boondoggle

Meanings

Noun

• A braided ring to hold a neckerchief.
• A waste of time and/or money; a pointless activity.

Verb

• To waste time on a pointless activity.

Origin

• Coined by Robert H. Link, American scout, 1929; alternatively “boon doggle”. Compare woggle of similar sense, attested in same period.
• 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.
• {{cite-journal
• |date=1935-04-04
• |title=$3,187,000 relief is spent to teach jobless to play; $19,658,512 voted for April; 'Boon Doggles' Made
• |work=New York Times