boondoggle
Pointless government project
A boondoggle is a project that wastes time and money, especially one funded by taxpayers: The new stadium was dismissed as a billion-dollar boondoggle.
Originally American slang for trivial handcraft work, it now typically describes government programs or infrastructure projects critics consider pointless or corrupt.
The verb means to waste resources on such projects.
Lacking any purpose
- uselessWithout practical value
- fruitlessProducing no useful outcome
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
- ineffectiveLacking power to achieve
purposeless · make-work · busywork · time-waster · wheel-spinning · dead-end · empty · idle
Use up carelessly
- misallocationImproper distribution of resources
- inefficiencySuboptimal use of resources
- overspendSpend beyond means
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
fritter · drain · pork-barrel · earmark · taxpayer · bureaucracy · misspend · sinkhole
Prolonged public disagreement
- criticismJudgment of faults
- backlashStrong negative reaction
- uproarNoisy public disturbance
- scrutinyClose, careful examination
outcry · exposé · investigation · whistleblower · audit · accountability · mismanagement · corruption
pointless
Lacking any purpose
- uselessWithout practical value
- fruitlessProducing no useful outcome
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
ineffective · purposeless · make-work · busywork · time-waster · wheel-spinning · dead-end · empty · idle · otiose
squander
Use up carelessly
- misallocationImproper distribution of resources
- inefficiencySuboptimal use of resources
- overspendSpend beyond means
unnecessary · fritter · drain · pork-barrel · earmark · taxpayer · bureaucracy · misspend · sinkhole · excess
controversy
Prolonged public disagreement
scrutiny · outcry · exposé · investigation · whistleblower · audit · accountability · mismanagement · corruption · kickback
lanyard
Wearable cord for items
knotting · scout · keychain · weaving · beadwork · handicraft
- failuresfailure, failures, flop, flops, bust
- impracticalitiesimpracticality, pipe dream, pie in the sky, castle in the air, fool's errand
- pork barrelearmark, earmarking, pork barrel, bridge to nowhere, pet project
- lanyard craftsgimp, butterfly stitch
- bureaucracybureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucrats, red tape, civil service
- disastersdisaster, earthquake, earthquakes, catastrophe, floods