boondoggle
UK /ˈbuːndɒɡl̩/ · US /ˈbundɑɡəl/ noun, verb
Forms boondoggles boondoggling boondoggled
- noun (especially scouting) A braided ring to hold a neckerchief.
- noun (Canada, US, figuratively, usually politics) A waste of time or money; a pointless activity. “Opponents consider this another billion-dollar government boondoggle.”
- noun A trip or journey, especially a recreational or otherwise desirable one.
- noun (Antarctica, slang) A non-work trip away from a research station.
- verb (intransitive) To waste time on a pointless activity.
Synonyms
Etymology
Coined by American scout leader Robert H. Link in 1929; alternatively “boon doggle”. Compare woggle of similar sense, which is attested in the same period. In the sense of a “wasteful government program”, popularized in 1935 by The New York Times, in reference to New Deal programs which were claimed to feature people making such braids.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “boondoggle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details