boondoggle
noun
Did you know?
Boondoggle Started With the Scouts
When boondoggle popped up in the early 1900s, lots of people tried to explain where the word came from. One theory traced it to an Ozarkian word for "gadget," while another related it to the Tagalog word that gave us boondocks. Another hypothesis suggested that boondoggle came from the name of leather toys Daniel Boone supposedly made for his dog. But the only theory that is supported by evidence is much simpler. In the 1920s, Robert Link, a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, apparently coined the word to name the braided leather cords made and worn by scouts. The word came to prominence when such a boondoggle was presented to the Prince of Wales at the 1929 World Jamboree, and it's been with us ever since. Over time, it developed the additional sense describing a wasteful or impractical project.
Examples of boondoggle in a Sentence
John Seiler, Oc Register, 31 May 2025
Over the weekend, two fiscally conservative GOP senators tore into the legislation, describing it as a dangerous fiscal boondoggle.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 27 May 2025
The reservoir’s critics, a coalition of local landowners, loggers and environmentalists, cast Marvin Nichols as pointless and damaging, a boondoggle putting their livelihoods and businesses at risk to satiate the wasteful consumption of Dallas-Fort Worth businesses and homeowners.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 May 2025
But its newest rocket, the Ariane 6, has so far been a boondoggle, with development delays and a costly one-and-done design.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for boondoggle
Cite this Entry
“Boondoggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boondoggle. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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