the old guard

the old guard

The established, longtime members of a country, organization, or ideological position, who are resistant to any change within that arena. There are a lot of good ideas being proposed, but the old guard of the party have resisted their adoption.
See also: guard, old
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the old guard

COMMON If you call a group of people the old guard, you mean they have worked in an organization for a very long time. Note: Your guard is the position that you get in when you are ready to defend yourself in sports such as boxing or fencing. The reforms were fiercely opposed by many in the ruling party's old guard. The company's old guard is at last stepping aside, making way for a new, more youthful team. Note: You often use this expression to show that you disapprove of such people because they are unwilling to accept new ideas or practices. Note: The original `Old Guard' consisted of the most experienced regiments of Napoleon Bonaparte's Imperial Guard. These soldiers were considered to be the best in the French army.
See also: guard, old
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

the ˌold ˈguard

the original or older members of a group or an organization, who are often against change but whose ideas and ways of working are being replaced: The old guard in European politics is being challenged by fresh new ideas.
See also: guard, old
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

old guard

The established, conservative members of any movement or party, who tend to resist any change. The term is a translation of Vieille Garde (French for “old guard”), the name given to Napoleon’s Imperial Guard, who were the elite veteran regiments of his army and intensely loyal to him. It was they who made the last French charge at Waterloo. The name began to be used for American political conservatives in the early 1840s.
See also: guard, old
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • old guard
  • an iron curtain
  • iron curtain
  • new wine in old bottles
  • new wine in old wineskins
  • wineskin
  • of the old school
  • from the old school
  • the old school
  • secede from
References in periodicals archive
Based on these calculations, Kim Jong Il chose an "inclusionary" option toward the old guard. He managed to curb the political passions of the younger elite, who have so far devoted their total loyalty to him.
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Participants agreed that was the moment they waited for all weekend--an opportunity to play with the Soldiers of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
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The scenes inside Parliament where the old guard was busy pointing fingers and outside where the young MPs jointly addressed the media showed just how wide the chasm has become.
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But under pressure from the old guard, Gadkari named Varun as one of the secretaries.
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In a surprise move, officials bypassed younger candidates to name a 77-year-old revolutionary leader, Jose Ramon Machado, Cuba's number two - apparently reassuring the old guard that no significant political changes would be made soon.
Brother to rule Cuba
Especially given evidence that the new form is much quicker to correct itself, it's hard not to see the old guard as a priestly class that feels displaced by developments it can't control.
Express yourself
In spite of the sad demise of Lutece and Lespinasse and La Cote Basque's becoming a brasserie, grand French cuisine is staging a comeback with much of the old guard, La Grenouille, which will have a whole new look, Restaurant Daniel, Le Bernardin, Le Cirque, Jean Georges, Le Perigord, Alain Ducasse, and The Four Seasons, still going strong.
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The old guard led the youngsters a merry dance, as has been the case so often across the pond this season.
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CS: I do feel there's a generation gap--I'm part of the old guard. I'm not tempted by new technologies, though if I could think of what I could do with them, I would do it.
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Tlas as 1st deputy premier leading the old guard (see the political leadership profiles in Gas Market Trends), Dr.
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Almost overnight, the old guard Labour councillors found themselves in marginal seats - which they lost.
Gatecrashing an age-old party; my first step to success Louise Ellman, MP for Riverside, Liverpool
Greed has won out over morality, and the old guard has returned to business as usual.
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Given the corruption scandals involving the grand old men of Europe--former chancellor Kohl and French President Mitterrand, not to mention former EU President Jacques Santer--the gang of 25 have written off the old guard.
Does The EU Really Care About Its Entrepreneurs?
And he will highlight the rift between moderate Tories and the old guard, and growing unhappiness with Hague.
Death of the Tory party
From 1981 to 1985, he saw the leadership of the Soviet Union shift from the tired rule of Leonid Brezhnev to the dynamic but short reign of Yuri Andropov, then give way to a last gasp of the old guard under Konstantin Chernenko, and finally revert to Andropov's young protege, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Shadows and whispers: power politics inside the Kremlin from Brezhnev to Gorbachev