boondoggle
noun
Boondoggle — work performed with great show but little real purpose
Definition
Work of little or no value done merely to look busy
In depth
A boondoggle is work of little or no genuine value, undertaken largely to create the appearance of productivity or to justify funding already allocated, rather than to achieve any meaningful result. The word carries a sharp, often satirical edge, used to expose waste dressed up as effort.
Origin
The word's exact origin is debated, but it gained widespread popularity in the 1930s after an American Boy Scout leader used 'boondoggle' to describe braided leather craftwork, a term that journalists later seized upon, somewhat mockingly, to describe a government-funded program teaching the very same craft during the Depression — a coincidence that cemented the word's lasting association with wasteful, performative make-work.
Usage examples
"Critics dismissed the entire program as a costly boondoggle, draining funds with nothing real to show for it."
"He suspected, halfway through the meeting, that the entire committee existed as little more than an elaborate boondoggle."
"The grant had funded what amounted to a boondoggle, three years of busywork with no usable findings at the end."
How to use it
Boondoggle is informal, often pointedly satirical vocabulary, well suited to political and journalistic writing exposing wasteful spending or pointless institutional activity. Its slightly comic sound makes it useful for ironic or critical tone without resorting to harsher language.
Related concepts
Looking for a word but don't know its name?
Try the Word Finder →