Boon (“ a timely benefit; a favor”) is a fairly old English word, dating back to the 12th century. In light of this one might be excused for thinking that words such as boondocks ("a rural area") and boondoggle (“a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft”) are of similar vintage. However, not only are both of these words much newer than boon, they are not related to it (or to each other), except by a coincidence of spelling. Boondoggle is believed to have been coined in the 1920s by the American scoutmaster Robert H. Link as a name for the braided leather cords that are made and worn by Boy Scouts; it took on the “wasteful project” meaning sometime after. Boondocks is also a word from the early 20th century: it comes from the Tagalog word for a mountain, and was brought to English by the U.S. military forces who had occupied the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century.
First Known Use: circa 1909
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearboonies [slang], country, countryside, nowhere, sticks;
backcountry, backwater, backwoods, bush, frontier, hinterland, outback, up-country;
middle of nowhere;
anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale
See words that rhyme with boondocks Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for boondocks Spanish Central: Translation of boondocks Nglish: Translation of boondocks for Spanish speakers
What made you want to look up boondocks? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
The Eponym Quiz
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
