Boondoggle

"Bush officials said Wilson’s trip was a boondoggle, and was set up by his wife, [Valerie] Plame Wilson, who worked at the CIA on weapons of mass destruction."
[Second Cheney aide cooperating in leak probe, those close to case say by Jason Leopold and Larisa Alexandrovna*]

NOUN: 1. Informal An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity. 2a. A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts. b. A cord of braided leather, fabric, or plastic strips made by a child as a project to keep busy. [Note from Renice: Napoleon Dynamite's friend Deb is a boondoggle entrepreneur.]
INTRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: boon·dog·gled, boon·dog·gling, boon·dog·gles; To waste time or money on a boondoggle.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Robert H. Link (died 1957), American scoutmaster.
OTHER FORMS: boondoggler —NOUN
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