Definitions for "boondoggle"
a useless, wasteful, or impractical project; -- especially one authorized by a government agency as a favor to partisans, to employ unemployed people, or in return for corrupt payments.
to do useless, wasteful, or trivial work.
a North American term refering to the performance of useless or trivial tasks whilst appearing to be doing something important
a braided cord made by hand by young scouts, used for various purposes, such as a hat cord or a key chain.
Boondoggle is a North American arts and crafts activity in which you use flat strings. Originally the term was boon doogle referring to a bone or metal ring used to secure the scarf of a Boy Scout (also called a woggle). American Scoutmaster Robert H.
a boondoggle is a trip out of town, sometimes on a helicopter or a snowmobile. they are offered to us as a 'bonus' of sorts, or as a morale booster, by the national science foundation through our supervisors. GAs (general assistants) seem to go on lots of boondoggles, especially the ones that require a lot of snow to be shoveled, because that is what GAs are mostly paid to do. the trip could be to a dive shack on the sea ice to put radio collars on seals, or to 'penguin ranch' to herd penguins into a corral (see photo), or to cape evans for ice fishing. I have yet to go on a boondoggle, but I hope to be selected for one before the end of the season. to this end, I have been e-mailing pictures of myself in various capable poses (with ice drill, outfitted with spurs and lasso, etc.) to the NSF representatives.
Keywords:  fera, derisive, cwa, wpa, payroll
work of little or no value done merely to look busy
Boondoggle was a derisive term used by opponents of New Deal federal works projects administered by the FERA, CWA, and WPA. They objected to "make work" projects that seemed to have no other purpose than to put people on the government payroll.