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boondoggle - 3 dictionary results

boon⋅dog⋅gle

  [boon-dog-uhl, -daw-guhl] noun, verb, -gled, -gling.
Use boondoggle in a Sentence
–noun
1. a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout.
2. work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.
3. a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.
–verb (used with object)
4. to deceive or attempt to deceive: to boondoggle investors into a low-interest scheme.
–verb (used without object)
5. to do work of little or no practical value merely to keep or look busy.
Origin:
1930–35, Americanism; said to have been coined by R. H. Link, American scoutmaster, as name for def. 1

Related forms:
boondoggler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To boondoggle
boon·dog·gle   (bōōn'dô'gəl, -dŏg'əl)   
n.  
  1. An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.
    1. A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts.
    2. A cord of braided leather, fabric, or plastic strips made by a child as a project to keep busy.
intr.v.   boon·dog·gled, boon·dog·gling, boon·dog·gles
To waste time or money on a boondoggle.

[Coined by Robert H. Link (died 1957), American scoutmaster.]
boon'dog'gler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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boondoggle 
1935, Amer.Eng., of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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