boondoggle

英 ['buːndɒg(ə)l] 美 ['bundɑɡl]
  • n. 手工品;细小而无用的事;劳动力和生产工具不经济的利用
  • vi. 做无聊的工作
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boondoggle 细小而无用的事,面子工程

boondoggle,原指一种类似中国结一样的小装饰品。现词义来自于1935年美国罗斯福新政时,政府投入几百万美元打着丰富失业人民业余生活的旗号开办boondoggle workshop。

boondoggle (n.)
1935, American English, of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget;" it also was by 1932 a Boy Scout term for a kind of woven braid.
1. The new runway is a billion-dollar boondoggle.
新的机场跑道耗资10亿美元,却没什么大用处。

来自柯林斯例句

2. Our investment in water softeners was a boondoggle.
我们在水软化器上的投资打了水漂.

来自互联网