Link Centre Dictionary

boondoggle

boon·doggle

UK/ˈbuːndɒɡl̩/ US/ˈbundɑɡəl/ uncommon slang us
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

work of little or no value done merely to look busy

verb

1.

Origin

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.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.