Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
A braided ring to hold a neckerchief.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: especially scouting
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: woggle
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A waste of time or money; a pointless activity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Canada, US, figuratively, usually
Topics: government, politics
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A trip or journey, especially a recreational or otherwise desirable one.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A trip or journey, especially a recreational or otherwise desirable one.
A non-work trip away from a research station.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
Qualifier: Antarctica
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To waste time on a pointless activity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
work of little or no value done merely to look busy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: waste, wastefulness, dissipation
verb
do useless, wasteful, or trivial work
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: work
History
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.
Across languages
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
