Dictionary

boondock en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈbuːn.dɒk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbun.dɑk/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bunduk Tagalog bundokbor. English boondock 1910s during or around the Philippine–American War after the Spanish–American War, from Tagalog bundok (“mountain”), adopted by occupying American soldiers serving in the mountains or rural countryside of the American-occupied Philippines under the United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands. The term was reinforced or re-adopted during World War II under the U.S. military, where terms like boondockers (“shoes suited for rough terrain”) came originally in 1944 as U.S. services slang for field boots. It was later shortened to boonies by 1964 originally among U.S. troops serving in the Vietnam War in reference to the rural areas of Vietnam, as opposed to Saigon.

Meanings

1. (US, qualifier:almost always plural, with article) A brushy, rural area or location.
   • We got lost out in the boondocks, miles from anywhere.
   • It was hard to respect his opinion after he'd called their humble but respectable town "a godforsaken boondock."
2. (qualifier:tiddlywinks) A shot that strikes a squopped wink and sends it flying far away.
   • My family has just rediscovered tiddlywinks. […] [I] haven't quite worked out the boondock! 2012, Helen Brooks, The Rainy Day Book:

Forms

Deriveds

boondocker · boonies

Descendants

pwundahk

Synonyms

See: Thesaurus:remote place · the sticks · backwater · middle of nowhere · boonies · backwoods

Translations (27)

de Walachei (rural area) · es quintos infiernos (rural area) · ja 僻地 (rural area) · nl platteland (rural area) · nl kampong (rural area) · de Kartoffelsteppe (rural area) · fi pöpelikkö (rural area) · de Hundetürkei (rural area) · sv vischan (rural area) · de Einöde (rural area) · de Pampa (rural area) · fa تورقوزآباد (rural area) · fr cambrousse (rural area) · yi העק (rural area) · de vulg. Arsch der Welt (rural area) · es barrios lejanos (rural area) · tl probinsiya (rural area) · ru захолу́стье (rural area) · ru глушь (rural area) · fi erämaa (rural area) · mh bukun mar (rural area) · ro coclauri (rural area) · fi pensasaro (rural area) · cmn 窮鄉僻壤 /穷乡僻壤 (rural area) · ja 奥地 (rural area) · nl buiten (rural area) · fi pusikko (rural area)

wikipedia: Vietnam War · wikipedia: Spanish–American War · wikipedia: United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands · wikipedia: Philippine–American War

boondock en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈbuːn.dɒk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbun.dɑk/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bunduk Tagalog bundokbor. English boondock 1910s during or around the Philippine–American War after the Spanish–American War, from Tagalog bundok (“mountain”), adopted by occupying American soldiers serving in the mountains or rural countryside of the American-occupied Philippines under the United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands. The term was reinforced or re-adopted during World War II under the U.S. military, where terms like boondockers (“shoes suited for rough terrain”) came originally in 1944 as U.S. services slang for field boots. It was later shortened to boonies by 1964 originally among U.S. troops serving in the Vietnam War in reference to the rural areas of Vietnam, as opposed to Saigon.

Meanings

1. (US) To camp in a dry brushy location.
2. (US) To stay in a self-contained recreational vehicle without connections to water, electricity, or sewer services, especially in a remote location.
   • When traveling in the American Southwest, we avoid other people by boondocking in the desert.
3. (qualifier:tiddlywinks) To strike a squopped wink and send it flying far away.
   • The wise winker also engages in boondocking, a defensive strategy. It involves sending an opponent's winks far from the cup. 2002, Peder Jones, Jay Farness, College Writing Skills, page 160:

Forms

Synonyms

dry camp · random camping (stay in remote location) · overland (stay in remote location)

Translations (3)

nl wildkamperen (stay in a recreational vehicle) · fi yöpyä erämaassa (stay in a recreational vehicle) · fi leiriytyä erämaassa (camp in dry location)

wikipedia: Vietnam War · wikipedia: Spanish–American War · wikipedia: United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands · wikipedia: Philippine–American War