a braided cord made by hand by young scouts, used for various purposes, such as a hat cord or a key chain.
a useless, wasteful, or impractical project; -- especially one authorized by a government agency as a favor to partisans, to employ unemployed people, or in return for corrupt payments. [PJC]
boondoggle, v.
to do useless, wasteful, or trivial work. [WordNet 1.5]