy of DIY. What new earth-saving plan does the poster boy for environmentalism have in mind now? Mr. Walsh built his fortune from nothing, through his own tireless work and intense ambition. He really is the poster boy for the rags-to-riches American Dream.
See also: boy, poster
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ˈposter child/boy/girl

(American English) a person or thing that is seen as representing a particular quality or activity: My aunt sees me as the poster child for failed relationships. He’s the IT industry’s poster boy for success.
See also: boy, child, girl, poster
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • poster
  • poster child/boy/girl
  • poster child
  • poster child for (something)
  • a poster child for something
  • poster girl
  • number
  • identify with
  • not have a (some kind of) bone in (one's) body
  • there's something about (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
"He's now a poster boy for the far-right movement and that should cause us huge concern."
He's confident he can very well do the responsibility should the "poster boy of federalism" be given him despite having so much on his plate already.
"Mallya has travelled a long way from the king of good times during the UPA era to becoming the poster boy of bank default and corruption," he said.
Bertie's story received national media attention this week as he became the poster boy for Parallel London, the UK's first ever disability-led push/run event.
"I was never comfortable as a poster boy though," Harket admits.
In his otherwise exemplary profile of artist Alfred Leete ('Poster Boy,' July 2009), Mark Bryant makes exaggerated claims for the effectiveness of Leete's iconic 'pointing finger' poster featuring Lord Kitchener.
"Love in Condition Yellow: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage" tells the tale of two opposites, a free-spirited political activist familiar with cops in riot gear, and a poster boy for what a good cop should be.
It's not that Poster Boy isn't packed with pointed things to say about same-sex marriage, political hypocrisy, and homophobia--like Mary Cheney, this movie's hero often shows massive denial of a father's antigay agenda despite his own sexual orientation.
And who now has symbolically become Japan's poster boy for such speculation?
Allen is a longtime wing-nut poster boy. McCain, of course, is a historic bane to the movement.
As both wars droned on, Tillman, the picture perfect poster boy, evolved into something of a wild card.
After returning from that catastrophic nightmare, Dallaire subsequently become the military's poster boy for PTSD sufferers.
15-year-old Devon Brown is the poster boy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.
Earlier this year, Koro and his specialized engineering and consulting firm, Truck Wash Technologies Inc., was lauded as a Northern Ontario entrepreneurial poster boy, receiving an honourable mention at the Ontario Global Traders Awards.
and Burge is the poster boy," said Flint Taylor, a civil rights attorney with the People's Law Office in Chicago.