TagLanyard

Boondoggle Origin

Andrew from Annandale, Virginia, asks about the origin of the word boondoggle. Why does it mean a wasteful project or plain old busywork, but also denotes a kind of leathercraft lanyard made at camp? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...

Gift for Good Measure

In South Carolina, if someone offers you a broadus or something for broadus, say “Yes, please!” It’s a little extra something a store clerk might give to a customer. As we discussed in an earlier episode, this kind of “gift thrown in for good...

Boondoggles

Your mother gave you life, and you gave her … a boondoggle. Or is it a lanyard? Maybe a gimp? Grant assures a listener there are several terms for that long key fob you made at summer camp out of plastic yarn. Boondoggle seems to have originated...