boondoggle

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The Word of the Day for March 12 is:

boondoggle   \BOON-dah-gul\   noun
     1 : a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or 
ornament
    *2 : a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft

Example sentence:
     The editorial claims that the new multimillion-dollar sports complex is a 
boondoggle and a frivolous waste of tax dollars.

Did you know?
     When "boondoggle" popped up in the pages of the _New York Times_ in 1935, 
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 scout boondoggle was presented to the Prince of Wales at 
the 1929 World Jamboree, and it's been with us ever since.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.






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