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A very large part of the relief work was repair work. That was what they advertised for. The director said, “Bring in the repair work.” They were put to repairing all kinds of things, such as chairs that belonged to the government, desks that had broken down, all kinds of repair work.” Somebody who was a westerner and accustomed to the term said, “Well, this is just kind of boondoggling.” Indeed it was. It was repair work. It was repairing of good articles that could be used by the government, by the schools, by the railroad stations, etc.. They ordinarily would have been thrown out, but the WPA repaired them and put them back in order again. That was how that word crept in.

It then was used as term of disrespect. That was because most people didn't know what meant. It now means wasting time doing nothing and getting paid for it. That isn't what it means at all. The word “boondoggle” is a word in good use among the cowboy population of the West. Somebody used it legitimately because they were accustomed to the word. Some funny man, either a newspaper man, or a Congressman, or some thing like that, heard it, didn't know what it meant, thought it was a funny word, and misused it. It is a funny sounding word. It's just like when I say, “I'm going clew up,” nobody know that it means. It's supposed to be very funny, but along the coast of Maine when