Boondoggle Definition
bo͝ondôgəl, -dŏgəl
boondoggled, boondoggles, boondoggling
noun
An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.
American Heritage
A trifling or pointless project, expenditure, etc.; now esp., one financed by public funds.
Webster's New World
A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts.
American Heritage
A cord of braided leather, fabric, or plastic strips made by a child as a project to keep busy.
American Heritage
verb
To engage in a boondoggle.
Webster's New World
To waste time or money on a boondoggle.
American Heritage
Other Word Forms of Boondoggle
Noun
Singular:
boondoggle
Plural:
boondogglesOrigin of Boondoggle
In sense of “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.
From Wiktionary
-
Coined by Robert H. Link, American scout, 1929; alternatively “boon doggle”. Compare woggle of similar sense, attested in same period.
From Wiktionary
Coined by Robert H. Link (died 1957), American scoutmaster
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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